FIELD NOTES
Get better at hardware test.
Guides, tutorials, and best practices to help you build better hardware tests.
- Test Data & Analytics
Use Control Charts for Tests
Learn how to use control charts to monitor test process stability, distinguish control limits from spec limits, and detect out-of-control conditions with.
- Test Data & Analytics
Test Data Management for Electronics
Learn how to structure, store, and query electronics test data with TofuPilot for automatic traceability, yield tracking, and process control.
- Test Types & Methods
What Is Automated Test Equipment (ATE)
Automated test equipment combines instruments, a fixture and software to test units without manual measurement. What ATE is and how to build one.
- Test Data & Analytics
Time-Series Test Data Analysis
Learn how to capture, store, and analyze time-series measurement data from hardware tests using TofuPilot's multi-dimensional arrays.
- Test Data & Analytics
Pareto Analysis for Test Failures
Learn how the 80/20 Pareto principle applies to test failures, how to write tests that produce actionable failure data, and how to use TofuPilot's Pareto chart.
- Test Station Setup
How to Build a Test Panel GUI in Python
Learn how to build a tkinter-based test panel GUI that controls instruments and runs OpenHTF tests with TofuPilot logging.
- Test Types & Methods
ICT vs FCT vs Flying Probe: When to Use Each
Compare in-circuit test (ICT), functional test (FCT), and flying probe for PCBA manufacturing, with cost analysis, coverage tradeoffs, and decision criteria.
- Test Data & Analytics
How to Reduce Retesting Costs
Learn why retesting wastes 10-30% of test capacity, how to fix root causes with better OpenHTF patterns, and how TofuPilot tracks retest rates.
- Test Data & Analytics
What Is Process Capability (Cp and Cpk)
Understand Cp and Cpk formulas, what different Cpk values mean for your process, and how TofuPilot calculates them from your test data.
- Migrating from Legacy Systems
Migrate from LabVIEW to Python
Replace LabVIEW with Python for manufacturing test: concept mappings, code examples, and a migration path to the TofuPilot Framework or OpenHTF.
- Instrument Control
Getting Started with PyVISA
Control test instruments from Python with PyVISA: discovery, connection, SCPI basics, error handling, and wiring a DMM into a test procedure.
- Scaling & Monitoring
Monitor Test Stations Across Factories
Track test station performance across multiple factories from a single dashboard. Compare yield, throughput, and measurement drift by site and station.
