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European Printed Circuit Board Automatic Test Equipment Markets
Frost & Sullivan, Jan 2006
This Frost & Sullivan research service titled European Printed Circuit Board Automatic Test Equipment Markets provides an overview of PCB testers such as in-circuit testers (ICT), functional testers, boundary scan testers and manufacturing defect analysers. This research service offers a description of the key industry challenges and market drivers as well as strategic recommendations for ATE vendors. It also analyses the latest trends and provides an insight into key alliances and their long-term impact.
Market Sectors
Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:
- In-circuit testers (ICT)
- Functional testers
- Boundary scan testers
- Manufacturing defect analysers
Market Overview
Shift in Fault Spectrum of Electronic Assemblies Likely to Have Significant Impact on Market Growth
The European electronic manufacturing industry is witnessing a rise in demand for printed circuit board (PCB) automatic test equipment (ATE) to identify defects in electronic assemblies. Over the past five years, the typical distribution of fault classes during circuit board assembly has undergone a considerable change. In addition, circuit boards are becoming inaccessible for ‘bed of nails’ fixtures. There is also a major discrepancy between faults occurring in the current board manufacturing environments and the capabilities of the installed base of testers. Thus, this shift in the fault spectrum signifies that while the occurrence of faults is declining, the cost of testing continues to remain high.
'Moreover, increasing board densities and the growing requirement for PCBs to perform in high temperature and humidity environments have led to major concerns related to reliability problems,' notes the analyst of this research service. 'As a result, boundary scan techniques that facilitate testing without physical access are rapidly becoming a viable option for advanced technology end users, thereby supporting overall market development.'
Strategic Alliances to Assist ATE Vendors in Dealing with Intensifying Competition
Although the majority of test equipment continues to be manufactured in North America and Europe, there has been a shift in focus towards countries in the Asia Pacific, primarily China. In keeping with the trend of intensifying competition in the test equipment market, providing greater price cuts will become difficult due to low profit margins. Thus, European vendors will need to shift base to low-cost regions to sustain profits.
New electrical products such as personal computers (PCs), notebooks, modules, camcorders and cellular phones are likely to become increasingly complex. 'As a result, the demand for advanced packaging and interconnect technologies is likely to intensify and test equipment vendors will need to develop systems that are capable of testing such miniature and complex boards,' says the analyst.
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