3D printed test adapters

We design individual test adapters for you to electrically contact your assemblies. Whether you want to test a printed circuit board or an assembled device – thanks to our specialization in additive manufacturing processes, we can provide you with a cost-effective solution and short delivery times.
→ Discover our test fixture variety

Visit us at embedded world 2023

We look forward to showing you our range of services at embedded world in Nuremberg from June 21 to 23, 2023. You will find us in Hall 3A, Stand 3A-325d. Do you need a ticket for embedded world 2023?

No problem, just send us an email to: info@eloprint.de

Thanks to our customers for many exciting projects

Press reports about test adapters from eloprint

Your advantages with our test adapters

Quick

As all of our design, production and assembly happens in-house, we are entirely independent of external suppliers. Orders can be fulfilled within 1-3 weeks.

Inexpensive

Thanks to our 3D printing optimised construction methods, our costs are far below the market average. Since we only charge our development costs once, additional, identical adapters are particularly inexpensive.

ESD Protection

For use in ESD protected areas, our test adapters are provided with a special coating or optionally manufactured from special ESD material.

Flexible

Circuit boards? Single components? assemblies? Whole devices? We develop and produce the appropriate test adapter.

Compact

Our compact and robust needle adapters can be integrated into almost any production line.

Maintanance-free

Test several million assemblies without maintenance.

Testadapter designs

For common requirements we offer the 3 construction types BAL, PRL, POL and IDL. Completely individual constructions are also possible. The shape and size of all of our test adapters are always individually adapted to the assembly to be tested. Thanks to the additive manufacturing process, special features can be easily taken into account.

This not only applies to unusual designs of the test objects, but also to special features of the test fixtures such as:

Display and controls in the test adapter
Exemptions from certain areas of the examinee
Sensors in the test adapter
Test needles from any manufacturer or we will make a suggestion
Contacting test points, pads, vias, solder joints, connectors, …
Lateral contacts
Permanently installed electronic components in the adapter (e.g. ISP, measurement cards, multiplexer, etc.)

BAL

This BAL design was specially developed for small circuit boards. Double-sided contacting is also possible with this.

Details

PRL

The PRL design is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized boards. It is characterized by very good usability and good accessibility of the circuit board when clamped.

Details

POL

The POL design is suitable for large boards. It can hold down the circuit board at any point and make double-sided contact if necessary. The robust mechanism allows contacting hundreds of test points.

Details

IDL

This IDL test adapter was specially developed for very large boards. A robust adapter that reliably contacts even large quantities of very large circuit boards.

Details

Individual Adapters

Are your requirements too individual for our standardized construction methods? Then we are happy to create individual constructions. This is worthwhile, for example, for assemblies that are installed in housings or if individual plugs have to be contacted.

Details

Price calculator

Calculate the non-binding net costs for your test adapter

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Testadapter specification

Following specifications reflect average cases. If you have different requirements, please contact us!,

Characteristic	Standard	Special case
Material	VisiJet M2S-HT90, FR2, PLA, ABS oder PC	Aluminium, Stahl, PA12, ASA, PEEK, PEI, Keramik oder Acrylharz
Temperature resistance	50°C , 90°C oder 120°C	High performance plastic: >200°C In extreme cases the testadapters can be printed of ceramic or metal.
Izod impact strength, notched (at 23°C)	Charpy impact strength (at 23°C)	—
Charpy impact strength (at 23°C)	58 kJ/m² according to ISO 179	—
Hardness	76 (Shore D, test method: durometer)	—
ESD protection	guaranteed by special coating	—
Contact resistance	< 50 mΩ	< 4 mΩ
Current	1 amps	> 100 amps
High frequency	No special precautions	Special coaxial test pins, leads and connectors
Service life	> 100.000 Cycles (In practice often much more)	Design according to your requirements
Pitch	≥ 1,27 mm	≥ 0,5 mm (requires close examination)
Conformity	CE (RoHS, REACH)	—

Ordering process

Step 1

Calculate price

Simply calculate the expected costs yourself using our price calculator. We ask for your understanding that the costs for individual requirements may vary.

Step 2

Inquiries

Send us your requirements. In particular we need:

Number of test points
Dimensions and shape of the board
Information about large, heavy or protruding components
Connectors to be accessible
Do currents flow above 1 ampere?
Special requirements

We accept all of the following data formats:

Photos / Screenshots / Drawings

3D data of the test object (.stp / .iges)

2D data of the test object (.dxf)

Download testpoint template

Step 3

Questions / Offer

We do our best to settle all outstanding queries and send you a binding offer within 24 hours.

Step 4

Order

When ordering, we ask you to provide a test specimen for test purposes. This will be returned to you in sound condition upon delivery of the adapter.

Step 5

Development / Manufacturing

As soon as your order is in, we begin designing your adapter. Once your test specimen arrives, we are able to check the tolerances and smooth functioning of the device and its production can be completed.

Step 6

Delivery

Within the agreed delivery time, we will hand over your test adapter to a suitable shipping service provider.

Frequently asked questions

Can I also get a test adapter for entire devices or other electronic components?

It doesn’t always have to be circuit boards. Individuality is our strength. Whether the circuit board is already installed in the housing, has to be contacted from different directions or you want to test individual components such as connectors, coils or ICs – we create the right test adapter!

Can individual components (programmers, circuit boards, display elements, etc.) be provided in the test adapter?

Thanks to the additive manufacturing of our test adapters, we can respond to your individual requirements. Just tell us the dimensions of the components to be provided.

I need several test adapters, how does this affect the costs?

The development and production costs are already shown separately in our price calculator. Since the development costs are only incurred once, a volume discount is automatically generated. Even if you re-order identical test adapters at a later point in time, you only incur the production costs.

Does it have to be a separate contact pad, or can a soldering contact of a connector or similar be contacted?

Solder points can always be contacted. However, we advise against this, as the contact can be impaired by flux residues. However, there are special test needles that enable reliable contacting.
Connector pins can also be contacted. However, it is important that the plugs are always in the same place after the soldering process and are not tilted. If this cannot be guaranteed, floating contact units can be used in the test adapter, which are aligned with the connector.

What is the minimum size of a test point?

That depends on the precision of your circuit board manufacturer. Test points from a diameter of 0.8 mm can typically be contacted without any problems. With smaller test points it would be important that the catch holes or the outer geometry do not have high tolerances. Basically, of course, the bigger the better.

Are catch holes required on the circuit board?

It is advantageous to have two catching holes as far apart as possible. The diameter of the holes doesn’t matter. If there are no catch holes on the test piece, it can be guided over its outer geometry in the test adapter. As with the catch holes, the manufacturing tolerance of the circuit board must be taken into account. Especially if the circuit board is manufactured in panels and only broken edges are available, the test points should be larger than the tolerances of the outer geometry.

Which electrical interface does the test adapter have?

D-Sub connectors have proven to be a good standard. These are robust, standardized and available with various numbers of poles. If required, we can also provide other plugs according to your wishes in the test adapter.

What does eloprint need to create a test adapter?

To ensure that everything runs smoothly, we ask for the following:
– 3D model of the test item (STEP file)
– Coordinates and pin assignment of the test points (our Excel template)
– Provision of a specimen for test purposes
If you cannot provide everything, talk to us, there is always a solution.

Which test fixture design is the right one for my application?

Das ist immer eine Einzelfallentscheidung. Da der Aufwand und die Kosten für die Bauweisen BAL, PRL und POL aufsteigen, prüfen wir grundsätzlich zuerst, ob die günstigere Bauweise geeignet ist. In den Abbildungen der einzelnen Bauweisen finden Sie einige Fallbeispiele, die zur Orientierung dienen können. Sobald Sie uns Ihre Rahmenbedingungen nennen, beraten wir Sie gerne.

Can the test adapters make contact from above and below at the same time?

Circuit boards can be contacted on both sides with the BAL and POL test adapters. Lateral contacting (e.g. of plugs) is also possible with additional effort.

What is the minimum distance (pitch) allowed for the test points?

Test points with a distance from 1.27 mm (center to center) correspond to our standard and can be implemented without additional effort. The minimum distance that can be achieved with our technology is currently 0.5 mm.

Is there a maximum number of contacts that a test adapter can have?

An exact limit cannot be given in general, since the position and spring force of the test needles to be used are very important. In addition, each construction method must be considered separately:
BAL: 50 test points are common. If the test points are arranged close to the edge and/or the test object is not very large, significantly more test points are also possible.
PRL: The lever mechanism transmission could easily overcome the force of hundreds of test needles. Here, however, the circuit board is only held down on its sides. It is therefore always necessary to consider whether too great a bending moment could arise. The POL design should therefore be selected for large boards with many test points arranged in the middle.
POL: Several hundred test points can be contacted without any problems.
In special cases, there is always the possibility of strengthening the test adapters in order to cope with the forces that occur.

Contact

For an error-free process, we ask you to specify your test points and the desired pin assignment in this template:

Download template

Contact information:

info@eloprint.de

+49 711 50480481

Please fill out the contact form to get in touch: