Product category:
Design and Development Hardware
News Release from: XJTAG | Subject: Boundary scan development system
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 04 October 2007
Critical controller boards put on trial
System provides a comprehensive set of tools to test, debug and program complex printed circuits containing ball grid array devices.
Westinghouse Rail Systems uses the XJTAG boundary scan development system to verify the integrity of its prototype hardware designs, which are destined for use in safety critical automatic train control applications Matt Lee, European Business Development Manager, XJTAG says: "We are delighted that Westinghouse, a major name in the industrial marketplace, has selected the XJTAG system to debug and test its range of prototype printed circuit boards (PCBs)"
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 20 Dec 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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"The XJTAG system is designed by engineers for engineers and provides a comprehensive set of tools to test, debug and program complex printed circuits containing ball grid array (BGA) devices".
Engineers at Westinghouse Rail Systems' headquarters at Chippenham, Wiltshire (UK), are using the XJTAG Professional development system to debug and test highly complex control PCBs.
These boards contain multiple high pin-count BGA devices which are inaccessible to traditional test probes as they are directly mounted to the board via solder balls on the underside of the chip.
Further reading
Boundary scan development system free for CEMs
XJTAG is offering UK-based contract electronic manufacturers a free XJRunner, the production-optimised version of its XJTAG boundary scan development system.
Development system speeds complex board debug
Prism Electronics uses the XJTAG boundary scan development system to speed up the process of debugging and testing highly complex printed circuit boards.
Development system debugs precision motion
Etel uses the XJTAG boundary scan development system to debug and test complex printed circuit boards used in its market-leading range of advanced digital motion controllers.
Jeff Smith, Hardware Engineer, R and D, Westinghouse Rail Systems, says: "Boundary scan is a 'must-have' tool for any company developing high value, high complexity, BGA-populated boards".
"We selected XJTAG ahead of competitive products due to its ease-of-use, its extensive library of functional tests, and its low cost of ownership".
"It also has a powerful range of functions that allow us, for example, to control devices from the inside and regain visibility of all the hidden BGA interconnects in the JTAG chain".
"We can also read or write pins and buses with a single click using XJAnalyser".
"XJTAG also enables hardware verification to take place without the need to develop specific test software to run on the target board", adds Smith.
"This is important as it has brought an end to the classic arguments between hardware and software engineers blaming each other when a new design does not work".
Westinghouse Rail Systems leads the world in advanced integrated signalling and control systems for main line and mass transit railways.
The company's products are at the heart of many of the world's major railway and metro networks, with current projects including both major refurbishment programmes, such as the London Underground Victoria Line upgrade, and complex new infrastructure schemes, including the Canada Line Rapid Transit Project in Vancouver.
"Westinghouse has a reputation for providing customers with safe, reliable solutions on time and to budget so it's important that we have the right tools to ensure that we continue to meet these exacting standards", adds Smith.
"With XJTAG, we have a powerful boundary scan system that enables us to thoroughly check the integrity of our prototype designs both the JTAG and non-JTAG devices, and by using the XJIO expansion board we can verify signals right through to the backplane connectors of the boards".
The XJTAG development system is a cost-effective out-of-the-box solution for debugging, testing and servicing electronic printed circuit boards and systems throughout the product lifecycle.
The XJTAG system reduces the time and cost of board development and prototyping by allowing early test development, early design validation of CAD netlists, fast generation of functional tests and test re-use across circuits using the same devices.
XJTAG enables engineers to test a high proportion of the circuit (both boundary scan and cluster devices) including BGA and chip scale packages, such as SDRAMs, Ethernet controllers, video interfaces, Flash memories, FPGAs and microprocessors.
XJTAG also enables in-system programming of FPGAs, CPLDs and Flash memories.
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