Bare Bones BB100 Test Fixture Kits
World's Cheapest Test Fixture $300
Build Your Own Test Fixture!
Drill the holes, insert the test pins and wire it up.
Lowest Cost High Performance Printed Circuit Board Test Fixture Kits

Not sure if you can build a fixture kit?
With the BareBones build kit, all you need is a drill press, a few basic hand tools and only two days. Download the Fixture Kit Instruction Manual Picture Book. The Instruction Manual was written as a highly illustrated picture book to allow even non-English speaking users to follow the process and build a precision fixture. Using the methods in this manual it is possible to build a fixture to accuracies comparable to a CNC milling machine using only a drill press and a few basic hand tools! Basically the technique is to use a blank board as a drill template. Since the blank board was drilled with a precision CNC drill, the results of using a drill press with the blank board as a template will approach the accuracies of a CNC machine. The resulting fixture will have enough accuracy to probe small 30mil diameter targets spaced as close as 50mil. Download this 31 page instruction manual and see for yourself.

Download the Fixture Kit Instruction Manual Updated Jan 2009.
Adobe Acrobat. 9MB (right click)

Download Cover page for the Fixture Kit Instruction Manual Updated May 2009.
Adobe Acrobat. 62KB (right click)

Please Call or e-mail applications engineering to get additional, options, accessories, product suggestions, and other technical information pertaining to your specific application. Please write a brief description of your application so that we can better help you.

Optional Additions and Accessories
	Replacement Test Plates 0.25 X 6 X 7 HDPE Plate $40EA 0.38 X 6 X 7 HDPE Plate $60EA 0.25 X 6 X 7 FR-4 Plate   $100EA 0.38 X 8 X 14 HDPE Plate $100EA 0.25 X 8 X 14 FR-4 Plate   $145EA
	Blank Rear Panel 6" wide $20 8" wide $25

Optional Pre-Punched Rear Panel
	D- Connector cutouts 9, 15, 25, 36, 50 pin H- Connector cutouts 10, 16, 20, 26, 34, 40, 50 pin Price: 6" wide $40 8" wide $45

Upgrade to a Fully Enclosed Clamshell Fixture FREE installation:
The Bare Bones test fixture test plates are compatible with our rugged fully enclosed Industrial Strength Clamshell fixtures. If your BareBones Test Fixture was drilled within the boundaries dictated by the guide tape your fixture can be upgraded and used in a harsh full production environment without worries. Upgrade installation Price: $0.00 FREE!

Simply send us your BareBones test fixture, then purchase one of the Clamshell fixture kits starting at $899.98. We will install it into the Clamshell test fixture for free and send it back to you!

Machining HDPE Tips & Techniques:
Suggested guidelines for milling, turning, cutting and bonding HDPE.
High-density polyethylene is a highly versatile polymer that exhibits excellent chemical resistance and is easily welded. HDPE is a very safe material to work with. HDPE has even been approved for use in food processing operations!
The end uses for the material are extensive. In addition to food cutting boards, the material is successfully used for: chemical tanks and tank linings, ventilation ducts, fume hoods and industrial work surfaces.

Machining Requirements:
HDPE is very easy to machine. Local hardware store standard wood working high-speed steel drill bits and saw blades are adequate for cutting thermoplastic products. Carbide-tipped and cobalt tools are long lasting and achieve high productivity rates on HDPE.
A minimum cutting force, running in the direction of the cut, is required for machining plastics. The greater the clearance and rake angle, the less cutting force is needed.
Final polishing with a polishing wheel or edge polishing machine can improve the surface finish. Any edges left after sawing, drilling or milling can be reworked with a sharp pocket knife, blunt scrapers or special deburring equipment and chamfered.

General information for machining:

Sawing
Fast running band and circular saws are suitable for cutting HDPE. The cut surfaces can be smooth and a good finish can result when the teeth are lightly set. Saw blades with teeth no more than 15mm apart have been shown to produce a better quality cut.
Other guidelines include:
Clearance: 10-15°
Rake angle: 0-5°
Gullet: 5-10mm
Set: 0.8-1.0mm
Cutting speed: 3,000m/min
Feed: 0.1-0.3mm/tooth

Planing
Surface and panel planers used in woodworking are also suitable for materials such as HDPE. The surface quality largely depends on the feed speed, cutting speed, clearance and rake angle as well as the state of the cutters.
The following guidelines should be met:
Clearance: 15-30°
Rake angle: 15-20°
Cutting speed: 3,000m/min
Feed: 0.1-0.3mm/tooth

Milling
When milling, particular care should be taken to keep the machined cross-section as large as possible in order to reduce heat generation. The cutting depth and feed speed also need to be large, with a lower cutting speed producing better results.
Fast woodworking machines with fairly high feed rates and rpm, as well as universal milling machines, have been successfully used to mill this plastic material.

Drilling
Spiral drill bits should be used to drill HDPE. For optimal results, the angle of fluting should be 20-30 degrees and the point angle should be at 110-120 degrees. A considerable level of heat is generated by drilling, which must be taken away with the swarf or by further cooling. For deeper drilling, it can be helpful to remove the drill from the hole to empty out the swarf.

Turning
HDPE and other thermoplastics can be turned on a lathe with tools ground for plastics, at speeds up to 550 m/min. For optimal results, the feed speeds should be kept low, with the maximum possible cutting depth per revolution of >0.5mm. If a tool with a slightly rounded tip is used, the cut surface will be clean. Carbide-tipped tools can be used to ensure accurate tolerances. HSS can also be a cost-effective solution.

Bonding
Because of the high chemical resistance of this material, there is no “bite” on the surfaces at room temperature, making only adhesive bonding possible. Pre-treatment of the joint surfaces improves wettability.
According to Röchling, the following adhesives are suitable for bonding the material:
Pressure sensitive Solvents and dispersion binders
Contact adhesives Polyurethane
Two-package system Epoxy resin, polyurethane
Hotmelt adhesives Vinyl copolymers

Low Cost Test Solutions:
Now combine the Bare Bones test fixture with off the shelf data acquisition boards and perform functional, in-circuit, or bare board testing right on your bench top!

Compatibilities:
» Arduino Microcontrollers and compatibles (Open source)
» Arduino Accessories data aquisition and sensor boards (2000+ and growing woldwide)
» Overton Instruments Embedded Controllers and Data Aquisition
» Tektronix MI 5010 Multifunction Interface System

Computer Test system compatiblity:
» Windows Operating System
» Mac Operating System
» Unix Operating System
» Android Operating System SDK&Bluetooth

Test Electronics, a leader in test fixture technology participates fully with open sourced technology to bring you high quality cost effective solutions to functional, in-circuit, and bare board testing enginneered to your specific needs!

Test Electronics, a leader in test fixture technology. Creating innovations in testing by utilizing the latest high tech tools to their full potential.

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