Flying Probe Testing for NPI and Engineering
The SPEA 4020 is aimed at new product introduction, prototype work, and engineering test — the stage where board designs change weekly and committing to a bed-of-nails fixture makes no sense. Four high-speed flying heads test from the top of the board, with the S2 configuration adding bottom-side tooling when a job needs it.
What it does not sacrifice is measurement quality. The 4020 shares the same 0.1pF accuracy and the same 01005 micro-SMD probing capability as the larger machines in the range, so results from a prototype are directly comparable to results from production.
Boards up to 500 × 400mm are loaded manually, or up to 1000 × 400mm in-line, in a 1.7m² footprint. As the sole UK & Ireland SPEA distributor since 2004, Flying Test Systems can advise on whether the 4020 suits your stage of development.
Key Capabilities
Production-grade measurement at a price point that suits engineering budgets.
Breakthrough Price Point
The most accessible machine in SPEA's flying probe range, without dropping to a lower class of measurement hardware.
Micro-SMD Probing
Accurate contact on pads down to 01005, including flexible circuits, thin substrates, and sticky boards.
No Fixture, No Delay
A design revision means a new test program, not a new fixture. Boards go into test the same day they arrive.
Multi-Mode Testing
In-circuit, power-on, analogue, digital, boundary scan, and on-board flashing from the same four probes.
NPI & Prototype
Built for the Stage Where Designs Keep Changing
At new product introduction the board in front of you is rarely the board you will ship. Revisions arrive faster than any fixture could be built, and quantities are too small to justify the tooling cost even if the timing worked.
The 4020 removes that problem entirely. Each of the four probes handles in-circuit test, power-on test, analogue sink and source, digital drive and sense, on-board flash programming, boundary scan, and prescaler measurement — and a revised board simply needs a revised program.
Precision Positioning
Small Targets, Reliably Hit
Linear optical encoders on the X, Y, and Z axes hold position accurately enough to contact 01005 micro-SMD pads, and hold it consistently rather than drifting over the course of a long session.
Ultra-Fast Soft-Touch probing keeps contact force low, so delicate substrates come away unmarked — which matters when the prototype on the fixture is one of only a handful in existence.
Measurement Integrity
The Same Accuracy as the Machines Above It
Capacitance measurement resolves to 0.1pF, with signal integrity held end to end and no interference between channels. Signals are acquired within hundreds of microseconds.
This matters more at NPI than anywhere else: a marginal reading on a prototype should reflect the board, not the tester. Characterise a design accurately here and the results carry forward to production.
Leonardo OS2
A New Program in Minutes
Leonardo OS2 generates a test program automatically, with or without a CAD file, and the S2 System Control cuts that time in half again. Debug and tuning run automatically afterwards.
When a board revision lands, the turnaround is measured in minutes rather than days — which is the difference between test keeping pace with engineering and holding it up. Pick and place X-Y files import directly, and the system is Built-In Self-Test compliant.
What Can the 4020 Test?
One platform, no fixtures — suited to early-stage and low-quantity work.
Prototype Boards
First Articles
Engineering Samples
PCB Assemblies
Bare PCBs
Flexible Circuits
Thin & Sticky Boards
Micro-SMD Assemblies
Small Production Batches
Load Boards
Other Flying Probe Testers
SPEA 4080
Eight-probe flying probe tester for high-volume production with double-sided probing.
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SPEA 4060
Versatile mid-range flying probe system for flexible production testing across a wide range of volumes.
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SPEA 4050
Four-probe flying probe tester for low to medium production volumes.
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