Sherlock Short Circuit Fault Investigator

Sherlock

Short Circuit Investigator

Sherlock tester

Studies around the world show that between 40% and 80% of ALL production faults, in the manufacture of electronic products are due to short circuits. Solder bridges, bent component pins, etching defects and faulty components cause these.

While manual, visual and automatic techniques may detect short circuits they cannot determine the location.

The Sherlock Short Circuit Investigator is a new low cost instrument for locating short circuit faults. It is effective in PCB manufacture and loaded board assembly for manual debug and off-line fault location for ATE and AOI.

Sherlock complements manual, visual and automatic test methods

FEATURES
• 6 Measurement ranges
• Lo, 200µ Ohm, 2 Ohm, 20 Ohm,
200 Ohm, 20K Ohm
• Accuracy ± 5% ±1 digit
• 3 ½ digit display
• 4 wire Kelvin probes
• Volume control
• Protection to ± 30V
• Applied voltage < 50Mv
• Power 15 Watts 230 V 50 Hz
• Weight 1.1 Kg
• Size W260 x H65 x D180 mm

Fault finding on today's boards is made more difficult by the use of small geometry surface-mount components, bus-structured circuits and limited test access. Sherlock has 6 measurement ranges including the Lo range with a 40 milli-ohm resolution ensure that even the most obscure short circuits can be located.

Using a buzzer or a multi-meter to locate these faults is inefficient and ineffective.

Sherlock locates faults precisely when other techniques fall short.

Consider these problems

• Solder bridge under components

ATE detects but cannot locate

AOI cannot detect
• Bus short

ATE detects but cannot locate

• Faulty component

ATE detects but cannot locate

AOI cannot detect
• Etch fault whisker on bare board

ATE detects but cannot locate

Sherlock offers an effective solution for all of these faults

Sherlock is safe to use even on low power technologies.
It limits the applied voltage and current so that semiconductor gates are not affected.

EASY TO USE

To locate the short circuit, simply apply the probes to the shorted tracks and listen to the tone. Then move the probes along the tracks until the highest frequency tone is heard or the lowest value displayed.

The short will be located within a few millimetres of this point.

A quick visual inspection will confirm the exact position of the short circuit.

Sherlock has six measurement ranges so that debug technicians and non-technical operators are able to identify even the most obscure faults quickly and efficiently. The benefits to the production process are

Improved quality

Reduced costs

Reduced scrap

Competitively priced, you can be sure a Sherlock Short Circuit Investigator will benefit your test and repair operation.