Circuit diagnosis support system for electronics assembly operations

Diagnosis and repair operations are often major bottlenecks in electronics circuit assembly operations. Increasing board density and circuit complexity have made fault diagnosis difficult. But, with shrinking product life cycles and increasing competition, quick diagnosis and feedback is critical for cost control, process improvement, and timely product introduction. This paper describes a case-based diagnosis support system to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of circuit diagnosis in electronics assembly facilities. The system stores individual diagnostic instances rather than general rules and algorithmic procedures, and prioritizes the tests during the sequential testing process. Its knowledge base grows as new faults are detected and diagnosed by the analyzers. The system provides distributed access to multiple users, and incorporates on-line updating features that make it quick to adapt to changing circumstances. Because it is easy to install and update, this method is well-suited for real manufacturing applications. We have implemented a prototype version, and tested the approach in an actual electronics assembly environment. We describe the system's underlying principles, discuss methods to improve diagnostic effectiveness through principled test selection and sequencing, and discuss managerial implications for successful implementation.