New functional tester launched for automotive wireless chargers

Alfamation has announced a new test system for manufacturing quality control of in-car wireless chargers. The new tester supports different charging standards, including Qi, PMA and more, as well as Near Field Communications (NFC). Due to its architecture, the new in-line tester can perform parallel or multi-site, functional test of up to four devices at the same time. This enables it to have a high throughput as required for automotive mass production, ensuring productivity is high and costs are minimized. The system is a standardized platform, thus simplifying maintenance. Wireless charging will soon be present in nearly all smartphones, so cars will have to support it. This means that the automotive industry will need to thoroughly test chargers integrated into vehicles. Car manufacturers will need to support multiple standards used for wireless charging and to handle the complexities of testing all variants quickly, reliably and cost-effectively. Additionally, not just the actual power transfer must be tested. Nowadays, chargers and batteries are smart, and they communicate with each other to optimize charging, so this communication protocol must also be tested. The new system handles all this complexity with ease. “Alfamation has strong experience in building complicated automated testing machines for the car industry," said Mauro Arigossi, CEO of Alfamation. “The new system is an excellent example of bringing innovative test solutions to market, combining Alfamation’s extensive industry knowledge with customer requirements.” “We’ve been working closely with our customers to develop a completely automated solution based upon their use cases, capable of performing multiple tests with a pass/fail sorting control,” added Arigossi. “The tester will continue to be developed, and will soon be able to accommodate new features for higher test capabilities and wider standards coverage.”