Start with a flashing and test plan
You can commission planning independently before deciding on a fixture or automation software. We define a programming or test workflow for one board variant, using your current process, interfaces, firmware variants and expected quantities.
You receive:
- A documented sequence from connection and programming to functional checks, failure handling and operator results.
- Requirements for fixture contacts, power, tools and instruments.
- Proposed acceptance criteria, with open questions about limits and test coverage.
- A plan for associating results with device identity and firmware version where appropriate.
- A prioritized implementation plan and a findings discussion.
Send a schematic or interface overview, your existing programming workflow, functions to check, faults already encountered and the tools you use today. I reply personally within one business day. If the project fits, I prepare a fixed-price proposal with defined deliverables and a schedule once the required inputs are clear.
The planning engagement covers analysis and a test-station concept. Fixture construction, procurement, software development and practical validation are commissioned separately. Proposed acceptance criteria must be verified on real devices during implementation. You can use the plan with your own team or commission the implementation with me.
Discuss a test plan or complete station. Read more about handover, confidentiality and working together.
A flashing station built around your hardware
Manually choosing firmware files, connecting tools and checking each result becomes awkward as soon as you process more than a few boards. A dedicated programming station can guide the operator through a repeatable sequence, with the board variant, firmware version and required checks defined together.
My own production tooling combines controlled target power, firmware programming, version verification and device identification. Depending on the product, the workflow can also include device registration and a printed QA label. The operator connects the board and starts the sequence; software coordinates the steps and reports failures explicitly.
Automated functional tests, not just a successful flash
A programming tool reporting success does not prove the product works. Functional checks should exercise the interfaces that matter to the device. In my xCore workflow, for example, a freshly programmed board is checked for network communication and consistency of its device identity before the process can succeed.
For your product, we define the test scope from its interfaces and likely failure modes. A fixture, test firmware, host software and programmable instruments can work together as a custom PCB test station. This is product-specific engineering, not a promise of universal test coverage.
An inspectable example: xESC board diagnostics
The xESC repository includes a separate diagnostic program for checking supply voltage, gate-driver communication, phase outputs and current sensing.
It is an operator-assisted bring-up example. Its checks and thresholds show how a test can be made concrete; adapting that work to a production station also requires the fixture, acceptance criteria and result handling for your product.
Clear results for the person at the bench
- One guided workflow instead of several disconnected tools.
- Checks matched to the selected hardware and firmware variant.
- Explicit error handling so a failed step is not silently skipped.
- Device identification and optional QA labels to support traceability.
- A defined power-off and cleanup path at the end of a run.
The aim is a process that is easier to repeat and easier to investigate when something fails. These setups still require an operator to connect and handle the boards; they are not an unattended production line.
Planning an automatic flashing or test setup?
Send an overview of your board, programming interface, firmware variants and expected quantities. Tell me which functions need checking and what currently takes the most manual work. We can scope a flashing fixture, a functional test station or a combined end-of-line workflow.
For charger and power-management development, also explore battery simulation and charger testing. The equipment overview shows the prototyping capabilities supporting these setups.