Method for producing a captive wired test fixture and fixture therefor

Abstract

A method for wiring a test fixture comprised of two parallel fixture plates wherein the wires are wired randomly from locations on one plate to locations on a second plate using a system of software algorithms and positioning apparatus to control the motion of one plate relative to the other to allow the wires to be passed directly through the hole locations to be wired together, while previously woven locations are allowed to slide in the hole in the fixture plate to allow reaching subsequent hole pair locations. After the fixture is wired, a termination is added to the wire end emerging from the hole in the fixture plates. The resultant assembly consists of contacts on one outer surface electrically connected to contacts on a second outer surface with all of the wiring sandwiched between the two fixture plates.

1 . A method for randomly wiring a test fixture having two parallel fixture plates, each having a plurality of holes extending therethrough by computer controlled positioning apparatus, by controlling movement of one fixture plate relative to another fixture plate to allow wires to pass directly through hole locations to be wired together.  
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the positioning apparatus is programmed to move the parallel fixture plates relative to each other to progress from a longest to a shortest move between the hole locations to be wired together.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wires pass directly through hole locations to be wired by positioning a launch tube above the fixture plates and passing a stylus attached to the wire through the launch tube.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein wires are passed directly through hole locations to be wired by positioning a laser above the fixture plates to illuminate the hole locations and passing a stylus attached to the wire through the hole locations.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , further including pressing a first contact attached to an end of the wire into the hole location in a top fixture plate.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising pulling the slack from the wires between the parallel fixture plates.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising terminating an end of the wire on a lower fixture plate.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein terminating the end of the wire on the lower fixture plate is by a barbed electrical contact positioned in the hole location in the bottom fixture plate.  
   
   
       9 . A method of wiring a test fixture having two fixture plates comprising: 
 mounting the two plates side by side with a termination side of each plate facing in one direction;    passing wires through designated holes in the two plates to be wired together; and    reorienting the two plates so that the termination side of the plates faces opposite directions.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising removing slack from the wires between the two fixture plates.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising terminating the wires on the two fixture plates.