CASE STUDY
A three-board connected appliance system
Connected kitchen-appliance control system — three boards (control unit, actuator unit, wireless remote)
ATE · Firmware CI · Multi-board · Wireless
The product
A control system for a connected kitchen appliance, built around an ESP32-class microcontroller with an integrated wireless radio, split across three boards: a control unit, an actuator unit, and a wireless remote.
The challenge
Three distinct boards, each needing its own bench so a batch of one type can be tested independently of the others; a wireless link to exercise; firmware programming on every unit; and, in parallel, a need to keep the firmware itself under control as it evolves.
What we built
- Three dedicated production testbenches (one per board): a 3D-printed mechanical fixture with clamps, a custom pogo-pin testboard, a test controller, and our test platform.
- ~8–12 test scenarios per board (~30 pass/fail criteria each): firmware flashing, voltage / current and short checks, and functional tests over UART, I²C and Wi-Fi.
- A separate firmware continuous-integration bench: an automated build pipeline plus a permanent fixture holding known-good boards, running the functional test suite on every firmware candidate.
Outcome
Every assembled board gets a clear Go / No-Go, with all measurements recorded; every firmware release is exercised automatically before it ships.
Anonymised. Photos and renders to be added (client-supplied, silkscreen blurred).