Testblox launches compact automated functional test platform
Testblox AB has launched a compact, multi-vendor platform for automated functional testing, designed to reduce the size, complexity and cost of production test systems.
The platform comprises nearly 40 commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modules at launch, covering measurement, switching, power, communications and input/output (I/O). All modules share a playing-card-sized form factor, common hardware interfaces and a coordinated software environment, enabling test engineers to integrate instrumentation directly into their test fixtures.
The approach makes the fixture itself the test system, reducing reliance on conventional racks of instruments and the additional floor space they require. By shortening signal paths and reducing cabling, the architecture is designed to help minimise electrical noise, connection uncertainty and ground-loop risks.
The compact, modular design can also simplify system replication, maintenance and fault isolation. Individual modules can be replaced as needed, reducing the complexity of building and servicing production test fixtures.
Testblox was formed by Pickering Interfaces, the UK-based designer and manufacturer of modular signal switching and simulation products for electronic test and verification, and Wireflow, a Swedish developer and manufacturer of printed circuit board (PCB) test solutions.
The platform brings together engineering contributions from three teams. Testblox AB has developed the backplanes, software and selected I/O products; Wireflow has contributed multifunction I/O and power supplies; and Pickering has supplied switching products and digital multimeters (DMMs).
The companies say the architecture and commercial model are designed to support wider participation from qualified suppliers over time. All Testblox modules are designed and manufactured in Europe.
Testblox modules can connect directly to exposed pins in a test fixture using standard D-Sub connectors. Alternatively, engineers can install modules on a custom interface board to provide direct, cable-free connections to the device under test (DUT).
Isolation between modules and the backplane helps reduce the risk of ground loops, while the shared hardware architecture is intended to simplify fixture design and system integration.
For system management, engineers can use USB to discover, configure, troubleshoot and monitor test systems through Brygga, Testblox’s test management environment.
Automated test development is supported through application programming interfaces (APIs) for Python, C# and NI LabVIEW.
All Testblox modules are supplied with a three-year warranty. The company also commits to keeping hardware available for at least 20 years, supporting long-term serviceability and the maintenance needs of production test systems.
About Testblox
Testblox AB was formed in 2025 to develop standardised, in-fixture commercial off-the-shelf instrumentation for automated functional testing. Its platform combines products developed by Testblox AB, Wireflow and Pickering.
Testblox modules are designed in Sweden, the Czech Republic and the UK, and manufactured in the Czech Republic.
