SMART hands over 2000th Breakout Box to Bosch Powertrain Solutions

From a technical point of view, breakout boxes are usually not very complicated, and they also look rather inconspicuous from the outside. And yet: they are indispensable tools for testing sample control units. So indispensable, in fact, that the test engineers are desperately waiting for them when a new project is pending, i.e. when a new control unit is to be tested. Then it's a matter of fast delivery.

"Normally it takes ten to twelve weeks, but with SMART TESTSOLUTIONS it's six to eight," reports Frank Schönleber, who is responsible for the procurement of corresponding tools at Bosch Powertrain Solutions. The short delivery times have contributed to his department ordering its breakout boxes, also called disconnect adapters, exclusively from SMART since 2008. Now Schönleber accepted the 2000th copy at our premises in Stuttgart.

The breakout boxes are used either between the engine control unit and the test system or between the control unit and the vehicle to feed in or measure signals. Size and labelling depend on the number and type of pins in the ECU. The 2000 breakout boxes supplied so far therefore differ from each other, but the technology and above all the quality are always the same.

The signal lines in the adapters are connected one-to-one, no additional measurement technology is integrated. Nevertheless, there are subtleties that distinguish a good from a not-so-good disconnect adapter, reports Schönleber. "For example, that the cable lugs are crimped inside and not soldered." SMART's quality has been convincing so far, he says. "We have very rarely had returns," says Schönleber, who also praises the smooth cooperation and coordination.

Schönleber also works closely with SMART TESTSOLUTIONS in the field of cable harnesses and adapter cables: in the meantime, 3,000 orders with various quantities have been processed.

Find out more about our breakout boxes for automotive testing here.