Kickoff

Kickoff is day zero (T0) of your schedule. Your lead time is counted from this day. Kickoff is at the start of the business week after your order is purchased, or the next business day on an expedited order.

What we do

In the first 1–2 business days after kickoff, an engineer reviews your order before the kickoff email goes out:

• Your DUT test configuration: the test points, locating and pressure.
• The fixture configuration: the cartridge, probes, receptacles and interface you ordered.
• Your DUT's orientation in the fixture.

At the same time we:

• Build the project schedule, with a target date for each phase.
• Assign your team: a project lead, and a technical lead when the project needs one.
• Create part numbers and manufacturing orders.
• Set up the CAD project for your fixture.

The kickoff email

You get the kickoff email 1–2 business days after kickoff, with:

• Your team: the project lead and anyone else working on your fixture.
• Your schedule: the target date for each phase and the ship date. These dates assume each review comes back within 1 business day. See How your ship date is set.
• What we need from you: the Fixture Configuration Review below, plus anything your interface needs (for example, the pin-mapping worksheet for an Auto TPCB).

Reply to the kickoff email, or use the chat on your order page in Studio, with any questions.

Fixture configuration review

The kickoff email includes your Fixture Configuration Review, a single approval with two parts:

• DUT report: the probe and receptacle chosen for every test point, with the technical data behind each choice. Check that every test point you need is covered and that the probe styles suit your board. It does not include pricing.
• DUT orientation: how your board sits in the cartridge, with views from above and the front. Check that the board sits the way you expect, with the correct side facing the probes.

You can comment on each part separately, then approve the review once.

Long-lead procurement

Some parts take longer to arrive than the design takes to finish, so we order them as soon as you approve the Fixture Configuration Review, once the configuration is confirmed. This is typical of Production fixtures, which are built on sourced bases. Long-lead parts take 4–6 weeks to arrive and are on order while your fixture is designed, so they are in hand when manufacturing starts. There is nothing for you to do in this step.

What happens next

Approve the review, or send your feedback, within 1 business day of receiving the kickoff email. Design work starts when the Fixture Configuration Review is approved: interface design for wired and TPCB orders, or fixture design when interface design is skipped. If you request changes, we update the configuration and send the review again before moving on.