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Spring force

When force acts on an elastic body, i.e. when it is compressed or pulled apart, spring force is created. As soon as this force no longer acts on the elastic body, it returns to its initial position, the home position.

In our products, this elastic body is a spring which is one of the three components that make up standard test probes. The spring force selection depends on the application of the probe. It should always be selected to guarantee secure contact and good penetration of impurities on the contact surface, but without causing damage to the DUT. The following rule of thumb applies: select the spring force as low as possible and as high as necessary.

It should be noted that with the same spring force, for example, a pointed tip style penetrate deeper than a crown tip styles with four contact points. Depending on the DUT and test conditions, it may be necessary to try out several tip styles and spring forces so that an optimum combination can be found.

For test fixtures, especially for vacuum test fixtures, the sum of the spring forces of all test probes installed must also be taken into account to ensure trouble-free closing and contacting of the fixture.