The test works on the bench. Fault coverage is where you want it, the diagnostics resolve to the pin, and the board debug is finished. Now it has to run on the line — by an operator, on every unit, possibly at a contract manufacturer two time zones away — and the question nobody scoped is what actually gets deployed. The answer is not “the development seat.” Moving a JTAG boundary scan test into production is a licensing and integration decision, and getting it right costs a few thousand dollars per station instead of a full development license per station. Here is how the handoff works with onTAP, and how to pick the right run-time for your line.
A Development License Is Not a Production License
The most expensive mistake in board test deployment is buying development seats for stations that will never develop anything. The onTAP Development Portable License lists at $8,580.00 and carries the whole toolkit: automatic test generation, netlist readers, BSDL syntax checking, cluster test scripting for non-JTAG components, flash programming, the ProScan waveform debugger, non-JTAG component models, an MTO runner, a USB dual-channel JTAG controller, and a year of technical support. That is exactly what a test engineer needs and roughly none of what a production operator needs.
Production needs one capability: run this test, on this board, and tell me pass or fail with enough diagnostic detail to route the failure. Everything above that line is engineering tooling that also happens to be a way for a released test to get accidentally modified on the floor.
What Actually Moves to the Line
Boundary scan separates development from execution cleanly, and the artifact in between is standard and small:
- SVF files — Serial Vector Format, the compiled test, generated by the FS-7002 onTAP Development License.
- Flash programming files — the images written to flash and configuration devices during the same station pass.
- A run-time license — MTO or DLL, embedded in a USB dongle or in the JTAG controller.
- A JTAG controller — the physical dual-channel link between the PC and the board’s TAP.
That is the deployment package. It is text-based, version-controllable, and reviewable, which matters as much for a quality system as it does for the test. Nothing about the development environment has to be recreated on the floor, and no one on the floor needs the ability to regenerate vectors.
Option 1: onTAP MTO for an Operator-Run Test Station
The onTAP Manufacturing Test Only (MTO) SVF File Runner is the standard answer for a dedicated station where a person loads a board, presses go, and reads a result. It lists at $4,475.00, runs the SVF files produced by the development license along with flash programming files, and includes a USB dual-channel JTAG controller. The license can be embedded in that controller or in a USB dongle, so the station is portable and needs no network.
Three things make it a production tool rather than a stripped-down development tool. It handles ordering and selection of SVF files, so a multi-step sequence — interconnect test, then memory cluster test, then flash program — runs as one operation. It retains pin-level diagnostics, so a failure names the net instead of just failing the board. And access to the development screen is restricted, so a released test cannot be altered in a manufacturing environment. That last point is what turns “we tested it” into a defensible claim.
Option 2: onTAP DLL When You Already Have a Test Executive
Most established lines do not want another standalone application. They have a test executive already — NI LabVIEW or TestStand, or something built in-house — that sequences power-up, functional test, calibration, and reporting, and boundary scan needs to become one more step inside it rather than a separate operator task.
The onTAP Portable DLL lists at $3,250.00 and exists for exactly that. It runs the same SVF and flash programming files from the FS-7002 development license, links directly into third-party test executives, and ships with a USB dual-channel JTAG controller. Flynn Systems provides GUI demo programs in C++ and C# showing how to link the DLL, so the integration starts from working reference code rather than from a header file. The DLL license works with a USB node-locked license, a portable USB license, or an onTAP Network License, and the onTAP Network License Manager provides access across your network when you are running multiple stations.
The practical benefit is a single result stream. Boundary scan pass/fail and pin-level diagnostics land in the same test record as every other measurement, instead of living in a separate log that someone has to correlate later.
MTO or DLL: Which Handoff Fits Your Line
| Situation | Choose |
| Dedicated boundary scan station, operator-run | onTAP MTO |
| Existing LabVIEW or TestStand sequence to extend | onTAP DLL |
| Need signed reports with part number, time stamp, username | onTAP MTO |
| Boundary scan must be one step among many in a fixture | onTAP DLL |
| Multiple networked stations sharing licenses | onTAP DLL with Network License Manager |
| Test must not be editable on the floor | Either — both run compiled SVF only |
Lines running both patterns are common: an MTO station in first-article and rework, the DLL embedded in the high-volume fixture. Both consume the same SVF, so one test development effort feeds both.
Sending the Test to a Contract Manufacturer
Handing a boundary scan test to a CM is the same mechanics with one added requirement: the CM must be able to run the test without being able to change it, and you must be able to trust the result that comes back.
The SVF-plus-run-time model covers both. You keep the development license and the source netlist. The CM receives compiled SVF files, flash images, a run-time license, and a controller. They cannot regenerate vectors, so the test you validated is the test that runs. MTO’s signed reports — carrying part numbers, time stamps, and usernames — give you a traceable record per unit rather than a verbal assurance. Flynn Systems also offers leasing options for onTAP Manufacturing Test licenses, which is worth asking about when a build runs for one quarter rather than one product lifetime.
If the test does not exist yet, that development work does not have to happen in-house either. Our analysis of when to outsource JTAG test vector generation works through the cost comparison, and the SVF file generation service and FS-ATG test vector generation service deliver exactly the artifact this deployment model runs on.
Do Not Change the Controller Between Bench and Floor
A test validated at 15 MHz TCK against one controller and then deployed against different hardware is a debugging session waiting to happen. Both the MTO and the DLL include an onTAP USB dual-channel JTAG controller, which keeps the electrical interface identical from development through production: the same adjustable TCK range, the same VREF auto-sensing behavior, the same dual-channel operation for multi-chain boards. Keep the TCK setting, cabling style, and adaptor consistent with what the test was proven at, and record those settings alongside the SVF as part of the release package.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a full onTAP development license for every production station? No. Development seats generate tests; production stations run them. onTAP MTO at $4,475.00 or the onTAP DLL at $3,250.00 executes the compiled SVF files without the development toolset, so one development license can feed many run-time stations.
Can an operator accidentally modify a released test? Not with MTO. Access to the development screen is restricted specifically so tests cannot be altered in a manufacturing environment. Both MTO and the DLL execute compiled SVF only.
How do I run a boundary scan test from LabVIEW or TestStand? Use the onTAP DLL. It links into third-party test executives to run compiled SVF and flash programming files, and ships with C++ and C# demo programs showing the linkage.
What traceability does a production boundary scan run produce? MTO signs its reports with part numbers, time stamps, and usernames, and retains pin-level diagnostics, so each unit has a record naming the specific nets and pins tested and any that failed.
Does the run-time license need a network connection? No. Both the MTO and DLL licenses can be embedded in the JTAG controller or in a USB dongle for portability. A network license is available separately if you want centralized management across multiple stations.
Get Your Test onto the Line
A boundary scan test that only runs on the engineer’s PC is a coverage number nobody is collecting. The deployment itself is not hard — it is one compiled artifact, one run-time license, and one controller — but the choice between an operator station and a test-executive integration should be made deliberately, before the purchase order rather than after the fixture is built.
Contact Flynn Systems and describe your line, and we will scope the right mix of MTO and DLL licenses for it, or compare configurations directly on the onTAP pricing page and across the full boundary scan products and services line. If you would rather hand off the development side too, the onTAP turnkey test development service builds and debugs the test with you and delivers the SVF your production stations will run. For the coverage side of the decision, see our breakdown of interconnect test, memory cluster test, and flash programming, our comparison of bed-of-nails ICT versus JTAG boundary scan, and the case for raising fault coverage to cut warranty returns.
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