With modern microelectronics becoming increasingly complex and miniaturised, it is becoming far more challenging to maintain, repair, or modify electronic devices located out in the field.
Things were far simpler back when wire-wrapped pins provided technicians with easily accessible locations with which to attach test probes or alligator clips to check for short circuits or intermittent current and to perform on-site calibrations and adjustments.
Modern electronics manufacturing, and surface mount technology (SMT) in particular, have reduced access to circuitry significantly, relying more on use automatic testing equipment (ATE), which is ideal for high volume manufacturing of consumer grade devices, but cannot be deployed out in the field, thus creating the market for PCB test points.
