6 Aug
2015
6 Aug
'15
8:25 p.m.
It could also be a chip used to test an auto-insertion
machine or wave
solder machine. If memory serves, they'll use correctly pinned but "fake"
parts to test those processes before moving to the more expensive real
thing.
Yes, there were a few companies that made dummy chips for exactly that
reason. These days, the robots are much better, so I doubt the
practice of using dummy chips still exists.
--
Will