How do I design a screening test to catch workmanship defects in RF cable assemblies?

Designing a screening test to catch workmanship defects in RF cable assemblies applies a series of non-destructive tests to each cable assembly during production to identify defective units before shipment. Common workmanship defects in RF cable assemblies include: poor solder joints (cold solder, insufficient solder, or solder bridges at the connector-to-cable interface), inadequate crimp (loose or over-crimped center conductor or shield termination), damaged cable (kinked, over-bent, or crushed cable), incorrect cable length, and contamination (flux residue, debris inside connectors). The recommended screening test sequence: visual inspection (inspect the connector solder joints, shield termination, strain relief, and cable jacket for: solder quality, connector alignment, cable damage, and overall workmanship; use a 10-30× stereo microscope for solder joint inspection), continuity and short test (verify DC continuity between the center conductors and between the shields; verify no short circuit between center conductor and shield; a simple pass/fail test with a multimeter or automated tester), VSWR/return loss test (measure the return loss (or VSWR) at both connectors across the operating frequency range using a VNA or dedicated cable tester; acceptance criterion: return loss greater than 20 dB (VSWR less than 1.22) for general-purpose assemblies; greater than 26 dB (VSWR less than 1.10) for precision assemblies), insertion loss test (measure the insertion loss at the specified frequencies; compare to the specification (cable loss + connector loss); excessive loss indicates: poor connector termination, damaged cable, or incorrect cable used), and phase stability test (flex the cable through the specified bend radius 10-20 times while monitoring phase on the VNA; phase deviation exceeding the specification indicates: unstable termination or damaged cable).