PRODUCT RELIABILITY & ACCELERATED TESTING
Product reliability testing (PRT) is the process of testing a product to such a degree that its latent weaknesses and potential failure modes are uncovered. Failures found during PRT allow engineers to make design changes to a product before it enters the marketplace, thereby avoiding cost-prohibitive recalls or field issues.
At a glance capabilities & applications
Combined Temperature & Vibration
Both temperature and vibration environments simultaneously
Constant Acceleration
Performed to verify that products or components will operate during exposure to steady state inertia loads
Shock Testing
Evaluate whether items can withstand high G force, short duration impulse loads
Vibration Testing
Sinusoidal, Random & Mixed Mode vibration tests to evaluate products durability & expose weaknesses.
Temperature & Humidity
High and low temperature cycling to create accelerated thermal fatigue of solder joints, seals, & connections
Salt Fog
Determine the corrosion resistance of paints, finishes and electrical connections
Thermal Shock Testing
Temperature shock testing, exposes products to alternating cold and hot temperature cycles
HALT Testing: Highly Accelerated Life Testing
Intensive method used to expose design and process weaknesses, allowing you to improve them prior to product launch
Accelerated Life Cycle Testing
Reduce test time from weeks to days while still achieving satisfactory results saving both time and money
Test Standards
A partial list of test
standards we can
help you with
Electrical Connector/Cable Testing
Cables & connectors are evaluated for use in vibration, shock and
climatic environments
Package Testing
Test the durability of packaged products in their shipping containers
SupliChainPRO capabilities
SupliChainPRO Capabilities & Services available
Temperature & Vibration
When products normally experience both temperature and vibration environments simultaneously, it is important to combine these environments during testing because some failure modes will only occur when these stresses are combined. Combine temperature and vibration testing on many types of products including those that are used in outer space, missiles, cars, trucks, and military vehicles. Test systems can simulate the harshest environments. Combined temperature and vibration testing is used for product qualification testing, design verification testing and durability testing.
Equipment Capabilities:
Equipment can perform fast rates of temperature change simultaneously with high levels of vibration.
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Combined shock or sinusoidal, random, mixed mode vibration and temperature
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Temperatures range from -80°C to +200°C (-112°F to +392°F)
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Temperature rate of change up to 20°C/minute.
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Up to 9 cubic feet of interior workspace
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Numerous temperature and vibration data collection channels
Test Specifications:
Some common test standards that require combined temperature and vibration testing are:
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GMW 3172 General Motors Specification for Electrical/Electronic Components – Environmental/Durability
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ISO 16750 Road vehicles — Environmental Conditions and Testing for Electrical and Electronic Equipment
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MIL-STD-810 Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests
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VW8000 Volkswagen General Requirements, Test Conditions, and Tests for Electric and Electronic Components in Motor Vehicles
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Constant Acceleration
Constant Acceleration testing (sometimes just called Acceleration testing) is performed to verify that products or components will operate properly during exposure to steady state inertia loads such as would be experienced in aircraft, missiles, etc. Large Centrifuge for this type of testing with an 8 Foot Diameter Arm. We have performed many acceleration tests on products used in military, aircraft, helicopter and aerospace applications.
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Constant acceleration tests can cause different types of failures than those from mechanical shock or vibration. Thus, if your product will experience these types of inertia loads during its lifetime, then it is important to include this type of testing during its qualification testing program. Acceleration tests are also used to verify that materiel does not break apart and become hazardous after exposure to crash inertia loads.
Equipment Capabilities:
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Maximum 100G Force
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Many slip ring lines to monitor operation of product’s power, data transmission and RF transmission
Test Specifications:
Some common acceleration test specifications are:
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IEC 60068-2-7 Acceleration (steady state)
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MIL-STD-202 Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Electronic and Electrical Component Parts, Method 212
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MIL-STD-750 Test Methods for Semiconductor Devices, Method 2006
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MIL-STD-810 Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests, Method 513
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MIL-STD-883 Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Microcircuits, Method 2001
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RTCA DO-160 Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment, Section 7.0
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Shock Testing
Shock testing is performed to evaluate whether items can withstand high G force, short duration impulse loads. In depth experience and technical capability to understand and reproduce the most complicated shock profiles. Tested to the most complex requirements on products that are used in outer space, rockets, missiles, military environments, etc. Numerous Shock Capabilities using Drop Tower and Pneumatic Shock Machines
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Shock Test Specifications:
Some common shock test standards are:
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EIA-364-27 Mechanical Shock (Specified Pulse) Test
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GMW 3172 General Motors Specification for Electrical/Electronic Components – Environmental/Durability
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IEC 60068-2-27 Shock
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IEC 60068-2-31 Rough handling shocks
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MIL-STD-202 Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Electronic and Electrical Component Parts
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MIL-STD-750 Test Methods for Semiconductor Devices
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MIL-STD-810 Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests
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MIL-STD-883 Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Microcircuits
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RTCA DO-160 Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment
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SAE J1455 Recommended Environmental Practices for Electronic Equipment Design in Heavy-Duty Vehicle Applications
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Shock Testing Capabilities:
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Up to 9,000 lbf shock loads using an ED Shaker
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Accelerations of 5,000 G and higher with shock amplifier
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Shock pulse duration range of 0.1 to 140 milliseconds
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Half-Sine, haversine, square or trapezoid, and saw-tooth shock waveforms
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Ability to apply many repetitive shock impulses
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Many high speed data acquisition channels
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Shock Response Spectrum (SRS) Analysis
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Vibration Testing
Vibration testing services can apply many types of vibration loads along 3 axes using multiple Electro-Dynamic Shaker Systems. Experience and technical capability to understand and reproduce the most complicated vibration profiles.
Vibration testing services used in outer space, missiles, cars, trucks, military vehicles/equipment, mdecial environments.
What is Vibration Testing?
The types of vibration testing services conducted by vibration test labs are Sinusoidal, Random and Mixed Mode. All types of vibration tests are used to evaluate products for ruggedness, durability and to expose weaknesses.
Sinusoidal Vibration Testing
The types of Sinusoidal Vibration Testing are Sine Sweep Vibration Testing and Sine Dwell Vibration Testing.
Sine Sweep Vibration Testing traverses between low and high frequencies. The G levels and displacements can be constant or variable. It is useful for identifying resonances by comparing response vibrations of the product to the vibrations on the shaker table. Many test specifications use Sine Sweep Vibration Testing to demonstrate the endurance of the devices under test by requiring many sweeps.
Sine Dwell Vibration Testing involves vibrating at a specific frequency and G level amplitude. Typically, the dwells are performed at resonances found in the product under test. However, the sine dwells can be at the frequencies corresponding to equipment running at specific speeds such as reciprocating compressors or aircraft turbine engines.
Random Vibration Testing
Random Vibration Testing is one of the more common types of vibration testing services performed by vibration test labs. Real world vibrations are usually of the random type. Vibrations from automobiles, aircraft, rockets are all random. A random vibration test can be correlated to a service life if the field vibrations are known. Since random vibration contains all frequencies simultaneously, all product resonances will be excited together which could be worse than exciting them individually as in sine testing.
Mixed Mode Vibration Testing
Mixed Mode Vibration Testing is used for simulating specialized helicopter vibration or vibration from tracked vehicles such as tanks. The three mixed modes of vibration testing are:
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Sine-on-Random (SoR)
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Random-on-Random (RoR)
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Sine-on-Random-on-Random (SoRoR)
Sine-on-Random Vibration Testing consists of superimposing sinusoidal spikes over a random vibration profile. A low level of broad band random vibration is mixed with additional high levels of narrow band random vibrations in Random-on-Random Vibration Testing. Sine-on-Random-on-Random vibration testing contains both sine tones and narrow band random peaks superimposed on broadband random vibration.
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Multiple Electrodynamic Shaker Systems with slip tables for 3 axis testing, up to 3,000 Hz frequency range, peak accelerations greater than 100g's.
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We are able to control from multiple accelerometer channels. High-speed data acquisition channels available to measure product response.
Temperature & Humidity
DES can perform Temperature & Humidity, High Temperature, Low Temperature and Temperature Cycle Testing. Humidity testing will accelerate and expose corrosion problems in your product. High Temperature and Low Temperature testing are meant to test the durability of your product for long term storage or operation in these environments. Temperature cycling between high and low temperatures will create accelerated thermal fatigue of solder joints, seals, and connections in your product.
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Equipment Capabilities:
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Multiple temperature & humidity test chambers
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Temperature range from -70°C to +180°C (-95°F to +356°F)
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Oven capable of +400°C (750°F)
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Temperature rate of change up to 20°C/minute
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Low and high humidity ranges from 10°C & 10% to 85°C & 98%
Salt Fog
Salt Fog Testing is used to determine the corrosion resistance of paints, finishes and electrical connections.
Typical tests include ASTM B117, MIL-STD-202, MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-883, RTCA/DO-160 and Telcordia.
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Equipment Capabilities:
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Controlled temperature, fog rate, salt concentrations, pH, etc.
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Chamber has 30 cubic feet of internal space
Thermal Shock
Thermal shock testing, also called temperature shock testing, exposes products to alternating cold and hot temperature cycles. Thermal shock testing is used to evaluate whether items can withstand sudden changes in temperature of the surrounding atmosphere without experiencing physical damage or degradation in performance.
Equipment with single or multiple chambers may be used to perform Air to Air Thermal Shock Testing.
Typically, a test chamber with two compartments is used. One compartment is for hot temperature and the other is for cold temperature. Products to be tested are placed in a carriage. The carriage shuttles between the hot and cold compartments within seconds exposing the test item to rapid temperature changes. For large specimens, a single compartment chamber is used that is capable of performing rapid temperature changes.
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The proper dwell time at each temperature extreme must be considered. In general, the time must be long enough to allow the part to equilibrate to the air temperature. Larger and heavier parts with a higher thermal mass will therefore need longer dwell times than lighter and smaller parts with less thermal mass.
Typical thermal shock test specifications include:
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MIL-STD-202, Method 107, Thermal Shock
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MIL-STD-810, Method 503, Temperature Shock
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MIL-STD-883, Method 1010, Temperature Cycling
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JESD22-A104, Temperature Cycling
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Typical failures caused by thermal shock testing are:
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Cracked solder joints
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Deformation or fracture of components
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Cracking of surface coatings
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Leaking through seals
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Failure of insulation protection
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Equipment Capabilities:
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Temperature range from -73°C to +200°C (-100°F to +400°F)
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Dual compartment chamber with moving carriage to shuttle between hot and cold chambers. Transfer between hot and cold chambers completed in seconds
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Single compartment chamber with rapid transition rates for large specimens
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Ability to perform one to thousands of repetitive cycles
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Many thermocouple channels available to measure product response
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HALT
Product reliability is essential to success in today's competitive global market. Highly accelerated life testing (HALT) is an intensive method used to expose design and process weaknesses, allowing you to improve them prior to product launch. Because of its accelerated nature, HALT testing is faster, less expensive, and more accurate than traditional testing techniques.
HALT is a proven process used to lower product development and manufacturing costs, compress time to market, reduce warranty costs, improve customer satisfaction, gain market share, and increase profits.
Companies have reported savings in the millions after using HALT. The test can accelerate a product's aging process from actual months into test minutes, much faster than traditional testing.
HALT testing is designed to help you discover weaknesses in your product during the design stage. Combined vibration, temperature and electrical stress variables are typically used during a HALT. During the test, stress levels are increased rapidly to induce failures and uncover fault points. Additional stresses such as internal fluid pressure can also applied to simulate extreme real world use. By using many different loads and combinations of loads, we can precipitate failures in our test chambers uncovering design or manufacturing process flaws before they reach your customer.
HALT is a qualitative test—the goal is to expose design weaknesses. The HALT will not demonstrate a service life or a mean time between failures (MTBF). Other reliability methods may be a better fit to predict an MTBF or service life. Once a weakness is exposed by the test design or engineering solutions can be found to remedy the flaw.
We have a variety of test equipment and chambers for use with a range of products.
While HALT testing was originally conceived for the aerospace industry, we now perform the test on a wide range of aerospace, commercial, medical, and military products.
DES has Multiple HALT Chambers that Can Apply:
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Temperatures ranging from -100°C to +200°C (-148°F to +392°F).
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Temperatures that can be raised or lowered up to 60°C (140°F) per minute.
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Vibration input levels up to 60 Grms and with six degrees of freedom.
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Additional loads, such as electrical, fluid pressure, and more, that can be applied simultaneously with temperature and vibration stresses.
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Why Choose DES for HALT Testing?
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We have a high level of expertise in HALT/HASS methods.
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We have performed extensive HALT testing on many types of products.
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We have experience performing HALT from the circuit board level to the complex system level.
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We can advise you on the appropriate HALT process for your product.
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We have a wide range existing fixtures that we use at no charge our customers.
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We are also experts at designing and fabricating custom fixtures for complex tests.
Quick Facts About HALT Testing
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The purpose of HALT testing is to find weaknesses in products. By applying stresses to a product, we can determine an item’s destruct limit, and give you the information you need to make your product more durable.
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During HALT testing, the stresses are increased until the product fails.
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The testing process usually takes about 3-5 days.
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Our HALT testing procedure is divided into 5 stages: temperature step stresses, temperature ramps, vibration step stresses, combined temperature/vibration stresses, and temperature destruct limits.
ALT
Under normal conditions it may take years to gather failure data on the life cycle of new products. Through accelerated life testing the overall time to failure can be reduced to weeks by increasing the frequency of the field loads and by removing insignificant stress components.
In addition, life cycle testing on a product can be reduced or accelerated dramatically by increasing the stress levels to higher than normal. Putting a product through Accelerated Life Testing can reduce test time from weeks to days while still achieving satisfactory results saving both time and money.
We have the knowledge and experience to develop a custom reliability test plan, accelerate test time, build a custom test setup, run the test, and analyze results.
What are the different Accelerated Life Tests that we can perform?
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Qualitative Accelerated Life Testing
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Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing (QALT)
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Accelerated Aging or Shelf-Life Testing
Qualitative Accelerated Life Testing
Qualitative Accelerated Life Tests such as HALT do not demonstrate a service life or a mean time between failure (MTBF). They use a combined environment of extreme stresses to quickly expose a product's design and manufacturing weaknesses. The stresses start at normal levels and then increase until failures are found, or material limits are reached. After the weaknesses are exposed during testing, engineers can improve the design to make their products more reliable. Perform Qualitative Accelerated Life Testing on a wide range of aerospace, commercial, medical, and military products.
Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing
Quantitative Accelerated Life Tests, sometimes called (QALT), are meant to demonstrate a service life or MTBF. Typically, a custom test plan is developed to determine what stresses to use and what stress levels to apply. This is based upon the product’s application and the types of stresses it will see in the field. It is preferred to run QALT at accelerated stress levels to reduce test time. We recommend performing HALT prior to QALT to determine how high the stress levels can be accelerated before creating unrealistic failure modes. It is also desired to continue QALT until some failures occur which make the reliability calculations more accurate. After the QALT test, the results are analyzed and a service life or MTBF is estimated. DES has developed test plans, built custom test setups and performed QALT on aerospace, commercial, medical, and military products.
Accelerated Aging or Shelf-Life Testing
We can perform Accelerated Aging to ASTM F1980: Accelerated Aging of Sterile Barrier Systems and Medical Devices. Aging tests using ASTM F1980 are typically performed on medical products or items where an acceptable shelf life needs to be determined. Accelerated aging or shelf-life testing is performed in a chamber at elevated temperature typically with controlled humidity. By testing items at more extreme conditions than they will normally experience, you can evaluate how they will age under normal conditions in a reduced amount of time. After the aging test is completed, the products are evaluated for degradation.
The aging test time in ASTM F1980 is determined by
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Choosing an accelerated test temperature
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Calculating an Accelerated Aging Factor (AAF)
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Computing the aging test duration by dividing the normal storage duration by the AAF.
Test Standards
ASTM - The American Society of Testing Materials.
DES has completed testing to numerous ASTM standards including package testing, ultra-violet testing and salt spray (fog) testing.
EIA-364 - Test Procedures for Electrical Connectors and Sockets
We are experts in testing to EIA-364 Electrical Connector Performance Test Standards including mating/un-mating force, shock, vibration, temperature, humidity, low level contact resistance, dielectric withstanding voltage, insulation resistance.
IEC 60068-2 - Environmental Testing
DES has performed numerous environmental tests to IEC 60068-2 International Standards on electronic products and components to see if they will survive under extreme conditions of cold and heat, vibration, shock, altitude, etc.
ISTA - International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) Packing Testing
Let DES determine if your packaging is sufficient to withstand harsh shipping conditions by completing ISTA testing. Some of the packaged products that we evaluated were for commercial, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries.
JESD22 - Test Standards for Microelectronics
We have the experience and capability for testing electrical components to JEDS22 standards including HAST, temperature cycling, thermal shock, vibration, mechanical shock, etc.
MIL-STD-202 - Electronic and Electrical Component Parts
DES has completed many tests to MIL-STD-202 methods including temperature, vibration, mechanical shock, dielectric withstanding voltage, insulation resistance.
MIL-STD-331 - Fuze and Fuze Components, Environmental and Performance Tests
We have performed numerous specialized tests for military fuzes under MIL-STD-331.
MIL-STD-810 - Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests
DES has the experience and qualifications to perform testing to many of the MIL-STD-810 test methods including hot and cold temperature, low pressure (altitude), solar radiation, humidity, salt fog, acceleration, vibration, shock, pyroshock, gunfire shock, combined temperature-humidity-altitude.
MIL-STD-883 – Microcircuits
MIL-STD-883 is a military standard for electronic components. We have the capability and experience for testing to many of the MIL-STD-883 methods including altitude, insulation resistance, moisture resistance, salt corrosion, thermal shock, mechanical shock, vibration.
RTCA/DO-160 - Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment
We have the expertise and qualifications to test products used in aircraft and helicopters according to RTCA/DO-160. We have completed many tests including temperature and altitude, temperature variation, humidity, operational shock and crash safety, vibration, salt spray.
SAE J1455 - Environmental Practices for Electronic Equipment Design in Heavy-Duty Vehicles
DES has tested many electronic products used in cars, trucks, and buses to SAE J1455. Some of the tests that we have performed include temperature, humidity, salt spray atmosphere, mechanical vibration and mechanical shock.
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Cable Testing
Electrical connectors and cables are an integral part of all electronic products. They will have to withstand severe stresses in many applications such as automotive, aerospace, military, medical and telecom. Not only are broken solder joints or crimped leads an issue, but intermittent discontinuities during normal usage could cause a system fault.
Other failures such as cracking, wear, and fretting fatigue can occur. It is essential that the mechanical and electrical properties of your cables and connectors are evaluated for use in vibration, shock and climatic environments.
We have the experience and equipment to perform accurate, repeatable testing of cables and connectors in our controlled, world class accredited lab.
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Some of the electrical connector and cable test methods that we can perform in-house include:
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Environmental & Climatic Testing
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Altitude (Pressure)
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Salt Spray (Fog)
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Temperature and Humidity
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Thermal Aging and Temperature Life
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Temperature Cycling and Thermal Shock
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Sine and Random Vibration Testing
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Mechanical Shock Testing
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Mechanical Testing
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Connector Mating/Un-mating Force
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Contact Retention, Insertion/Removal Forces
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Life Cycle Testing
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Cable Pulling and Flexing
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Crimp Tensile Strength
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Terminal Pull Strength
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Cable Flexing
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Electrical Testing
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Dielectric Withstand
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Continuity
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Low Level Contact Resistance (LLCR)
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Insulation Resistance
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Discontinuity/Event Detection
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Typical Electrical Connector Test Standards
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EIA-364 - Electrical Connector Performance Test Standards
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GMW 3191 – Automotive Connector Test and Validation Specification
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IEC 60512 - Connectors For Electrical And Electronic Equipment - Tests And Measurements
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MIL-STD-1344A – Military Standard, Test Methods For Electrical Connectors
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SAE USCAR2 - Performance Specification For Automotive Electrical Connector Systems
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SAE USCAR21 - Performance Specification For Cable-To-Terminal Electrical Crimps
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Typical Cable Test Standards
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IEC 60068-2 - Environmental Testing
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MIL-STD-810 - Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests
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RTCA/DO-160 - Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment
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Package Testing
Package testing is performed to test the durability of packaged products in their shipping containers. Both the shipping container and the effectiveness of the packing are being tested.
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Why perform package testing?
The world has changed to on-line ordering and direct shipping. To be successful, you must be able to consistently ship your products to your customers without damage. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the ruggedness and effectiveness of your package design through package testing. By reducing product damage during shipping, you can:
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increase profits,
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reduce losses by not having to repeat ship products multiple times,
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save staff time and company resources by having less claims,
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increase sales by obtaining repeat orders from satisfied customers.
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What are the different Package Testing Standards that we can perform?
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ASTM Package Testing: Typical ASTM package test specifications are ASTM D4169 and D7386. These specifications are designed around a distribution environment that contain multiple events such as drops, vibration, compression loading, etc.
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ASTM Vibration Testing: These specifications have protocols for vibration testing only. The typical ASTM vibration test specifications are ASTM D999, ASTM D3580 and ASTM D4728.
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ASTM Environmental Package Tests: Typical test specifications are ASTM D4332, ASTM D6653, and ASTM F1980. ASTM D4332 covers temperature and humidity conditioning. ASTM D6653 is for altitude testing. ASTM F1980 is a guide for accelerated aging.
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ISTA Package Testing: ISTA has many different package test procedures. They are designed around distribution environments that contain multiple events such as drops, vibration, compression loading, etc.
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Package Testing Equipment Capabilities Include:
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Random or sinusoidal vibration
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Drop testing
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Package compression testing
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Environmental conditioning (temperature, humidity)
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Altitude testing
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Why Choose SupliChainPRO for Tooling & Moulding
ALWAYS UNBIASED & IMPARTIAL
We are not tied to any one or group of suppliers or manufacturers, so that means we always provide the best solution to you so you can hit your KPI's
QUICK & CLEAR
RESPONSE TIME
We take an agile & transparent approach. using the SCRUM methodology adopting
'fail-fast' approach to ensure we hit your KPI's
CONSTANTLY EVOLVING CAPABILITIES
We are constantly working on new technology development & bringing on new manufacting capabilities to ensure we can hit your KPI's
IP & CONFIDENTIALITY
OUR PRIORITY
We know how to manage highly confidential & IP sensistive project & can deliver a secure supply chain to ensure you can
hit your KPI's
Find out more about SupliChainPRO Capabilities
Rapid Parts &
Tooling
Rapid prototyping for low volume
Single, double & tripple shot tools
Clean room capabilities (10k)
10-1000 T machines
Metal Fabrication &
Stamping
Range of Capabilities to Integrate Sheet Metal, Plastic & Electronic Components with Stamped Parts (Progressive & Regular)
Contract
Manufacturing
High competence in NPI, Engineering Build Management, Product and System Compliance and Quality Management System.
PCB/A, SMT
Testing & Assembly
PCB assembly lines with the ability the do rigid PCB assembly, flex PCB assembly, through-hole PCB assembly, cable harness assembly, functional test & final box build.
Robotics, Ai &
Automation
Robotics & automated processes, to lower cost in the long run and yield better margins to have effective planning, smarter manufacturing and monitoring of the factory.
End-To-End Product Development
From design to manufacturing, through the process of DFM help reduce costs, number of parts, cycle time and make products easier to build and lower cost to assemble.
Simulation & Modeling
Virtually model a process in detail without having to spend the time, resources, or capital to physically test that design in a real-world environment.
Advanced Precision Assembly
High precision assembly of optical parts & sub-assemblies. High tolerance control of gluing dispensing systems for wearables & high complex assemblies.
