Altitude Testing: Low Pressure Vacuum Chamber
Altitude (Low Pressure) Testing makes use of a vacuum chamber to simulate the effects of high altitude conditions. The pressure inside the altitude chamber can be reduced to correspond to the air pressure at a specific altitude. Products can be placed inside the altitude chamber and tested to determine if they will still function after exposure to a given duration at a specified altitude. Components sealed with internal fluid such as batteries or capacitors may fail or leak during altitude testing because an internal pressure results at rising altitudes as the external pressure is reduced. It is also possible to power a product during…
Thermal Shock Testing – Temperature Cycling
Thermal shock testing also called temperature shock testing or temperature cycling exposes products to alternating low and high air temperatures to accelerate failures caused by repeated temperature variations during normal use conditions. The transition between temperature extremes occurs very rapidly during thermal shock testing, greater than 15 °C per minute. Alternatively, temperature cycle testing uses slower rates of change between high and low temperatures. The failure acceleration rate for thermal shock testing is determined by the Coffin-Manson equation as previously discussed in DES’s blog article Temperature Cycling Testing: Coffin-Manson Equation. Equipment with single or multiple chambers may be used to perform…
DES Increases Combined Temperature & Vibration Testing Capabilities
DES added another larger AGREE Chamber to perform Combined Temperature and Vibration Testing. This gives DES additional capability to perform combined environmental testing on larger products. DES has performed Combined Temperature and Vibration Testing on car engine sensors, helicopter sensors and outdoor heavy industrial products. Some of the test specifications include MIL-STD-810 and General Motors GMW 3172. The Equipment Capabilities Are: Combined shock or sinusoidal, random, mixed mode vibration and temperature Temperature range from -80°C to +180°C (-112°F to +356°F) Temperature rate of change up to 20°C/minute 9 cubic feet interior work space, cvo To learn more about our combined…
Recent Testing Projects
We had many interesting test projects at Delserro Engineering Solutions this past month: We completed a Pyroshock test on our Mechanical Impact Pyroshock Simulator (MIPS) on equipment that will fly into outer space. On the other end of the altitude spectrum, we completed environmental testing of components that will be used in submarines to MIL-E-917. MIL-E-917 is a military specification for Naval shipboard electric power equipment. In the middle of the altitude range, we performed combined temperature and vibration testing on sensors that will be used in automobile engines to specification GMW 3172. GMW 3172 is a General Motors Specification…
Lead Free Solder Reliability Issues and Test Methods
This article discusses the reliability challenges of switching over to lead-free solder and the test methods used to demonstrate reliability, written by Gary Delserro and published in Evaluation Engineering Magazine. Click on the link to download the article in PDF, Lead Free Solder Reliability Issues & Test Methods. Environmentally friendly is a term rapidly invading the electronics industry. The electronic industry will be facing great challenges over the next few years as the solder used in electronic products is migrating toward lead-free. This is being driven by mandates in Europe such as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restrictions of…