Feature of the Month: October 2006

Temperature Humidity Testing

ETS is able to provide an extensive range of temperature/humidity chambers in which your products can go through the most rigorous of tests. Sometimes it may be necessary to test your products in a walk in chamber so that you have access to your products while testing or maybe a small bench top chamber is all that is required whatever the chamber ETS can supply.

Temperature or Temperature / Humidity testing determines how components, subsystems and complete systems behave in severe environments that involve elevated temperature and high fluctuating relative humidity. The tests can be static with constant temperature and humidity , they can involve the cycling of both, they can be temperature-humidity-bias tests where the moisture is used to induce a failure in an electrical device, or they can be some combination of all of these.

Temperature/Humidity related failure can cause serious down time for your product. Among other things temp/humidity test study the effects of climatic changes on electronic such as failure due to parameter shifts, mechanical failures) due to rapid water or frost formation), optical failures (fogging) water tightness (package) failures, material degradation (epoxy coatings, etc) and much more. Temp/humidity tests are a critical component of a complete qualification program. Many electrical components, while inexpensive to purchase may be expensive to replace. For example an LCD on an oil exploration device or a marine instrument can cause serious down time costs in a temperature/humidity related failure.

Temperature and humidity combined testing extends to complete systems and finished products that extend beyond electronic components: copiers, computers, automobiles, satellites and even parachutes require temperature/humidity testing.

Humidity Testing

Whenever products and materials spend extended periods of time in a humid environment various types of breakdowns can be expected. Coatings can fail, electronics and optical equipment degrade and fuels break down. The lists of possible humidity failures are extensive. Humidity chambers can test your product for humidity effects in the following categories:

While many of the test items may be small (eg material samples optical devices) at times an entire assembly or a complete product need testing. The military may want to test a missile that is often stored in a humid environment or a car manufacturer will test a vehicle that may operate in the tropics.

ETS chambers provide economical long term testing of components with a wide selection of humidity temperature chambers for hire or a full range of new chambers to meet all your environmental needs. Contact Sharon Leake for further details.