Solve Product Failure Issues Before They Happen.

Customers are increasingly looking at the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a product, not just its initial purchase price. Reliability testing equipment is a manufacturer's most powerful tool for reducing that TCO for their customers, which becomes a major competitive advantage. By performing rigorous testing, a manufacturer can produce a more durable product that has fewer field failures, requires less maintenance, and has a longer operational life. For the end customer, this means less downtime, lower repair costs, and a better overall experience. This reputation for durability and low TCO builds immense brand loyalty. The upfront investment in reliability testing equipment pays for itself by creating a premium product that customers are willing to pay for and stick with for the long term, ultimately leading to greater market share and profitability.

Developing a reliability test plan is the first step before using your reliability testing equipment. The process begins by defining the product's expected lifecycle and use environments. Where in the world will it be used? What temperatures will it see? How will it be transported? Next, identify the potential failure modes based on past experience and engineering analysis (FMEA). With this information, you can select the appropriate tests. For example, if solder joint fatigue is a concern, a rapid thermal cycling test is chosen. If shipping damage is a risk, a vibration and drop test is necessary. Finally, you determine the test parameters, such as the temperature range, number of cycles, and vibration profile, often referencing industry standards. This plan provides the roadmap for using your reliability testing equipment to effectively validate the product's durability.

Reliability testing equipment is a family of machines designed to simulate a wide range of real-world and accelerated stresses. The most prominent category is environmental testing equipment, which includes temperature and humidity chambers, thermal shock chambers, rapid rate temperature chambers, and salt spray chambers for corrosion tests. The second major category is mechanical testing equipment, which assesses physical durability. This includes universal testing machines for tensile and compression strength, vibration test systems (shakers) to simulate transport and operational vibration, and shock testing machines. For specific industries like electronics, this also includes specialized tools like push-pull bond testers. A comprehensive reliability lab, like one equipped by WBE, will have a mix of these systems to get a complete picture of a product's long-term durability.

Using reliability testing equipment effectively often means testing to established industry standards to ensure consistency and comparability. For the electronics industry, standards from JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council) are crucial, covering everything from temperature cycling (JESD22-A104) to highly accelerated stress testing (JESD22-A110). The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) provides broad standards for environmental testing, such as the IEC 60068 series. For military and aerospace applications, MIL-STD-810 is the comprehensive standard for environmental engineering considerations and laboratory tests, covering a vast range of stresses. Automotive companies often use ISO standards, like ISO 16750, which details environmental testing for electrical and electronic equipment in road vehicles. WBE designs its reliability testing equipment to be fully capable of executing the test profiles required by these and many other international standards.