The Complete Spectrum of Durability and Accelerated Life Testing.

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.

When building a new reliability lab, several key pieces of reliability testing equipment form the foundation. First and foremost is a versatile environmental test chamber for temperature and humidity cycling, which is the workhorse for most reliability testing. For electronics and other products susceptible to thermal fatigue, a rapid rate temperature exchange chamber or a thermal shock chamber is the next critical addition. To assess durability against physical stresses, a vibration test system (shaker) is essential, especially for products that will be shipped or used in mobile applications. A universal testing machine (UTM) is also a fundamental tool for characterizing the strength of the materials being used in the product. Depending on the product, this core set can be expanded with more specialized equipment like salt spray chambers or dust testers. WBE can act as a consultant to help you specify and acquire this foundational set of reliability testing equipment.

In a modern reliability lab, the software that controls the reliability testing equipment and manages the resulting data is just as important as the hardware itself. Advanced control software, like that offered by WBE, allows engineers to easily program complex, multi-step test profiles and monitor the equipment's status remotely. This improves lab efficiency and ensures tests are run accurately and repeatably. Just as critically, the ability to centralize and analyze test data is key. Modern lab management software can collect data from various pieces of reliability testing equipment, track the status of different test projects, and generate comprehensive reports. This data-driven approach allows managers to spot trends, compare the reliability of different design iterations, and maintain a complete, auditable history of a product's validation process, turning raw test results into valuable business intelligence.

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.