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CAMI Research's new CableEye HVX High Voltage Cable and Harness Test System has undergone a rigorous series of tests at the Littleton, Massachusetts laboratory of Bureau Veritas to confirm our product meets the safety and electromagnetic compatibility standards for the CE Mark. The CE Mark is required on any electronic equipment imported into the European Union. In addition to satisfying requirements for the CE mark, customers using the HVX system can feel secure in knowing that this equipment was thoroughly reviewed and tested by engineers in an independent lab and found to meet all applicable standards.
Safety testing ensures that the design complies with regulations governing 120v/240v AC power distribution inside the equipment to adequately protect operators from electric shock under various operating conditions, and that in the event of a component failure or internal electrical short, the system will automatically shut down by fusing or other means, and will not create a fire hazard. Part of this testing involved striking the equipment with a hammer during operation to simulate a fall, placing it in a 97% relative humidity environment to see if internal shorts were created, checking the Lexan labels applied to the case to be sure they did not burn, measuring leakage current from the DC power supplies, and installing 24 temperature probes inside the equipment to monitor internal temperature during operation.
Because of the hazardous voltages produced by this equipment, the lab required additional testing to ensure that, in the event a short developed on the high voltage board, the system would immediately shut down without creating an electric shock or fire hazard. They accomplished this by intentionally introducing shorts at 10 separate locations on the board during high voltage operation and monitoring the response. Also, because our high voltage board uses a custom-designed transformer to generate the AC test voltage, they needed to disassemble one of these transformers to confirm that the firm who built it allowed adequate spacing and insulation.
Electromagnetic compatibility testing ensures that the HVX tester does not emit interfering levels of electrical noise that might affect other equipment, and that the system will not be adversely affected by environmental electrical noise, conducted electrical noise through the power lines, or electrostatic discharge.
To prove that the system did not emit noise above the allowed limit, the test lab placed it in a sealed room and slowly rotated it in front of a sensitive antenna while it performed a high voltage test. Immunity testing involved focusing a radio beam at the unit, also on a rotating table, while a transmitter swept through a wide range of frequencies as the unit was performing a high voltage test. The unit must run its test to completion without interruption to pass this test.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing posed the greatest risk to the equipment. For this test, the test lab used a special ESD simulator "gun" to apply +/– 4000v discharges to the case, switches, control panel, USB cable, and other places all over the equipment while the HVX performed a test to confirm that the system would not stop functioning given these environmental insults.
The CableEye HVX System consisting of an M3U tester and the HVX module is priced at $6995 for 128 test points and can be expanded to 512 test points with optional expansion units. The system includes software with scripting, one-year warranty, one year of free software upgrades, and one year of free tech support. Existing CableEye users may upgrade their M3U testers by purchasing just the HVX module for $4995. Available from stock.
Keywords: high voltage test, hipot tester, dielectric breakdown test, insulation resistance test, cable tester, harness tester, electronic test equipment, factory automation, wiring tester, continuity tester, resistance tester, CableEye.
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