Pre-Compliance Testing
Pre-compliance testing quite literally means ‘testing before compliance testing’. Many test houses offer this service, and you may ask yourself – do I need to do this? In this article we discuss the importance of pre-compliance testing, whether it is carried out by a test house or by an organisation like Cubik EPS.
In our experience, pre-compliance EMC and pre-compliance safety testing can greatly improve the likelihood of your product passing first time. These areas are likely to require the services of a test house for formal testing, and at around £1,500 per day, costs can accumulate very quickly. Especially if a product fails and requires retest.
In addition, debug of EMC and safety issues at a test lab is often difficult. Whilst they usually have a reasonable selection of tools and facilities, they are predominantly equipped for compliance tests and the environment can make it tricky to carry out modification on sub-miniature electronics.
Cubik EPS has lab facilities with both compliance test and rework capabilities and is an ideal environment for debugging. Many of our in-house test facilities have been compared to and measured against UKAS accredited labs, so we can be confident in the measurements that we take. In addition, we have extensive stocks of components and good quality lab facilities for repair and rework.
EMC test bench at Cubik EPS
Extensive range of Wurth EMC problem solving components
Cubik semi-anechoic chamber
Our in-house pre-compliance testing capabilities cover the following:
EMC:
- Radiated emissions
- Radiated immunity
- Electrostatic discharge
- Conducted emissions
- Conducted immunity
- Power frequency magnetic fields
- AC / DC / signal power bursts
- AC / DC / signal power surge
- Voltage dips
- Short power interruptions
- Power harmonics and flicker
Safety:
- Earthing strategy
- Hot wire / glow wire test
- Dielectric strength test
- Safety critical component analysis
- Impact testing
- Thermal cycling tests
- Pin test / capacitance discharge tests
Where does Cubik EPS fit in?
Cubik EPS has been through this process many times with many products. As well as our in-house pre-compliance test capability, which can de-risk this process, we can help with the production of the documentation that must be presented with the device for test. We have the experience to assist with debug of failures and may be able to suggest simple fixes which can be implemented before your product reaches the test house.
Pre-compliance test take-away:
There are a couple of simple tests that can be carried out away from a test lab to look at radiated emissions.
Grab an old AM / FM radio with an analogue tuner.
Set the radio to AM and detune it so you can only hear background noise. Then turn on your product – does the tone of the radio change? If you tune a station and then turn on your product, does the radio signal change? Repeat this process for FM.
Dial your answerphone on your mobile. With the phone on the call, hold it close to your product and move it around. Does the function of your product get disrupted at all? Check all the faces and hold the phone at various angles to the product.
Regarding safety, can you get a finger through any holes in the enclosure and touch anything inside? Can you touch any live terminals through a hole in the enclosure using a 100mm long, 3mm screwdriver?
What happens if you drop your product from 1m onto concrete?
