------------- Original Text From: "Chase Wurz" <[email protected]>, on 7/21/98 8:46 AM: To: Cc:
Q: I have similar question. Those Accelerated Stress Tests (AST) are significantly important "for the satellite and space shuttle designers". Are they of the same importance to those electronic systems which have already received a lot of feedback from customers? In order to improve the reliability we should pay more attentions to the failure reports from customers. A: Most of our customers perform HALT on a new product in a beta phase. The idea of HALT is to find and correct potential problems in the design phase before it reaches your customer. Keep in mind that HALT is used on a all types of products, not just military and aerospace. In the Santa Clara lab we mostly test networking, telecommunications, and computer peripherals products. Q: In a related area of compliance world, have any of you had experience subjecting your prototypes to HALT testing, then your production units to HASS testing (such as by QualMark)?? I'm wondering if this sort of "accelerated life" testing is something out there for the satellite and space shuttle designers, rather than for ITE and Telecom equipment manufacturers. For those that did do some of this, did you break the bank and use 6 months of your life for this testing, or was it relatively quick and painless (yeah, right)? A: On average, a HALT test is 2 - 5 days depending on the complexity of the system. A power supply may take 2 days. A networking switch may take 5 days. If you have other questions or would like more information, please let me know. Best regards, Chase Wurz. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chase Wurz QualMark, Inc - A.R.T.C. Sales Engineer 2225 Martin Avenue, Suite K Santa Clara, CA. 95050 [email protected] phone: (408) 986-8154 fax: (408) 654-0497
