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We have a great deal of experience in using ‘HALT’ stress screening, and other reliability enhancement techniques, to significantly improve product reliability via simple, inexpensive and minor design changes.
One example relates to a new industrial control product that was to be a replacement for an earlier model that had reliability problems.
The application demanded high levels of reliability, and there was concern that the new product may not be sufficiently better than its predecessor.
Our experience includes
- Reviewing the design
- Looking at an early prototype and identifying areas for improvement, mostly in the area of cooling and mechanical fixings
- Devising and managing the process of Highly Accelerated Life Testing (‘HALT’; a type of stress screening that helps you to improve the design’s robustness)
- Through this process, identifying weaknesses in the ventilation system and mechanical support within the unit and devising easy and inexpensive improvements
- Changing the ventilation system, providing mechanical support for some of the components and cables, and introducing specific torque settings and anti-vibration measures to the fixings
- Re-testing of the revised prototypes to prove their much higher robustness to stress; the failures we had previously seen at high mechanical shock levels, and at combined temperature extremes and modest shock, could no longer be induced, and by using this technique it would mean greater reliability under normal conditions of use.
The new design was introduced into volume production and showed a five-fold improvement in reliability compared with its predecessor.
Reliability improvement
