NTS Invests $700,000 to Expand Environmental and EMI/EMC Testing at Silicon Valley Lab to Keep Up with Demand

August 27, 2020

The Bay Area’s One-Stop Shop for Telecom, Commercial Electronics, Medical, and Automotive Testing Adds New Capacity during Pandemic

ANAHEIM, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AHigherStandard—NTS, the undisputed leader in testing, inspection, and certification solutions in North America, is pleased to announce that its laboratory in Silicon Valley of California, has expanded both its environmental testing and EMI/EMC testing capabilities with a $700,000 investment. The NTS lab secured multiple combination temperature and vibration testing chambers, expanded automotive EMI/EMC testing capability, added a new electro-dynamic shaker, and procured new equipment for testing ingress protection. The new investments are important for increasing the lab’s overall capacity in order to meet customer schedule demands.

The NTS Silicon Valley, custom designed, temp-over-vibe chambers are height adjustable for vibration testing in the X, Y, and Z axis. The new chambers each feature a window that allows visual access during testing. The custom designed and fabricated temperature isolation plates provide separation between the Equipment Under Test and the shaker table mass. With load capacities of 1,500 pounds, temperature ramp rates of 5+ °C per minute, and vibration test frequencies from 5-2000 Hz, this 20,000 lb shaker/ temperature chamber system makes NTS perfectly suited to meet the wide scope of testing requirements in multiple industries.

Combined temperature and vibration testing is commonly needed for many ruggedized automotive, military, and aerospace tests as part of the complete product lifecycle from R&D to Qualification to Manufacturing Acceptance (ESS) testing. This type of testing involves traditional sine or random vibration testing on an electrodynamic or servo-hydraulic shaker while the Equipment Under Test is simultaneously exposed to extreme temperature conditions. For automotive and other industries, standards such as IEC 60068-2-64 for Vibration, broadband random and guidance; the intent of this standard is to subject the Equipment Under Test to random vibration in combination with simulated real life environments where pure vibration tests may not be sufficient.

The expansion comes during a pandemic in which many testing facilities are contracting or closing. “Even during the pandemic, we have had multiple customers in our immediate area require these chambers for their testing, so we are thrilled to provide this key service and investment at a significant time,” said Anuj Kumar, General Manager at NTS Silicon Valley.

Additionally, a new Unholtz-Dickie electro-dynamic shaker was secured for the Silicon Valley laboratory. This shaker boasts a 2.0-inch displacement and 13,000 force pounds with frequencies from 5-2000 Hz. The horizontal slip table is 42” X 42”, and the vertical axis can be utilized with head expanders up to 48” X 48” in size. “We’re excited to use NTS to ensure the integrity of our next generation satellites,” said Will Harden, Operations Manager at Astranis. “This shaker will test the survivability of our satellites during their journey to space. Using a trusted name like NTS with its multi-decade history in environmental and dynamics testing provides assurance in the testing process.”

NTS Silicon Valley now features the needed EMI/EMC components and sub-assemblies to test to all of the following ISO standards.

Radiated & Conducted Emissions CISPR 25
Radiated Immunity, Absorber-Lined Shielded Enclosure – ISO 11452-2
Bulk Current Injection (BCI) ISO 11452-4
Immunity to Magnetic Fields ISO 11452-8
Portable Transmitter ISO 11452-9
Immunity to Conducted Disturbances in Extended Audio Frequency Range, ISO 11452-10
ESD ISO 10605
Conducted Transient Immunity ISO 7637-2; ISO 7637-3

These new capabilities coupled with the environmental testing capabilities provide electric vehicle manufacturers a one-stop shop for all their automotive sub-assembly testing needs.

With the newly added IPX1-2 and IP6-6K test capabilities NTS Silicon Valley now offers a full range of IPX1-IPX8 waterproof and water-resistant testing services. The IP X6/6K equipment is a completely integrated system and allows for ease of use and set-up. The new IPX1/X2 equipment is a comprehensive system with a hermetically tight drip box, specimen grate, flow control valve, shut off valve, hosing, connectors, and replacement drip valves for ease of use and repeatable results.

NTS Silicon Valley is an immense test facility with advanced environmental, mechanical, EMI/EMC, wireless, and dynamics testing capabilities to serve customers across multiple sectors. In fact, NTS Silicon Valley has more equipment, experience, and technical expertise than any other lab in the Bay Area. “This recent investment, during a pandemic, demonstrates our continued commitment to our customers and expanding capabilities to ensure them the best test experience possible,” said Kumar.

About National Technical Systems

National Technical Systems, Inc. (NTS) is the leading provider of qualification testing, inspection, and certification services in North America, serving a broad range of industries, including the civil aviation, space, defense, nuclear, telecommunications, industrial, electronics, medical, and automotive end markets. Since 1961, NTS has built the broadest geographic presence in the United States, offering more than 70 distinct environmental simulation and materials testing categories, including climatic, structural, dynamics, fluid flow, EMI/EMC, lightning, product safety, acoustics, failure analysis, chemical, and other industry-specific tests.

Operating through a network of more than 27 technologically advanced testing laboratories, this geographically diverse footprint puts NTS facilities in close proximity to its more than 8,000 clients, allowing NTS to serve the nation’s most innovative companies with industry-leading accessibility and responsiveness. NTS is accredited by numerous national and international organizations and operates its inspection division under the Unitek brand, providing a wide range of supply chain management services. NTS’ certification division, which operates under the NQA brand, is one of the largest and most respected global ISO registrars, with active certifications in more than 75 countries. For additional information about NTS, visit our website at www.nts.com or call 800-270-2516.