Test and Measurement
The importance of educating industry about the benefits of pre-compliance testing
Experts at Schaffner, a global specialist in electromagnetic solutions that minimise electromagnetic interference (EMI) and filter out noise, invest time explaining the basics of pre-compliance testing (PCT) to customers who may be unaware of its benefits. We asked Gareth Bragg, Schaffner’s applications engineer in the UK, why product designers, developers and manufacturers of electronic equipment in general should look more closely at PCT
Gareth, what is pre-compliance testing and why is it necessary? Schaffner’s products are designed to ensure the efficient and reliable operation of electrical and electronic systems, which means they must adhere to standards dictated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the USA and CE marking in the European Economic Area (EEA). As part of this, pre- compliance testing (PCT) of devices is a major service that we offer.
Essentially, PCT is used to evaluate if a product is likely to pass or fail full compliance testing and we will deliver a detailed report to the end user on what they need to do to fix whatever issues might cause the product to fail. This not only saves time but a lot of money too because full compliance testing is expensive. Sometimes, design engineers simply do not know the cause of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) that prevented their product from passing and have to go back to the drawing board over and over again. We can solve this problem with our range of PCT services.
But why is EMI an issue? Not only does every electronic product that plugs into a socket need to comply with the standards mentioned above but greater use of wireless communications systems, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and computerised equipment means that it is increasingly important to filter out the noise caused by electromagnetic interference. Sadly, even today, most EMI issues are not normally addressed until they become a problem, whether that is disrupting the operation of other electronic devices or affecting the performance of a piece of equipment. EMI filters can offer one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways of reducing conducted emissions, which in turn can cut radiated emissions and immunity problems in general. To tackle EMI, it is vital that the issues are identified at the very early stages of product development so that the most appropriate
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filter for the application can be fitted. EMI filters are a proactive tool for preventing damage and interference to sensitive equipment. In an increasingly automated and digitalised industrial world, filtering out EMI noise and interference has never been more important to ensure safety, reliability and efficiency. This is the case in a range of industries, such as machinery and robotics, building technology, data and communication, energy management, automotive and medical.
Does pre-compliance testing guarantee that a product will pass the full test?
No, but when a customer has had help from us in terms of what they need to do to get their product through pre-compliance testing they can be very confident that the component or piece of equipment is much less likely to fail
Components in Electronics
the main compliance test. Nine times out of 10, failure of a product is down to the customer not fully appreciating what is required. PCT allows the customer to get a good feel for whether the product will pass final testing. PCT gives the customer confidence when going into the final round of testing and Schaffner can help them to feel that they are not wasting their time, resources or money.
Our expertise as field application engineers allows us to help customers with their initial product design, advise them on what tests they need to carry out, explain why they need to look at cable grounding… all very basic but crucial factors that they have to consider.
Where is PCT carried out? Pre-compliance testing can be carried out in dedicated laboratories or in situ at the customer’s site. So much depends on what
type of equipment is being tested, including whether it is portable or too large to move. One disadvantage of using a test lab is that the cables are always short and everything is neat but in the real world it’s completely different – on-site there can be complex ‘spaghetti’ arrangements of long cables winding around equipment. So to avoid working in an unrealistic environment our role is to create a set-up where the worst-case scenario is imagined. In effect, we make every attempt to make a product fail before rowing back from that stage in order to work out at what stage the product will pass. Of course, even if a product passes in a laboratory, it may not pass in situ, post-installation.
How does Schaffner tend to work with customers?
It varies so much. Some people contact us
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