ELECTRONICS TESTING: TEST HOUSES New lab for
he recently opened “Octagon Hub” is a £2.88 million state-of-the-art UK EMC and Radio Frequency test facility measuring 22,000 sq/ft. Based at TÜV SÜD’s
Hampshire headquarters, the Octagon Hub’s three semi-anechoic EMC and RF chambers have been added to five pre- existing ones, increasing both capacity and capability. The highly advanced automated test
facility has significantly increased TÜV SÜD’s test capacity and delivered the capability to provide a 24-hour test service. All Radiated Emission chambers in the UK use EMX, TÜV SÜD’s bespoke radiated emission automation software. This allows partial or full EMC testing automation and requires only minimal input from test engineers where a product can be controlled remotely. The ability to control a customer’s product and cycle it through the different technologies during testing provides a faster and more repeatable service. TÜV SÜD can now customise its service to provide the most efficient route to market and complete tests more quickly. This will help manufacturers achieve a shorter time to market and fulfil launch timescales for products which integrate RF modules, including technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and the new 6E frequency bands.
MODERN TEST EQUIPMENT TÜV SÜD is seeing strong growth in the marketplace, particularly with module integrations. Also, as industry increasingly
30 /// Testing & Test Houses /// October 2022
TÜV SÜD has recently opened a new EMC test facility in the UK, bringing new capabilities and reduced EMC and RF test times
EMC capability T
adopts IoT (Internet of Things) and Industry 4.0 methods, a growing number of products are being developed to take advantage of wireless connectivity and this increased complexity necessitates more testing. Octagon Hub’s test equipment includes:
n two 5m semi-anechoic radiated emissions chambers; n a 3m semi-anechoic radiated emissions chamber; n three EMX chamber automation systems - in combination with TÜV SÜD’s switching units which allows fully automated testing with compatible products; n an AR Multi-Tone RF Radiated Immunity System 10kHz – 6GHz – this is four-times faster for radiated immunity testing, compared to the industry standard, traditional way of performing the testing; and n a Keysight 220GHz high frequency measurement system – which has increased TÜV SÜD’s highest measurement range from 40GHz to 220GHz. As well as automating the test process, EMX also files test results in real time so that test reports can be automatically compiled. The automation of EMC test reports has become essential due to the complexity of today’s products and the sheer volume of results that are now taken during tests. An automated system such as EMX not only allows the entire process to be completed faster, it also reduces the human error factor when dealing with a massive volume of data.
enhanced INTEGRATED SOFTWARE
Radiated spurious emissions traditionally have quite a high level of measurement uncertainty. Much of this can be attributed to the requirement for setups and the positioning of measuring equipment to be changed by engineers during tests. As TÜV SÜD’s new EMC test chambers are integrated with EMX, its bespoke radiated emissions test software, this creates a fully automated solution that minimises disturbance of the device under test once it has been configured. The high level of automation within Octagon Hub is also enhanced by the new five-metre dual antenna chambers, which ensure minimal or no physical interaction within the chamber as there are no antenna changes or setup changes required for switching between low to high frequency ranges during tests. The EMX switch box has integrated all
filters, attenuators and relays into one PC- controlled box that sets up the correct path for each test for the engineer. In the past, some of the filters had to be connected manually. This is now all fully automated. The EMX software drives the spectrum analyser, switching box, chamber masts, alongside the customer’s sample (where possible). This has created a “dark chamber” that is completely automated - a first for TÜV SÜD. This means that measurements have a
high level of repeatability and accuracy, helping to ensure that testing is completed on time and that lead times are minimised.
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