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Frequented Asked Questions
- What is ERI (Equipment Reliability
Institute)?
- What is meant by "equipment
reliability"?
- Where do I find information
about training?
- How can I find a consultant/specialist?
- How do I sign up for ERI's
newsletter?
- Can I send articles to be
published at your newsletter?
- How can I have a link to
my website on your Links page?
- How do I contact ERI?
- How can my company advertise
at ERI's website?
- What is a message board?
- What is an environmental
test?
- What's the difference between
a dynamic test and a climatic test?
- What is a thermal or temperature
test?
- What is an altitude test?
- What is a humidity test?
- What is a fungus test?
- What is a salt fog test?
Message Board FAQs
- Do I have to register in order
to post a message?
- How do I post a message?
- How do I reply to a message?
- How do I edit my post?
- How will ERI's message boards help
me?
- What does it cost to use ERI's
Message Board?
1 - What is Equipment
Reliability Institute (ERI)?
ERI is an affiliation of engineers dedicated to increasing
the reliability and durability of automobiles, aircraft and other vehicles,
as well as electronic and other equipment. ERI develops and presents technical
education to help you lessen or avoid immediate and future reliability
and durability problems. ERI also offers consulting services for any specific
and immediate reliability and/or durability problems, this activity is
called ERG or Environmental Reliability Group
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2 -What is meant by "equipment
reliability"?
Consider an airplane in which you are
a passenger or crew member. The reliability of on-board systems, in addition
to the reliability of ground equipment (airways, radar systems, computers,
radio transmitters and receivers, etc.) can have a direct impact on your
safe arrival. You want them to keep on working.
Consider your automobile. Of all the
computers on board, you certainly want the engine control unit (ECU) to
be reliable, especially on a lonely stretch of highway or at night in
the inner city.
What do we mean by the term "reliability"?
Here is a summarized definition: a measure of durability, which simply
means satisfactory performance. Not only when the product is new, but
over time. Check our Glossary
for a more comprehensive definition of reliability.
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3 - Where
do I find information about training?
ERI provides three kinds of training: open courses,
onsite courses and distance
learning. Please click on the links to find out more about each.
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4 - How can I find a consultant?
ERG (Equipment Reliability Group) lists specialists who provide consulting.
Click here to find some of the subjects or
go to our Specialists page to learn more
about each consultant.
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5 - How do I sign up for
ERI's newsletter?
It's easy and it's free. Just fill out the form on any page and hit the
"submit" button. You will be automatically added to our mailing
list. If the form doesn't work for you, please send an e-mail to the webmaster
with the requested information.
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6 - Can I send articles
to the newsletter?
Yes, we invite our readers to send us articles. They will be evaluated
by our editor and posted if appropriate.
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7 - How can I have a link
to my website on your Links page?
Please fill out a form with information about
your company and send it to us. We will evaluate your situation and will
get back to you in a few days.
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8 - How do I contact ERI?
ERI can be contacted by postal mail, by phone, by
FAX or by email:
Equipment Reliability Institute
1520 Santa Rosa Avenue
Santa Barbara, California
93109, USA
Phone: (805) 564-1260
FAX: (805) 966-7875
e-mail: tustin@equipment-reliability.com
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9 - How can my company
advertise at ERI's website?
Our media kit information is at our advertisement page, where you will
find out about banner size, locations and other details.
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10 - What
is a message board?
A message board (a.k.a. forum) is a place where you and other visitors
can view and post messages. A forum typically has an index page (a list
where message titles are displayed), a message page (where individual
messages can be read), and a post form (where someone can enter a message).
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11 - What is an environmental
test?
When we perform an environmental test on
a sample of equipment, we simulate one or more environments that may be
harmful to that equipment. Testing should be done during the development
of a new product. We aim to increase the reliability and durability of
that new product. We can call each sample our DUT or device under test.
We can place our DUT in a climatic
environmental chamber and stress it with varying altitude, temperature
and humidity. In other chambers we can stress it with sand-and-dust, with
salt fog, with sunshine, etc. to simulate in-service or in-transport conditions.
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12 - What's
the difference between dynamic tests and climatic tests?
Dynamic tests simulate mechanical force inputs to a structure. That force
could be induced by usage, such as inertial effects on aircraft electronics
during flight. Or the force could be induced externally by accident, such
as a piece of crated office equipment bumping during shipping. Examples
of dynamic tests are vibration and shock testing. Climatic tests simulate
inputs due to the natural environments, sometimes accompanied by motion.
Examples include temperature, humidity and salt fog. In either dynamic
or climatic testing, test inputs may closely match or simulate
expected service environments, or they may exceed expected service environments
to provide a factor of safety or they may be purposely exceeded in order
to induce failures (if any) to occur quickly. The latter can be called
stimulation. Although acceleration testing (as on a centrifuge)
is often lumped with climatic testing for organizational purposes, it
is actually a dynamic test.
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13 - What
is a thermal or temperature test?
A test in which the air surrounding a test specimen is raised or lowered
to pre-determined levels. The purpose is to observe the effect of the
temperature extremes on the equipment, which may be operating or non-operating.
Temperature extremes and rapid temperature transitions are also used to
purposely induce failures to determine weak points or latent defects.
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14 - What
is an altitude test?
An altitude test is a test in which the air pressure surrounding a test
specimen is reduced to pre-determined levels. The purpose is to observe
low air pressure effects on either operational
or non-operational design parameters. These effects are often related
to thermal effects such as loss of cooling or to outgassing. High voltage
operation can be compromised by increased air conductivity at reduced
pressure.
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15 - What
is a humidity test?
A humidity test simulates the moisture-laden air found in tropical regions.
There are typically two types of humidity tests, condensing and non-condensing.
Condensing humidity tests consist of temperature cycling in high relative
humidity air. The temperature cycling induces the moisture to condense
on all surfaces of the test specimen. Additionally, the temperature cycling
causes the test specimen to "breathe", pulling moisture laden air inside;
it then condenses to liquid form. This is an extremely severe test for
electronics. Non-condensing humidity tests are run at a constant temperature,
with a high relative humidity, typically greater then 95%. This test is
not as severe as the condensing test because the moisture is not in liquid
form. This test is much more difficult to perform because the temperature
must be tightly controlled to prevent condensation at such a relative
humidity.
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16 - What
is a fungus test?
A fungus test determines if a material (or materials) will support the
growth of specific fungi. The test is run under conditions that are extremely
favorable to most fungi, warm and moist. It will only verify that
the material(s) under test can be food for the fungi to which it
is subjected. Test specimens must be carefully prepared, insuring that
they are free of contamination that will support fungus growth, showing
misleading results. Nutrient control strips must be in the chamber
to verify that the test spores are viable.
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17 - What
is a salt fog test?
A salt fog test subjects test specimens to an atomized fog of water having
a high salt content (typically 5%). The purpose is to simulate a corrosive
atmosphere. This test is not really useful other than comparing different
materials or coatings. There is no way to correlate 24 or 48 hours of
exposure with a 5% solution to a long period of exposure in an actual
corrosive atmosphere.
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Message Board Answers:
1 - Do I have to register in
order to post a message?
No, you don't. But you might want to register with Network54.com (ERI"s
message board host) to be able to use other features.
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2 - How do I post a message?
To post a new topic, click on the Post Now link. This will take you to
a page where you can enter your name, e-mail address (posting
as part of the message is optional), message
and subject title. When finished, you can choose to preview your topic
by clicking on the Preview button (next to the Post! Button).
When you enter your e-mail address, you
might want to check "Also send responses to my email address" to receive
replies straight to your e-mail account. This option is located below
the message text box.
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3 - How do I reply to a message?
To post a reply to a message, click on the Respond to this message link.
That will take you to a page where you can enter your name, e-mail address
(optional), message and subject title. You can choose to preview your
reply by checking the Preview button (next to the Respond! Button). Note:
If you want to clear all of the fields, click the Clear Fields button.
All the information in the boxes will be cleared and you can start over.
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4 - How do I edit my post?
Only the original author, administrator or moderator can edit a post on
ERI's message boards. Remember! You can edit your message only before
you post it.
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5 - How will ERI's message boards
help me?
Perhaps you have a technical difficulty concerning vibration or shock,
for example. Share your difficulty by posting a message at the subject-related
board. It will be seen by many people who share your interests. Some of
them will post their comments and one of those comments may solve your
difficulty.
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6 - What does it cost to use
ERI's Message Board?
Nothing. It's one more benefit ERI offers to its visitors! Good luck!!
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