Environmental and Accelerated Reliability Testing for Automotive Industries

Business mandates, governmental regulations, and consumers’ demands for safety, performance, fuel efficiency, and reliability have driven the rapid introduction of new, densely packaged, interoperable multi-purpose systems in the automotive industry. Automotive design now incorporates 100 or more networked microprocessor-based electronic control units (ECUs) per vehicle. Experts predict that electronics currently account for 40% of production costs and will only rise, reaching an estimated 45% by 2030.

The following HALT video demonstrates ESPEC’s accelerated reliability technology for today’s modern automotive industry.

The proliferation of innovative, sophisticated automotive electronics, such as telematics and mechatronics, increases the risk of component or system failure. Integrating ESPEC’s Qualmark accelerated reliability technology in automotive reliability design and engineering provides the opportunity to manifest failure modes that are not predicted by MTBF/MTTF (Mean time Between Failures/Mean Time to Failure). Perhaps more importantly, HALT and HASS can identify key performance indicators (KPI) that point to hard-to-predict/detect issues such as intermittent failures.

ESPEC’s accelerated reliability solutions provide the optimal framework for ODM/OEM/CM/Supply Chain failure mode data capture so essential for effective FMEA/FMECA (Failure Mode Effects Analysis/Failure Mode Effects & Criticality Analysis). ESPEC’s Qualmark technology enhances failure mode detection so that potential warranty issues previously not detected with the traditional use of FMEA, RGT (Reliability Growth Testing), and other legacy qualification processes, can be found and removed early in the design process.

With 2023 US OEM automotive warranty claims hovering around an average 2.1% of product sales (Source: Warranty Week) and with suppliers paying a greater percentage of that total than they ever have before, any technology that can help bring more mature and reliable products to market faster for less cost should be given serious consideration. ESPEC’s accelerated reliability test technology is specifically engineered to help fortify the design and sustain the manufacturing integrity of electronic and electromechanical components, presenting the opportunity to reduce gross warranty claims by preventing marginal products from ever leaving the factory.  

HALT for Accelerated Reliability

The underlying premise of Highly Accelerated Life Testing is that exposing automotive components to extreme thermal and vibration stresses can reveal weaknesses as early in design as possible. In HALT, you do not simulate real-world conditions. Rather, you stimulate failure modes on the product for the purpose of driving a more robust design and reducing warranty costs. During a relatively short testing cycle, engineers can subject their design to thermal and repetitive shock vibration extremes specifically designed to rapidly stimulate failure modes.

Taking advantage of HALT requires robust equipment. That’s why our chambers are built to withstand extreme temperature swings and vibrations without destroying themselves. Our equipment is built with such high quality, in fact, that you can find original models that are still in the field decades later. The years of experience in repetitive shock vibration system design have resulted in an unrivaled level of equipment reliability.

Through HALT, automakers can identify failure modes like these listed below. These shortcomings may be missed in traditional testing.

• Intermittent electronic issues
• Design sensitivities to component tolerances or thermal extremes
• Mechanically weak design components
• Solderability issues
• Interconnects or cabling design issues

The end result is better designs, reduced warranty costs, and more satisfied customers. ESPEC ensures clients can tap into these benefits by offering comprehensive HALT solutions. In addition to providing chambers, we offer lab testing services, training, and ongoing support.   

HASS for Ensuring Production Quality

Once a component or subassembly is developed and designed, Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS) screens the products to catch issues that might arise from things like changes in the supply chain or the introduction of counterfeit components. This rigorous screening process is essential to maintain the integrity and reliability of the final product.

Unlike HALT, which is used during the design phase, HASS is applied to production units to identify and eliminate defects that could lead to failures in the field. During HASS, components and subassemblies undergo stress tests based on HALT results that will expose latent faults that standard testing might miss.

By implementing HASS, automakers can detect issues like faulty components or assembly errors that could lead to costly recalls and dissatisfied customers. The ultimate goal of HASS is to deliver vehicles with consistent quality and reliability. ESPEC supports this goal by offering state-of-the-art HASS solutions, including advanced chambers, lab testing, comprehensive training, and ongoing support to enhance your product’s reliability.   

Beyond HALT and HASS: A Full Spectrum of Vehicle Environmental Testing

Both Highly Accelerated Life Testing and Highly Accelerated Stress Screening yield detailed insights into automotive component and subassembly quality, function, and longevity. However, integrating additional testing measures into your design and optimization workflows will ensure a holistic view of vehicle quality and performance.   

Environmental Testing for Automotive Industries   

Drive-In Chamber Advantages

As their name implies, drive-in chambers can accommodate full-size consumer vehicles, including cars, trucks, vans, SUVs, or any other vehicle as each one is custom-designed and sized to the vehicle and test parameters. By encapsulating the entire vehicle in the testing environment, such equipment allows for a more comprehensive evaluation that will yield actionable insights of quality issues.

Performing vehicle environmental testing in a drive-in chamber offers several advantages over doing so with smaller-scale equipment. Examples include:

Realism

Once a car rolls off the lot, it will face a wide range of conditions, including:

• Hot and cold temperatures >> Cold-start to high-heat stress
• High humidity
• Rain
• UV
• Challenging road conditions

Testing system components in isolation does not reveal how those parts will perform as part of a greater system. Conversely, ESPEC drive-in chambers allow manufacturers to test entire vehicles or large subsystems to determine how the integrated components will function in different environments.  

Efficiency

Effective quality control requires multiple rounds of testing. However, traditional Environmental chambers cannot accommodate entire vehicles. As such, automakers need more downtime between rounds of testing, which may incentivize them to perform fewer tests to avoid delaying their time to market. ESPEC eliminates this conundrum from the decision-making process.

Drive-in chambers that are custom-designed for automotive environmental testing offer unmatched efficiency. They allow manufacturers to test full-size vehicles or large components without disassembling them or taking them to special test track facilities, saving time and reducing the complexity of the evaluation process.   

Versatility

Automakers can use drive-in chambers to manipulate environmental factors like temperature and humidity, infrared lighting, running vehicle testing, Chassis Dynamometer or Four-post road simulator testing.

No single testing variable will reveal all the strengths and weaknesses of a design. Instead, users can apply several types of stressors to their equipment to gain a holistic view of vehicle performance. Enabling users to manipulate multiple variables ultimately makes the tests more realistic and applicable to the automotive industry.

Whether testing materials, electronics, or structural components, our Drive-in chambers adapt to your diverse requirements, ensuring thorough and accurate results. Offering extensive adaptability helps automotive companies meet rigorous industry standards and improve product quality.  

Customization

At ESPEC, we understand every client’s needs are unique. That’s why we can offer a high degree of customization. Our ability to build-to-order provides even more opportunities to make the equipment suited to your unique testing needs.

We’re happy to collaborate with you to design chambers tailored to precise specifications in areas like available facility space, running ICE engine or EV battery, and integration with other test equipment. Our customization ensures that each chamber creates optimal testing conditions for the product being evaluated.

Automakers in the EV space find our customization and safety offerings to be particularly useful. This is largely because electrical vehicles have unique failure points not found in ICE designs.

Special Designs

ESPEC customizes each drive-in to include features to suit the client’s simulation requirements. Our drive-in chambers can simulate extreme climates, but they also allow users to integrate other factors such as radiant heat or road vibration, that will impact material durability and design performance.

We can also design custom or specialty chambers that perform rain or spray testing across the whole vehicle. These capabilities can be particularly useful when evaluating brand-new car designs, different materials, and alternative finishes and paints.  

Battery Testing Focus

Electric vehicles have experienced a huge surge in popularity, which has driven up the demand for battery packs. High-quality, durable battery systems are the heart of EVs, making their safety and longevity paramount.

Unfortunately, battery systems are also incredibly complex, which makes them prone to age and usage-related issues. Our automotive environmental testing chambers excel at battery evaluations so designers can make targeted improvements to enhance safety. With our equipment, manufacturers can run a wide range of temperature tests that simulate real-world EV usage for charge/discharge and cooling system performance and reliability.

In addition to providing drive-in chambers, ESPEC also offers benchtops and “reach-in” chambers for smaller battery module testing. Automakers can incorporate these devices into their R&D and early testing phases before scaling up to full-size prototypes. Notably, our new Advanced Battery Testing Chamber (ADBC) provides a 3-in-1 thermal testing solution that seamlessly integrates with the customer’s preferred charge/discharge system. Built with enhanced safety features, the ADBC helps mitigate the risks associated with battery testing, making it a crucial tool for safer and more reliable battery development.   

Thermal Shock

Thermal shock chambers are essential for validating the durability of automotive electronics. These chambers rapidly cycle components between extreme hot and cold temperatures to identify potential failure points faster than other methods. The fast temperature changes accelerate normal failure modes, allowing it to expose intermittent electronic failures and potential design flaws in the test lab.  

Rain/Spray

Rain and spray chambers simulate how water exposure affects exterior automotive components such as the paint, windows, and seals. These evaluations reveal whether key parts provide adequate water resistance and corrosion protection. These specially designed automotive environmental testing chambers can also facilitate corrosion testing.  

Use Our Automotive Enviro Testing Chamber Selector

At ESPEC, we support our customers from design through production with comprehensive testing solutions. Whether you're looking to enhance your vehicle designs with Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) or ensure production quality with Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HASS) and our broad portfolio of environmental testing solutions, our state-of-the-art chambers and expert support have you covered. For our smaller benchtop and reach-in size equipment, take advantage of our user-friendly chamber selector to identify the ideal equipment for your intended use case. You can quickly narrow down your options based on specific project requirements. Likewise, we are here to help guide your selection process and look forward to connecting with our customers. Find your local ESPEC Rep here, or contact us today.  

Get Your Vehicle Environmental Testing Done Fast

At ESPEC, we’re committed to meeting the needs of our clients, even when they are working under tight time constraints. With that in mind, we offer expedited shipping options and equipment rental services designed to help you navigate tight deadlines.

Many clients use our rental services to conduct pilot testing before investing in their own chamber. Consider our rental option to evaluate the quality, durability, and user-friendliness of our testing equipment. We are confident that our solutions will exceed your expectations.   

Partner with ESPEC for Automotive Environmental Testing

ESPEC’s accelerated reliability test technology is specifically engineered to help fortify the design of electronic and electromechanical components. This presents the opportunity to reduce gross warranty claims by preventing marginal products from ever leaving the factory.

By integrating our HALT chambers into your design and prototyping workflows, you can tap into real-world insights about product reliability. In turn, you can mitigate warranty costs and deliver better vehicles to end users. Partner with ESPEC for your automotive environmental testing needs.   

Frequently Asked Questions

 What Is a Drive-In Environmental Test Chamber?

A drive-in environmental test chamber is a specialized testing solution designed to simulate varying environmental conditions for large vehicles or components. These chambers allow manufacturers to completely enclose full-sized vehicles in the testing environment, where they can manipulate factors like temperature and humidity.

Drive-in-environmental testing chambers offer more realistic and comprehensive testing capabilities than smaller chambers, as they can accommodate an entire full-sized vehicle. Therefore, development teams are able to test the whole design rather than individual components in isolation.

Why Is Environmental Testing Important for Automotive Components and Systems?

Researchers are able to use automotive environmental testing to check that system components can withstand extreme conditions while maintaining performance and safety. Similarly, manufacturers can simulate real-world environments to identify potential weaknesses and improve their products’ reliability and lifespan. Ultimately, these capabilities help keep consumers safe and improve satisfaction.

What Types of Environmental Conditions Can ESPEC Chambers Simulate?

ESPEC chambers can simulate a wide range of conditions, including extreme temperatures (hot and cold), humidity, thermal shock, solar radiation, altitude, vibration, and corrosive environments. These simulations help manufacturers understand how their designs will perform in a range of conditions and climates.

What Makes Battery Testing So Critical for Electric Vehicles (EVs)?

Electric vehicles have far more complex electrical systems than internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered cars. Ensuring that EVs’ electrical infrastructure and batteries perform reliably under different conditions is essential for safety, efficiency, and longevity.

Manufacturers can implement rigorous testing to prevent failures and improve overall vehicle performance. Consistently producing high-quality, safe EVs will promote consumer adoption and aid in increasing sales.

What Specific Battery Tests Can Be Performed in ESPEC’s Drive-In Chambers?

ESPEC can conduct a wide range of battery tests in our drive-in chambers, including thermal cycling, high and low-temperature endurance, vibration testing, charge and discharge cycles, and exposure to humidity and corrosion. We can also conduct combined stress tests. Cumulatively, these analyses provide a holistic view of battery performance and longevity.

How Can Battery Testing in a Drive-In Chamber Improve EV Design?

Drive-in chamber battery testing allows manufacturers to identify potential flaws in EV design, failures, and safety risks. The sooner these shortcomings are pinpointed, the easier it will be to implement design changes. Engineers can use ESPEC testing data to make informed decisions that enhance safety, performance, and longevity.

Additionally, drive-in chamber testing can reveal major design issues before a vehicle is put into mass production. Being proactive about testing allows manufacturers to reduce the need for major recalls, thereby preserving consumer confidence and protecting profitability.

How Does ESPEC’s Equipment Support HALT Testing?

ESPEC HALT chambers are the most robust and proven in the industry. They can handle extreme temperatures, rapid changes to conditions, and vibrations. HALT delivers invaluable information regarding weaknesses and failure modes early in design, allowing you to evaluate them and re-engineer your design before it reaches the marketplace.

How Does ESPEC’s Equipment Support HASS Testing?

ESPEC HASS chambers are engineered to meet the rigorous demands of production screening. Our chambers can handle intense stress tests, including extreme temperature cycling and repetitive shock vibration, ensuring that any latent faults in the production units are exposed. With precise control over test conditions, our equipment ensures accurate and reliable results, helping you maintain high-quality standards in your production line.

What Types of Issues Can HASS Testing Detect?

HASS testing is designed to uncover a variety of potential issues that may not be evident during standard testing procedures. These include problems arising from supply chain changes, such as the use of counterfeit components, as well as assembly errors and other latent faults. By simulating end-of-line conditions, HASS testing ensures that any weaknesses or defects are identified and addressed before the vehicle components and subassemblies reach the market.

Why Is HASS Testing Important for the Automotive Industry?

HASS testing is crucial for maintaining the reliability of vehicle components in the automotive industry. By rigorously screening production units, HASS helps prevent failures that could lead to costly recalls, warranty claims, and customer dissatisfaction. Implementing HASS testing ensures that vehicle components meet the highest standards of reliability and performance, ultimately protecting your brand reputation and enhancing customer trust.

Can ESPEC Customize a Drive-In Chamber for My Specific Needs?

Yes, we can customize drive-in chambers to meet specific testing requirements. We offer tailored solutions based on your unique needs. This ensures the chamber has the capabilities necessary to support your design and testing processes. We can also alter chamber size, capabilities, and durability to align with your intended use case.

What Standards Does ESPEC’s Equipment Meet for Automotive Testing?

ESPEC’s manufacturing team adheres to the ISO-9001 certification for production quality. This certification helps us consistently deliver high-quality testing chambers and equipment that meet or exceed client expectations.

Our equipment can be used by clients to meet various automotive industry testing standards, including IEC 60068 and SAE/USCAR-2 performance specs for electrical connector systems.