ESS or environmental stress testing is a process that was developed to help companies who manufacture electronics find flaws and defects in their products. The testing process is used to test a newly manufactured or repaired product to a variety of stresses such as temperature and vibration and force any defects to show up by failing during the testing process. Thus any product that passes this testing process can be safely assumed to be of a higher quality than any that have not been through the screening process. ESS testing processes do not have to be extremely complicated and can be as simple as turning the device on and off a number of times to ensure that it will continue to operate. These tests were initially developed for aerospace and military equipment but have since been adopted by most of the electronic manufacturers to ensure better quality products are available for their customers reducing the number of complaints and increasing profit levels. ESS testing usually involves the use of temperature variations, pressure, flex tests and vibration tests in a specially designed chamber.

By making use of the ESS test chamber along with a controller, the functional tester and necessary fixtures and wiring any defects is a product can often be found while it is still in the design phase. This allows the company to make adjustments to the design prior to the product being placed on the market and reaching the customer. This results in far fewer warranty claims, dissatisfied customers and higher overall profits. Prior to placing the unit into the test chamber for ESS testing, a complete and thorough visual inspection should be performed to check overall manufacturing quality and make sure that it is free of obvious defects. According to published standards this should be done with both the naked eye and at 10X magnification, if any obvious defects are found the unit fails whether or not it passed operational testing. Functional testing should be done before, during and after ESS testing as this is the only way to know whether the unit will survive in the real world and the main reason to perform the test in the first place. Again if the unit fails to operate as it was designed to it fails and should be sent back to the manufacturer for redesign.

Actual ESS testing involves exposing the unit to variations from extreme cold to high heat while at the same time subjecting it varying levels of vibration. These tests are meant to simulate how the unit will be treated during the cycle of its life. If the unit passes all phases of testing it can be assumed that the design and manufacturing processes are of sufficient quality to allow the unit to put into full production for sale to the public. If you need more information or help with ESS testing, Reliability Help is there for you. With over 25 years of dedicated experience in the field they can help you to set up your own testing facility or train your staff in the testing methods you should be using on your products to ensure that only the best products reach the market.