Monitoring Your Test Chamber Remotely

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way we think about work, specifically related to our relationship with remote work. As we navigate the future of employment from remote locations, the evidence suggests the adjustments may in fact remain indefinitely. Pre-pandemic, estimates figured roughly five percent of employees worked remotely, while that amount is subject to settle at or around 20-30 percent depending on geography and industry.

Research suggests the shift to remote work has positively impacted productivity. One recent study revealed some ninety-four percent of employers reporting productivity at or above pre-pandemic levels, indicating that the perception of remote work has changed to support a potentially large, permanent increase in remote work.

This shift presents new challenges for organizations involved in routine and complex testing using environmentally controlled test chambers. Attention to detail is critical, and a hands-on approach has historically been required to ensure tests are completed accurately and effectively.

A Simple Interface with Powerful Flexibility

The ability to manipulate and operate your test chambers remotely is critical to moving your testing forward without interruption or downtime.

Organizations today that routinely utilize environmental test chambers demand the ability to monitor and conduct complex testing from anywhere, with the ability to share results and collaborate efficiently.

Fortunately, the Russells One Chamber Controller provides a simple user interface with powerful data collection and unprecedented flexibility, allowing users to conduct tests from anywhere on a laptop, desktop, or tablet. Whether you run benchtop battery testing, temperature and humidity chamber profiles, or complex altitude or rapid decompression, the russellsOne can handle it all – remotely.

With reliable operator control over ethernet, a technician needs only to place the unit under test (UUT) into the workspace, while remote associates can run standard or complex profiles by logging into the built-in network server. Additionally, this allows custom programs, such as those written with LabView, C#, or C++ (among others) to integrate remote customer systems with the chamber’s operation.

Embracing the Current Remote Climate

Whether you operate a lab or a shared-lab space, you can feel confident in your ability to navigate your testing requirements and responsibilities remotely. Because the russellsOne offers data logging once per second every moment the chamber is turned on, you can quickly load and display data from dozens of sensors over time domains ranging from seconds to months. And since all your data is housed on your network server, it makes it easy to share responsibilities and collaborate remotely.

While the russellsOne is offered on any of our models, from humidity chambers to dynamometer chambers, we’ll also retrofit your equipment from any test chamber manufacturer with a russellsOne chamber controller to fit any chamber or console configuration. We put the user in control, offering various access levels and activity logging, so you can diagnose and prevent potential problems before they become costly. And since we provide the ability to retrofit various test chambers from different manufacturers, you can have the most powerful and robust data collection controls while not having to frequently replace a complete chamber.

With the russellsOne, organizations and end-users can adopt the remote work revolution with confidence.

Case Study: Double Duty Thermal Shock Chamber

TSVDD-10-15-WC

Challenge:

Design and develop a custom double-duty thermal shock chamber to accommodate a specific array of customer products to be tested.

Solution:

The solution began by evaluating the product array and orientation to develop the test space required and ensure that the entire array of parts is subjected to high-velocity airflow. The double duty thermal shock provides two separate product test spaces, with a mechanical shuttle to transition the products vertically between hot and cold test zones.

The chamber has three testing zones: Two hot zones and one cold zone. Each zone required high volume airflow impinging directly on the product from both sides, high output heating systems in both hot zones, and a single-stage water-cooled Scroll compressor refrigeration system for the cold zone.

The final completed system demonstrated that the design shortened test cycle times by doubling the testing throughput, and also shortened thermal soak times due to the efficient, high-velocity airflow. By tailoring the customer’s unique product array and specific test requirements with our design-build capabilities, we were able to provide an optimized system that will produce high yield testing capabilities for years to come.

Case Study: The Missing Footprint

RD-320-(2)-30-30-WC

Challenge:

This system was designed and developed to provide the customer a replacement for an obsolete, thirty-year-old, high-performance, custom walk-in temperature and humidity chamber, and fit the equipment within the same footprint without CAD drawings of the existing chamber.

Solution:

The solution began by evaluating the existing chamber layout and orientation to reverse engineer the existing chamber, yet with updated refrigeration technology and controls to current industry standards. The chamber required high volume airflow, dual semi-hermetic cascade refrigeration systems, plus an energy trimmer refrigeration system that required a unique custom layout to fit within the space allocated. Hinged service access doors were provided with automatic interior lighting to provide ease of serviceability access to mechanical systems.

In addition, our customer required forklift slots to be integrated within the chamber base frame to accommodate move-in requirements and limitations.

The final completed system demonstrated much-improved temperature ramping capability and control than the original, which shortened test cycle times, thereby increasing the customer’s testing throughput. By combining customer-specific input and requirements with our design-build capabilities, we were able to provide an optimized system that will produce high yield testing capabilities for years to come.