Environmental test chambers are critical pieces of equipment across industries, ensuring safer, stronger, and longer-lasting products through repeated exposure to extreme environmental conditions. The ability to produce these conditions within your facility provides flexibility and efficiency in delivering your products to market.
Most testing applications can be satisfied with our standard environmental test chambers, which are offered with pre-engineered dimensions, performance specifications, and features that provide effective and often economical testing capabilities.
In some circumstances, the product being tested or the test itself requires a unique solution. These particular cases are accomplished with custom environmental chambers designed to meet exact and specific test specifications and requirements.
WHAT ARE ENVIRONMENTAL TEST CHAMBERS?
When standard features and performance are insufficient, a custom environmental test chamber can be the right solution. Selecting the right equipment can be a challenge, so consider the following four specifications when determining whether a custom chamber might be required for your testing.
PERFORMANCE
Performance is often the first consideration when buying an environmental test chamber. Your test specifications determine temperature, humidity, and altitude requirements and change rates. Identifying your test profile will provide your manufacturer with valuable information in determining the compressor size and configuration required to achieve those defined parameters. A more powerful compressor package might be required when you need to achieve an elevated temperature ramp rate or pulldown.
OPERATING CONDITIONS
The operating conditions under which your products need to be tested will dictate the level of heating and cooling customization. A standard environmental test chamber can operate within the range of -70°C to 180°C (-94°F to 356°F) with cascade refrigeration.
Optimizing temperature and humidity within that range is accomplished through a circulation system designed to move conditioned air evenly across the interior workspace. A standard cooling system might incorporate a self-contained mechanical refrigeration system with an air-cooled condenser.
A custom chamber that offers further temperature extremes (and temperature change rates) can be accomplished with boost cooling using liquid nitrogen (LN2) or carbon dioxide (CO2).
SIZE
The size of the unit under test (UUT) plays a critical role in chamber selection. While a REACH-IN ENVIRONMENTAL TEST CHAMBER might accommodate a wide testing variety, larger devices require a unique layout and design.
Your chamber manufacturer will help to navigate the number of products being tested at one time, the mass and materials of the UUT, the size and dimensions of the UUT, as well as its fixture requirements. A custom environmental test chamber can be designed to contain a unique component or sub-system, all the way up to a hangar-sized enclosure for walk-in or drive-in applications.
UNIQUE FEATURES
Unique features and requirements can be a significant component of buying a custom environmental chamber. Door configurations, for example, can be offered in hinged, bi-parting, or vertical lift (guillotine-style) in virtually any size. Your manufacturer can offer access ports in limitless sizes, configurations, and quantities, while portable or remote conditioning can be accomplished through insulated ducting. Intrinsic safety features like fire suppression, gas detection, and sheath-limited heaters can be added to customize a TEST CHAMBER FOR BATTERY TESTING.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER MANUFACTURER?
The right environmental chamber manufacturer will walk you through the selection process to determine the best fit for your testing operations. Because environmental chambers are used in almost every industry imaginable, the best manufacturers will have the right solution for each unique application.
Prompt and regular communication from the initial request to product selection, order, and delivery should be expected, and the more complex the system, the higher level of involvement will be required through design and engineering to ensure efficient and timely delivery of a quality environmental chamber.
Need a custom solution? The benefits of custom environmental test chamber design allow for unique building infrastructure and installation considerations where restrictions may limit normal facility access. Ultimately, a custom chamber design process is unique to each customer and application. The best custom environmental chambers are those designed and manufactured to meet your unique test requirements with reliability and longevity so your customers can be confident in your products.
Russells Technical Products offers more than 50 years of experience designing, manufacturing, and supporting custom environmental test chambers. Where other manufacturers cannot, Russells Technical Products can. CONTACT US today to learn why Fortune 500 companies and start-ups trust our team to create the right testing solution so they can deliver for their customers.
