Search

Recent Articles

Preparing For and Implementing Product Recalls in 2022

Recalls are a major contributor to product liability incidents and lawsuits, interactions with government safety agencies, disputes with suppliers and product sellers, and negative publicity with the buying public. New guides have recently been issued that can help a manufacturer and product seller to better understand how to prepare for and implement an effective recall.

SCIF and Radio Frequency Secured Facility Design, Part 2

Secure facility designs often comingle ICS/ICD-705 and NSA 94-106 performance requirements creating project confusion with significant design and cost implications. This article focuses on bringing some clarity to the differences between ICS/ICD-705 design guidance and NSA 94-106 performance requirements. The related secure facility design and construction process is also reviewed.

Users Guide to Hipot Testing

Hipot (“high potential”) electrical safety testers produce high voltage to perform dielectric withstand and insulation resistance tests. This article discusses the safety considerations and capabilities of modern hipot testers that utilize electronic source technology to assess compliance with IEC-61010.

Technical Resources

Testing and Measurement

Design

SCIF and Radio Frequency Secured Facility Design, Part 2

Secure facility designs often comingle ICS/ICD-705 and NSA 94-106 performance requirements creating project confusion with significant design and cost implications. This article focuses on bringing some clarity to the differences between ICS/ICD-705 design guidance and NSA 94-106 performance requirements. The related secure facility design and construction process is also reviewed.

Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields in Electric Vehicles

Low-frequency magnetic fields, a type of electromagnetic disturbance commonly found in electric vehicles, can pose potential health hazards to humans and affect the operation of critical EV components. Here are some design techniques to help mitigate the problem.

Incorporating Ethical Considerations into the Design Process

Values-based engineering is essential to ensuring that innovative products are based on ethical design considerations. The IEEE’s new standard, IEEE 7000-2021, provides a roadmap to help navigate this process and to help build trust in product designs.

Conducted Emissions Feedback from VSD-Operated Products

The ubiquitous increase in the use of mains power switching devices has been paralleled by the increase in nuisance tripping of GFCIs and other protection devices. Nuisance tripping can be identified to contain such high frequency signals and these must be properly taken into account when designing proper GFCI operation in this environment.

Fundamentals

Continuing Your Professional Education in 2022

Traditionally, the start of a new year is a time when we reflect on the progress we’ve made during the year passed and set our goals for the new year. We’ve queried training resources in our industry to provide you with an overview of free or affordable solutions to meet your training goals in 2022.

Capacitors: Theory and Application

This article presents the fundamentals and application of capacitors. What is a capacitor, and how do we select them? Techniques of selecting capacitors and things to consider when using capacitors are highlighted. Both practical examples and simulation are used to demonstrate the key points.

Ohm’s Law Also Applies to ESD‑Induced Heat Pulses

Heat flow analysis for semiconductor ESD situations can be approximated to one dimension, and then captured with a generalized Ohm’s Law using a complex impedance. Methods can include time-dependent electrothermal pulses and feedback due to self-heating, with solutions readily carried out on any desktop computer.

RF Tech Tip: BNC Versus Threaded Connectors

The shielding performance of bayonet vs. threaded connectors is measured and some possibly surprising conclusions are drawn. Bayonet connectors – more useful than you might think.

Standards and Compliance

High-Integrity Components in Electrical Equipment, Part II

While the selection of components in electrical equipment plays a crucial role, a sound understanding of the characteristics of safety-critical and high-integrity components can provide valuable information about the ways to advance and achieve safety goals.
X