Our Testing Services

Assessing thread strength can yield vital data for how much stress a connector has endured. This is particularly important for connectors mounted in shock environments of aircrafts.

Air leakage testing evaluates the integrity of hermetic and environmental seals on electrical connectors. The ability of a connector to prevent the ingress or escape of gases is essential in aerospace applications.

It is no surprise that aircraft components are expected to withstand rapid and extreme changes in altitude without loss of functionality. The altitude immersion test subjects a sample connector to such changes in altitude pressure and assesses its ability to maintain functionality.

Wired, mated, and assembled connectors are tested inside a pressurized chamber with the temperature reduced to simulate an altitude of 100,000 feet. The chamber's internal temperature is reduced to -65 °C and is maintained until the connector temperature stabilizes.

Fiber optic cable attenuation testing is a procedure performed to measure the loss of signal strength or power as it travels through a fiber optic cable. Attenuation refers to the decrease in the intensity of light signals as they propagate along the fiber.

The purpose of attenuation testing is to assess the quality and performance of the fiber optic cable, ensuring that the signal loss is within acceptable limits. By measuring the attenuation, network operators can determine if the cable meets the required specifications and if any corrective actions are necessary.

The backshell shield braid to shell conductivity test measures the voltage drop between a connector backshell's shield braid and to either the threads or mounting bracket of the receptacle.

Coupling components have the potential to undergo high mechanical stress as a result of poor clamping, heavy wire harnesses, and maintenance operations. The intention of the bayonet coupling pin strength test is to assess the strength of the pins in each of the couplings. For this test, a static 50-pound load is applied to the coupling pins to determine if the coupling is structurally sound. The pass/fail conditions are based off of consistent electrical connection and no disengagement of the contact.

Connectors in any application should be designed to withstand regular mating and unmating throughout their service lives. The connector durability test evaluates this ability by performing a large number of mating and unmating cycles on the connector under test.

The engagement force of a connector contact is an indicator of whether a good electrical connection is made. This test examines the contact engagement forces.

MIL-DTL-26482 compliant connectors must have contact resistance for size 20 is less than30mΩ less than 20mΩ for size 14. Contact resistance is the contribution to the total resistance of a material that comes from the connector.

This test examines the axial force necessary to displace a contact from the proper location when inserted into a connector.

For this test, a pin installed in the connector is crimped to a wire, and the wire is hung over a mandrel with a weight.  The connector position relative to the mandrel then undergoes one hundred cycles, effectively stressing the installed pin. Two pins are tested per connector, and the pins in question must not become dislodged to pass the test.

Coupling torque testing evaluates the axial mating force and the torque that must be applied to facilitate full coupling and uncoupling of connectors. It is necessary to ensure that connectors can be properly installed and removed in the intended application without causing damage to the cable or compromising the electrical connection.

In particular, this test method examines the performance at different pressures (altitudes). As the atmospheric pressure decreases, so too does the required maximum service voltage to be used in testing.

Electrical connectors are expected to connect and disconnect regularly without degradation for routine activities such as maintenance, replacement, and troubleshooting. The durability test evaluates the ability of an electrical connector to withstand mating and de-mating for a large number of repetitions.

When using connectors in wire system design, the regular and consistent contact between contacts on both sides of the connector is crucial. To determine this, the electrical engagement test examines the mating length of the connector contacts.

Whether through contamination during maintenance actions, ingress from degraded seals, or other degradation, the fluid ingress into a connector can cause degradation and impact reliability. To assess this, the electrolytic erosion test measures the propensity of connectors to erode when contaminants are present and the connector is in use.

The test consists of introducing a salt-water contaminant to a connector, mating the connector, then energizing the pins for 40 hours at 60 volts. Upon completion, the contacts are examined under magnification for erosion to the base metal.

Samples are visually inspected at 3X magnification to identify defects in the contact(s). A sample will fail the examination if the presence of metal cracks or peeling of the plating is observed.

The external bending moment test evaluates a mated connector's ability to maintain circuit continuity under physical bending. Improperly secured harnesses can place a strain on connectors, a particularly common occurrence in tight areas where perfect routing and strain relief are not possible.

To insure interchangeability between connectors, the mechanical configuration of connectors must remain consistent. The gauge location test verifies connector geometry. A standard test gauge (a test device shaped to particular dimensions) is installed in a connector cavity and the axial location of the front of the gauge is measured against a set reference location to test conformance. The pass/fail criteria for this test is based off of the particular measurements and configuration of the connector under test.

Applicable test instruments, or test gauges, are installed in three randomly selected cavities in each connector.  An axial load is applied to individual test gauges in both directions slowly until the maximum load is reached. The displacement of the gauge tool with respect to the connector is reported.

For this test, contacts are removed and crimped to a wire and then reinstalled. An initial measurement of the axial location is made with an axial load, a specified weight is suspended freely from the contact, and a monitoring circuit connected that senses discontinuities. The connectors are then placed within an oven at elevated temperature.  Upon completion and at room temperature, the axial location is re-measured with the same axial load for any discrepancies.

Exposure to humidity is among the most common means of electrical equipment degradation. The humidity testing offers a means of assessing the potential for a in-service connector and/or crimped contact degradation due to heat and humidity. The problems are most pronounced on components with significant imperfections in the component plating. This test seeks to assess the impact of high relative humidity at various temperatures.

This test examines a connector's resistance to corrosion, and entrance of moisture, long-term durability in high moisture environments. This test method identifies several means of testing a connector in humid conditions.

Through the service life of an aircraft there are thousands of electrical thermal cycles. Those connectors subjected to external conditions maybe become icy during flight. This ice resistance test examines a connector's performance in icy conditions.

This test examines the insulation resistance between connectors pins and the resistance between pins and the connector shell. This test is necessary to identify any manufacturing defects or specimen contamination. The pass/fail criteria conditions for this tests are connector specification specific and have a pin-to-pin and pin-to-shell resistance over 1MOhm.

During the degradation process of ETFE and XL-ETFE, fluorine gas is released from the insulation into the environment. This test seeks to quantify the amount of off-gassed material.

Magnetic permeability testing measures a connector's ability to become magnetized when subjected to a magnetic field. This property is essential in applications where electromagnetic interference or compatibility is a concern.

The connector is mated and de-mated a dozen or more times. After the mating and de-mating cycles, the installation and removal forces are recorded for each of the contacts.

The long-term readability of wire/cable identification is important for supporting EWIS maintenance operations. A wire/cable with an easily identifiable circuit identification will make it easier to identify the correct circuit in need of evaluation/repair/replacement. If the identification has worn off, then debugging operations may require removing more equipment and/or demating more connectors.
The marking durability test seeks to evaluate the wire/cable identification after abrasion. The pass/fail criteria are based on the individual wire/cable specification but is primarily focused the readability of the wire/cable marks.

The ability of a connector to mate and unmate regularly throughout its service life is essential to the maintainability of an electrical system. The mating/unmating forces tests this durability by performing repeated cycles of mating and unmating on the connector under test.

Composite connectors (Class J and M) provide the benefit of a lightweight construction with limited drawbacks. To verify the connector plating in high temperature operation conditions, the plating adhesion test is performed.

For this test, the connector under evaluation is immersed in oil at its operational temperature.  It is then quickly cooled to room temperature by immersion in a solvent or ice water. The connectors are then removed and visually examined for any separation or loosening of the plating.

The post test examination is a visual assessment commonly used after stressing the sample connector. This is an encompassing visual examination of physical nonconformities and possible effects of previously applied testing. This test is typically performed without the aid of magnification.

This test measures the ability of a high frequency connector to withstand a specified RF voltage and frequency.

Safety wires are responsible for maintaining the position of a cable/ wire harness on an aircraft and must be able to endure forces due to turbulence or repeated maintenance. This test evaluates the ability of a connector to withstand pulling forces from a safety wire at the location of the safety wire hole.

Aerospace connectors are expected to withstand regular mating and unmating during maintenance, component replacement, etc. It is important that a connector be adequately secured when in use, but not so tightly mated as to hinder the ability to unmate for maintenance. The shell spring finger force test evaluates the force required to engage and separate two mated connectors.

This test measures the resistance between each grounding contact and the shell of a connector. This quality is imperative to the functionality of the connector as current leakage between contacts and the shell can lead to severe malfunction.

For several applications, it is necessary to have a conductive connector shell. For example, harnesses that contain EMI sensitive circuitry are typically shielded and need good grounding and EMI protection as the signals pass through connectors.

The Solder Contacts test as defined in MIL-DTL-26482 follows the procedure of a Solderability test in accordance with MIL-STD-202 but with a few different requirements.

This is an examination to ensure that after temperature changes connectors do not display signs of peeling, blistering, flaking, and separation of plating or other damage detrimental to the operation of the connector.

The thermal shock test is applicable to hermetically sealed connectors.  The connector undergoes successive cycles consisting of times submersed in hot and cold water baths. After cycling is complete the connectors are dried in a forced air oven, and to pass the examination, the connector must have sustained no damage detrimental to the operation of the connector.

Connectors are often exposed to high vibration environments on aircraft and need to be capable of tolerating these conditions.

Connectors that are designed to resist pressure and leakage due to water exposure must be capable of doing so over an extended duration. The water pressure test is performed by submerging a number of connector samples in six feet of tap water for a period of 48 hours.