CableEye Cable Tester New Products

CableEye M3U Tester with HVX High Voltage Expansion Module and CB2 Board Set The CableEye HVX cable and harness test system permits expanded testing for insulation resistance and dielectric breakdown. After checking for opens, shorts, miswires, and resistance limits, the HVX hipot module will apply a user-selectable voltage from 10v to 1500v DC, or 10v to 1000v RMS AC, to each connection group in the cable. Ramp Up, Ramp Down, Dwell Time (same as Test Time), Trip Current, and Trip Delay (same as Soak Time) may be programmed for your specific requirements. Current leakage detected during the high voltage test phase provides a measure of insulation resistance up to One Gigohm, and any leakage current exceeding a preset limit reveals the presence of moisture, flux, or other contamination on exposed contacts. This new high voltage test capability allows users to meet the industry-standard A620 guidelines for cable and wire harness testing. The system also produces archival-quality reports for each cable tested showing the test voltage, leakage current, and insulation resistance for each wire group, and clearly denotes PASS or FAIL at the top of the report. The system employs numerous measures to ensure operator safety. Each login name must have system administrator authorization to permit enabling of the high voltage function. Once logged in, the operator must confirm awareness of the presence of high voltage by pressing a hardware-enable button for that test session. During testing, a bright red light bar turns on when high voltage is present. If desired, remote test and stop switches are available. Finally, test current that exceeds the maximum 1.5ma causes an automatic halt of that test and cessation of voltage.	Universal power input of 100-240vAC, 60w maximum. Requires two USB channels, and Windows XP, Vista, or Win7. Weight: 13 lbs (5.9 kG), Size: 12.5" wide, 18.5" deep, 3" high. Includes one-year warranty with one year free tech support and software upgrades. Expandable to 512 Test Points in 128-point Increments
Next Topic \| Previous Topic \| TOC \| HVX Control Panel After login, press the HV Enable button (center) to enable the system for high voltage testing. Then, either learn a cable attached to the tester, or load a previously stored cable from the database, and press the TEST button to initiate a test. Repetitive testing can be controlled entirely from this front panel without referring to the computer screen or keyboard. Large, bright Pass and Fail indicators summarize the test result. A large, red High Voltage indicator turns on when high voltage is applied to the test cable. A fast linear hipot scan checks 13 nets per second. Full DC or AC scans permit adjustable ramp up and ramp down rates, trip current, trip delay (soak time), and test time. Group scan algorithm also available for very fast scanning.
Next Topic \| Previous Topic \| TOC \| External Terminals Use these external terminals to perform basic safety testing on chassis, panels, transformers, or other applications requiring a single channel test. The bright red indicator you see to the right of the terminals turns on when you select the external terminals for output. When using the external terminals, the headers normally used to attach connector boards or flat cables are internally deactivated. The external terminals may also be used to easily check the system's voltage accuracy, and for calibration without removal of the cover. The slot in the lower left corner of the base will be the front attachment point for high voltage expansion modules that connect to the bottom of the main unit.
Next Topic \| Previous Topic \| TOC \| Rear Panel Separate USB channels control the CableEye M3U tester and the HVX module. Both USB cables must be connected for the high voltage section to operate. The Remote socket on the HVX module supersedes the Remote socket on the M3U and provides access for a footswitch, remote test switch, single-bit relay I/O, and external signals for Pass, Fail, and Ready states, as well as 5v external power for accessories.
Next Topic \| Previous Topic \| TOC \| Expansion Modules Add test points to the HVX system with Expansion Modules. This photo shows a 128-point expansion module added to the base unit. The HVX system can presently be expanded to 512 test points (two more modules than shown here), and expansion to sizes greater than 512 points is planned for the near future. In this photo, CB29 Screw Terminal boards are plugged into the base unit on the top. You may attach our QuickMount housing to the expansion modules to provide additional board mounting positions.

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Software Control Screen

An indicator panel at the top of CableEye's control screen shows the present hipot settings. One test cycle can include any combination of a Fast DC Test, Full DC Test, and AC Test. Additional columns may be turned on in the net list to show actual DC voltage, DC current, DC isolation, AC voltage, AC current, and AC isolation. You may test AC at 60 or 50 Hz.

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High Voltage Test Parameters

This control screen sets the desired test types, voltages, and limits, and holds default values when you learn or enter a new cable. You may override these default values with custom values unique to that cable and store any changed settings with the cable in the database.

Select the test you wish to perform, and set the voltage and current limits as desired. Test voltage may be adjusted from 10v to 1500v DC in 1v increments, and 10v to 1000v AC in 1v increments.

The maximum current may be adjusted from 50µa to 1.5ma, and the isolation threshold set up to One Gigohm. Choose the lowest trip current possible for cable under test to minimize insulation damage in the event of dielectric failure.

The Ramp times specify how fast the test voltage is reached when starting a test and how fast the cable is discharged when the test finishes. This may be adjusted between 150v/sec to 5000v/sec. Smaller ramp rates are needed for assemblies that exhibit high capacitance.

Choose the test frequency to correspond with the power line frequency under which the cable will be operated.

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Test Progress Panel

This pop-up window appears on the screen during a test to summarize which test types have been performed, which have been completed, and the progress of the test currently underway. The window disappears when the test is complete, and the final pass/fail count appears in the Test Data window.

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Safety and Electromagnetic Compatibilty

The HVX System has undergone a rigorous series of tests at the Littleton, Massachusetts laboratory of Bureau Veritas to confirm our product meets the safety and electromagnetic compatibility standards for the CE Mark. This certification is required on any electronic equipment imported into the European Union. In addition to satisfying requirements for the CE mark, customers using the HVX system can feel secure in knowing that this equipment was thoroughly reviewed and tested by engineers in an independent lab and found to meet all applicable standards.

Safety testing ensures that the design complies with regulations governing 120v/240v AC power distribution inside the equipment to adequately protect operators from electric shock under various operating conditions, and that in the event of a component failure or internal electrical short, the system will automatically shut down by fusing or other means, and will not create a fire hazard. Part of this testing involved striking the equipment with a hammer during operation to simulate a fall, placing it in a 97% relative humidity environment to see if internal shorts were created, checking the Lexan labels applied to the case to be sure they did not burn, measuring leakage current from the DC power supplies, and installing 24 temperature probes inside the equipment to monitor internal temperature during operation.

Because of the hazardous voltages produced by this equipment, the lab required additional testing to ensure that, in the event a short developed on the high voltage board, the system would immediately shut down without creating an electric shock or fire hazard. They accomplished this by intentionally introducing shorts at 10 separate locations on the board during high voltage operation and monitoring the response. Also, because our high voltage board uses a custom-designed transformer to generate the AC test voltage, they needed to disassemble one of these transformers to confirm that the firm who built it allowed adequate spacing and insulation.

Electromagnetic compatibility testing ensures that the HVX tester does not emit interfering levels of electrical noise that might affect other equipment, and that the system will not be adversely affected by environmental electrical noise, conducted electrical noise through the power lines, or electrostatic discharge.

To prove that the system did not emit noise above the allowed limit, the test lab placed it in a sealed room and slowly rotated it in front of a sensitive antenna while it performed a high voltage test. Immunity testing involved focusing a radio beam at the unit, also on a rotating table, while a transmitter swept through a wide range of frequencies as the unit was performing a high voltage test. The unit must run its test to completion without interruption to pass this test.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing posed the greatest risk to the equipment. For this test, the test lab used a special ESD simulator "gun" to apply +/– 4000v discharges to the case, switches, control panel, USB cable, and other places all over the equipment while the HVX performed a test to confirm that the system would not stop functioning given these environmental insults.