We Made it to the Fall … More or Less Intact

Is that a thin ray of hope on the horizon? Are we nearing a return to normalcy? Or is this the eye of the storm?

I suppose it depends on your (geographical) perspective. Baseball’s spring training sites, Florida and Arizona, are seeing huge spikes, while other spots are at least somewhat close to “flattening the curve.” My home state of New Jersey is (tentatively) preparing for a hybrid scholastic model in the fall, and the country is bracing itself for a second wave of COVID-19 – by the time you read this, it may already have happened.

At the end of this issue, I discuss COVID-19’s impact on the semiconductor industry – we’ve largely been classified as “essential” and thus stayed open throughout the pandemic, but 800,000+ dead worldwide and record-high unemployment, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Great Depression, casts doubt on a quick return to “business as usual.”

Until then, let’s talk about Test & Measurement. It is, after all, a critical part of every design cycle, and whether the country is spiking or flattening, T&M will continue to flourish.

The first article I’d like to highlight deals with “Hybrid and Electrical Vehicle Powertrain Testing”, and while the country braces for a coronavirus spike, hybrid and EV tech is already on an upward trajectory.

“Over the past decade, most transportation markets, from automotive, to military, aircraft, and even space systems have seen a tremendous surge of interest in hybrid and electric vehicle technology,” says Randal Beattie over at SAKOR Technologies.

Hybrid and electric drivetrains have unique features, like regenerative braking and several module control units, which make testing them very different from the norm.

“This changing technology and increased complexity requires a testing system very different, and more complex, than those used in IC-only systems.”

Over at Vitrek, Chad Clark, the VP of Sales, focuses on “Electrical Safety Testing of Cables and Connectors.”

These days, we have no shortage of regulations and standards, so as Clark explains, “Electrical safety testing is critical in ensuring compliance with a host of electrical safety standards and in confirming the assembled product is free from electrical or mechanical defects.”

And for that, we have the hipot test, which applies a high voltage from the conductors to the chassis of the device-under-test (DUT) “to confirm that the insulation and isolation of the non-conducting surfaces from the operating voltage is sufficient to avoid a shock hazard.”

Stay safe and healthy out there, and enjoy the September issue!

Best Regards,

Jason Lomberg

North American Editor, PSD