Sustain

The ability to sustain your test system once in production is critical

A strategic test development strategy does not stop at the design and deployment phases. The ability to sustain the system once in production is critical in measuring the success of the development effort. 

In order to efficiently maintain your test system over the life of the products being tested, you need to have proper quality hardware and tools for diagnosis. We offer the following benefits that help you:

Maximize uptime

A system that is down for repair limits the amount of product that can be passed through production.

  • Our quality products are designed for maximum uptime in test—our reed relays are designed to function for up to 109 operations.
  • Diagnosing a faulty relay in a large matrix can be slow and cumbersome. Our BIRST & eBIRST diagnostic test tools help identify faulty or damaged components in a matter of minutes.
  • Identifying an issue and replacing a defective module needs to be done quickly. If you have the skills on-site, we make it easy for you to repair products without having to send them back to the factory. Most of our products are modular in construction and come with spare relays to help get your back online fast.

Lower the Total Cost of Ownership

  • Our commitment to providing you quality products for 15 - 20 years or longer minimizes the potential for costly redesign efforts due to component obsolescence.
  • You get peace of mind with our 3-year warranty on all of our products—reducing the recurring cost of maintenance activities, while increasing confidence in product uptime.
  • No need to put money aside for software maintenance contracts and expert-level technical product support. You get those free of charge from Pickering.
  • When repairs are required, we only charge for the work and parts required, rather than a more expensive flat rate no matter what the repair is.

Gain access to knowledgeable staff

Regardless of the nature of your issues, wherever you are

  • As a manufacturer of relays, we have the ability to conduct detailed tests on relays in a controlled environment in-house. We can quickly assess whether a relay failed due to a manufacturing defect or if it was exposed to extreme conditions during test—helping you understand how your tests are impacting the life expectancy of your switching system.
  • Connect with technical staff who can address any hardware or software problems you may encounter—we have multiple offices located around the world and provide access to support engineers that have many years’ experience in functional test and are committed to responding in a timely fashion.
  • Or you can take a look at our Knowledgebase where you'll find information on our products including technical support, software drivers, products comparisons and more.

Design & Deploy your test system with Pickering

Of course, sustaining your test system isn't the first phase, you need to design and deploy the system first - and we can help:

Design

Design your test system

Defining a test system can be challenging. Your goal as a test architect is to accelerate your test system design process using a flexible platform. Having a vendor with the expertise you need will help you get the job done, on time and on budget.

More on designing your test system

Deploy

Deploy your test system

Once your system is defined and architected, you need to solve the challenges of deploying that system into production. We provide resources to reduce test integration time and increase test throughput.

More on deploying your test system

Have questions or need more information?

Take a look at our related resources section below, or contact us by filling out our contact us form or contacting an office near you.

Contact Us

Case Study

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Real-Time Simulation Help Honda Accelerate the Commercialization of its HondaJet Echelon

Learn how HondaJet turned to Pickering Interfaces to help create a more integrated testing solution that could cope with a higher density of signals in real time.
White Paper

Using PXI-based Fault Insertion & Sensor Simulation in Electronic Test

This white paper discusses the benefits of using the industry-standard PXI platform for HILS automated fault insertion & sensor simulation.
Article

Comparing PXI and PXI Express

Most users are more familiar with PXI than PXI Express, although the two platforms are software compatible there are significant interface differences between them.
Case Study

Curtis Instruments Builds Second-Generation Automated Test System for Checking Motor Controllers

This case study describes how Pickering Interfaces helped Curtis Instruments build a second-generation test system that solves obsolescence issues by moving to COTS products and simulation loads to verify fault detection and monitor simulated loads.
Webinar

Maximizing Reliability in Signal Switching

In this webinar, we highlight the importance of switching in test systems and what items need careful consideration. These include which type of relay is most suitable, how to choose the right relay, avoiding relay failures and design issues.
Webinar

Secrets to Efficiently Sustaining Your Automated Test System

This webinar discusses how a well-designed test system – and strategy – can get a system up and running quickly when a problem occurs and reviews tactics to consider for minimal downtime and a sustainable, expandable test system.
Support

Replacing Relays

Our modules are designed to allow easy repair in the field by a reasonably competent engineer. The relays generally are leaded components that can be extracted using conventional soldering tools.

Support

Concise Technical Guide to Reed Relays

This concise technical reed relay guide will help you to maximize the reliability of your design by Pickering's Reed Relay division
Support

Switching & Relay Reliability

A collection of topics from our Support Knowledgebase to help you understand relay types, the causes of failure and replacement options. These resources could help you minimize any potential failure mechanisms in your relay.
Article

BIRST Background - Why Is It Needed and What It Can Do

This article details the reasoning for and capabilities of the Built-In Relay Self-Test tool present in most of our high-density switching matrices.
Video

How to use eBIRST Switching System Test Tools?

This video gives you a quick tutorial of our eBIRST Switching System Test Tools and how they are used to perform automated path resistance tests in our PXI, PCI and LXI switching systems.
Video

What are eBIRST Switching System Test Tools?

This video gives you a quick overview of Pickering's eBIRST Switching System Test Tools and how they are used to perform automated path resistance tests in our PXI, PCI and LXI switching systems.

White Paper

Avoiding Failure Modes in Switch Systems for Test

This white paper identifies the common failure modes, looks at the available options, and discusses the issues that affect best practices in implementing a signal switching system.

White Paper

Secrets to Efficiently Sustaining Your Automated Test System

This white paper will assist you to create an efficient maintenance strategy.

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