Advanced Methods for Mechanical Testing – Thermal Tests, Salt Chamber, and Conductivity

In industries such as medical, defense, and semiconductors, machines and tools need to handle extreme conditions well, including sharp temperature changes, high humidity, salt spray, and electrical loads. To ensure they can withstand this routine without failures, testing must be conducted as part of the manufacturing process that challenges the products under controlled environmental conditions to examine how they respond.

Through thermal tests, salt chamber tests, and electrical conductivity tests, potential failures can be detected early, allowing for corrections and risk reduction before the product reaches the customer.

Advanced Measurement Technologies

Before choosing a testing method, it’s important to understand what each technology tests and what value it provides in the development and manufacturing process:

• Thermal Tests: Using a thermal oven or temperature chamber, products can be exposed to extended periods at constant temperature or combine temperature changes with electrical or mechanical load. Several types of tests exist: Thermal Cycling to identify fatigue cracks and gradual deterioration through gradual temperature changes (up to 15°C per minute) over hundreds of cycles; Thermal Shock to test resistance to sudden changes like power on/off or soldering through immediate and extreme transitions between heat and cold; Storage Test at constant temperature. Thermal tests are used to measure the durability of solders, packages, adhesives, mechanical connections, and coatings. They simulate years of operation in a matter of days or weeks, thus enabling identification of weak points such as different thermal expansion between materials, cracks, distortions, or insulation failures.
• Salt Chamber Tests: A salt chamber is an enclosed chamber where saline solution is sprayed at controlled temperature and humidity. Parts are exposed to salt spray for hours or days, after which they are examined for corrosion, blisters, paint peeling, or coating damage. The test is primarily intended for metallic components, screws, enclosures, connectors, and protective coatings against corrosion. The test does not predict durability under actual field conditions but serves for comparing different coatings and validating compliance with standards. ISO 9227 standard explicitly states that the test is suitable for quality control and not for predicting product lifespan in natural environments.
• Electrical Conductivity Tests: These tests examine the ability to conduct current or provide insulation, depending on the product’s purpose. It’s possible to measure resistance of traces on a printed circuit board, conductivity of connectors, resistance changes after temperature cycles or salt chamber exposure, as well as insulation between traces, between layers, or between enclosure and conductor. This helps locate unstable contact points, oxidation, coating failure, or short circuit risk.

How to Choose a Testing Method Based on Product Requirements?

To choose an appropriate test setup, it’s important to define in advance what you want to examine and what the expected working conditions of the product are.

Some guiding questions:

• Will the product operate in a hot, cold, or highly variable environment? In such cases, it’s important to perform thermal tests and temperature cycles.
• Will the product be exposed to humidity, sea spray, sweat, or corrosive substances? If so, salt chamber testing should be performed.
• Is there high importance to signal stability, contact resistance, or electrical insulation, for example in electronic components, sensors, and power interfaces? Conductivity and resistance tests are essential, before and after environmental stress.
• What is the risk level? Could a failure lead to safety hazards, costly downtime, or reputation damage? The higher the risk, the tendency is to deepen the test setup and combine several methods.

A smart combination of thermal tests, salt chamber, and conductivity, according to the usage environment and customer requirements, allows building a complete picture of product durability.

Standard Laboratory Tests vs. Production Line Tests

Most tests are performed in a dedicated laboratory, under controlled conditions that allow precise control of temperature, humidity, exposure duration, and load, and documentation of all data over time.

Additionally, in many cases, simpler tests are added along the production line:

• Testing samples from ongoing production for conductivity, resistance, or insulation, to ensure there is no sudden deviation in material quality, coating, or soldering process.
• Sample tests after surface treatment or painting, to choose which batches will be sent for salt chamber testing.
• Temperature monitoring in the process itself, to ensure no unplanned load is created on the component.

Combining a regulated testing laboratory with simpler field tests allows on one hand meeting standards, and on the other hand maintaining ongoing control and early identification of abnormal trends in the production line.

New Trends in Thermal, Salt Chamber, and Conductivity Tests

In the world of environmental and conductivity testing, trends are developing aimed at shortening test times, deepening insights, and connecting the entire process to the quality chain.

• Automation and Full Documentation: In modern thermal chambers and salt chambers, complex sequences can be programmed, parameters measured in real-time, and all data saved in digital files. Automation facilitates comparison between batches, identification of timing when failures began, and building a data-based decision foundation.
• Test Integration: More and more setups include more than one type of test. For example, conductivity tests while the product is under thermal load or after salt exposure. This combination helps understand not only whether there is corrosion or distortion, but whether it already affects the function of circuits, connections, and electrical interfaces.
• Shortened Development Cycles: Instead of waiting for field failures to understand what needs improvement, environmental tests are incorporated at an early design stage. This allows comparing between materials, coatings, and shapes already in the pilot, and choosing the most durable solution before starting serial production.

Business Advantages of Investing in Advanced Measurement Technologies

Investment in testing pays for itself on multiple levels:

• Reduction of failures and malfunctions, thanks to early detection of weak points under environmental stress.
• Shortened approval and regulatory times by presenting complete, consistent, and documented test data.
• Building trust with customers who know the product was tested beyond minimum requirements and adapted to working conditions.
• Reduced costs from warranty and returns, because products sensitive to corrosion, humidity, or thermal load are manufactured in accordance with conditions.
• Competitive advantage, especially in markets where the working environment is challenging, such as smart electronics, defense industries, and infrastructure solutions.

Admati Agencies – Commitment to Quality and Precision

Admati Agencies accompanies manufacturers from the first stage of defining test requirements until the product is ready, after all required tests. We work with thermal chambers, salt chambers, and conductivity measurement equipment that allow simulating extreme environmental conditions and fully documenting the product’s response.

In the semiconductor, medical, defense, and other industries, we help build test protocols that include combining thermal load, salt spray exposure, and conductivity tests before and after stress. This way it’s possible to ensure that CNC chip processing components, PCB printed circuits, and other electronic components maintain stability over time, even under challenging conditions.

Our experience in connecting suppliers, laboratories, and standard requirements allows shortening certification times and maintaining uniform quality levels between batches. We would be happy to help you define a test setup and accompany your development from concept stage to serial production.