Seaward HAL104 shines in testing at lighting specialists

Martech UK Ltd, which designs and manufactures a wide range of energy efficient light fittings, has improved its electrical safety testing procedure by installing an automatic system provided by the advanced HAL 104 from Clare.

At its factory in West Yorkshire, Martech has been using ten HAL 104s on stock, assembly and sub-assembly production lines to test upwards of 600 units which it manufactures daily.

There, the HAL 104s perform a range of Class I, II and III tests to ensure compliance with EN 60598 and guarantee product quality, performance and reliability, including earth continuity, insulation resistance test and light-up/load test.

Function testing is also undertaken as part of a production line programme to check that units switch on/off and light correctly and that any ancillary equipment works in accordance with stringent performance criteria.

The digital HAL 104s, which replaced three different types of test equipment, are fast, high performance automatic instruments which record test results and ensure accurate testing is carried out in line with relevant product standards at all times.

This ensures that products leaving the factory gate are safe to use and that damage to delicate electronic and electrical components is avoided in line with the company’s quality assurance programme.

Edmund Reed, Martech’s quality manager, said the ability to set up the HAL 104 via a bar code input is advantageous, enabling tests to be fully controlled and operators to undertake testing in line within specific parameters.

He said: “The HAL 104 is an excellent instrument, which works extremely well providing fast, accurate and reliable testing in a demanding production environment.

“Using the all-in-one features of the HAL has led to greater automated testing and ultimately improvements in production line manufacturing and quality. Features like the barcode scanner, which improves data logging and traceability, are particularly beneficial.”

The HAL 104 combines the performance of a multi-function production line safety tester with load and power factor measurement for product energy consumption and ratings assessments.

The instrument meets the end of line electrical safety compliance tests required by the majority of national and international product safety standards, including EN 60335, EN 60745 and EN 60598 and others.

As well as load and power functional tests, the new tester incorporates AC/DC Hipot (flash/dielectric strength), insulation, ground/earth bond testing to programmable up to 40A, load switching to 26A with measurement to 20 milliamps and leakage to 100 microAmps.

The new tester has widespread applications in production situations where high resolution performance measurements are important and can be used as a manual stand alone tester with simple push button test activation.

Alternatively, it can be fully integrated into automated manufacturing systems with selectable sensors and enclosure interlocks, or by ultimate control using remote PCs and PLCs.

A large, clear full graphic display presents information either in a numerical or analogue format and a powerful internal memory allows the storage of up to 6,000 test results and up to 50 configurable test routines. The instrument can also be interfaced with a variety of accessories ranging from bar code scanners to pass/fail label printers.

The HAL 104 meets all of the requirements of the various British and European standards in relation to high voltage testing and incorporates fully isolated high voltage outputs to ensure the highest levels of operator safety.