Chicago, IL
1660 Wall Street, Suite 100
Mount Prospect, IL 60056
T: 847.934.5300 | F: 847.934.4600
Gary Ostendorf - General Manager
Advanced EMI/EMC, Environmental, Dynamics, Testing in Chicago
NTS Chicago is built for innovation. The new 40,000 square foot facility offers world-class EMI/EMC testing, advanced environmental simulations, robust dynamics testing, and more. The lab offers best-in-class queue times and technical expertise for a wide range of industries, including automotive, medical device, aerospace, energy, industrial, consumer electronics, automotive, avionics, military, and more. To accommodate these industries, the lab offers a full suite of test services, including the following:
- Dynamics, Climatic, Electrical, Ingress Protection Testing: In various applications, materials and products are expected to endure climatic, dynamic, electrical and ingress forces. Whether it is determining the resistance of a product to shock and drops or the ability of a seam to withstand ingress from water or dust, the engineers in Chicago can run the precise test you need.
- Mechanical Testing and Mechanical Shock: The application of specific physical forces under strictly measured test conditions can reveal a great deal about a product’s strengths and weaknesses. For companies that manufacture trusted goods, mechanical and shock testing are integral steps in the development of high-performance products.
- HALT/HASS: Accelerated life and stress testing help determine weak spots and defects across a product’s lifecycle, but they do so at a highly accelerated rate. In this manner, changes and improvements can be made to avoid costly errors and failures, even during early design and manufacturing stages.
- MIL STD UV and Blowing Sand/Dust: Accelerated weather and blowing debris testing at the lab can quickly demonstrate the effects of long term exposure to the elements, as well as sunlight and sand or dust.
- Chemical Exposure Testing: From determining everything from the porosity to the purity of materials, chemical testing in Chicago provides you with the compositional information you need to ensure your products are compliant.
- Environmental Stress Screening: ESS — or Environmental Stress Screening — uses thermal and vibration forces to identify failures and weaknesses in products so manufacturers can better avoid costly reworks and recalls.
- Non-Standard Test Procedures: We have the capability to engineer almost any non-standard test in order to deliver the results you need to make data-driven decisions regarding the development of your product.
World-Class EMI/EMC Testing in Chicago
With the industry’s top experts, the Chicago lab provides world-class EMI/EMC services, which include the following:
- Radiated Susceptibility ~ 200 V/m, Frequency Range 10 kHz to 40 GHz
- Radiated Emissions ~ 30 Hz to 40 GHz
- 5-meter Semi-Anechoic Chamber
- 10’ Door, 12,000 Pound Capacity Turn Table
- High Temperature Vehicle Exhaust System
- Troubleshooting Projection Screen Inside the Chamber
- Four MIL/AERO EMI Semi-Anechoic Chamber
- Reverberation Chamber 400 MHz to 18 GHz
- Extended Ground Plane Test Beds
- Indirect Lightning-Single Stroke, Multiple Stroke, Multiple Burst, Level 5 DO-160
- AC & Telecom Port Surge, Electrical Fast Transients, Ring-Wave, and Bust Testing
- Airborne Acoustic Noise and Structure-Borne Noise
- Antenna Characterization
- Shielding Effectiveness, Transfer Impedance
- Electrostatic Discharge to 30 kV
A Higher Standard for Environmental and Dynamics Testing
NTS can simulate any condition on earth—and beyond. At the Chicago lab, experts use state-of-the-art equipment to conduct environmental testing and to facilitate vibration profiles, including random, sinusoidal and mechanical shock. Working with systems capable of up to 25,000 force pounds, NTS can test products with heavy payloads and aggressive profiles; performing numerous tests to ASTM, GM, IEC, ISTA, MIL-STD-202, MIL-STD-810, RTCA-DO-160 and customized profiles to simulate and accelerate real-world conditions. Our dynamics lab capabilities can conduct impact, free-fall drop and transit/transportation testing. Testing can also be performed while controlling temperature, whether it is steady state or thermal cycling. In addition to testing, our team of engineers offers turnkey solutions, including field-data replication, fixture design, fixture characterization, resonance detection, transmissibility and dampening functions. And to be absolutely sure your every need is covered, NTS offers quick, on-site modifications via our internal machine shop—staffed with experts who are familiar with Solidworks, ProE, and CAD software.
Key environmental and dynamics services at the Chicago lab include the following:
- Temperature/Humidity Testing
- Nine Standing Temp/Humidity Chambers
- Two Walk-in Temp/Humidity Chambers (11’ x 12’ and 6’ x 8’)
- Temperature Ranges -70 to 130°C
- Altitude Chamber
- 70,000 Feet with Temperature -55 to 150°C
- Rapid Decompression
- Thermal Shock/Thermal Cycling
- Nine Single-Zone Thermal Cycling Chambers (Sizes to 36” x 36”x 36”)
- 10 Dual-Zone Thermal Shock Chambers (20” x 20”x 18” Test Volume) -75 to 200° C
- Large Dual-Zone Thermal Shock Chamber (42” x 42” x 42” Test Volume)
- Icing/Freezing Rain
- Blowing Sand – Wind Speed Greater than 18 m/s, Ambient, 55°C
- Blowing Dust – Wind Speed from 1.5 m/s to 20 m/s, Ambient, 55°C
- Ingress Protection, Settling Dust per IP5X and IP6X (Under Pressure)
- Explosive Atmosphere
- Water Spray and Water Jetting
- Salt Fog and Salt Spray
- CASS Testing
- Solar Radiation
- Gravel Bombardment
- Chemical Compatibility and Chemical Resistance
- Advanced Cycling and Abrasion Testing
- Flammability
- HALT/HASS Chambers (30” x 30” x 30” and 48” x 48”x 48”)
- Vibration (20,000 Force Pound, 18,000 Force Pound, 6,500 Force Pound Electrodynamic Shakers
- Vibration at Temperature
- Constant Acceleration / Centrifuge
- Loose Cargo Vibration
- Package Drop
- ISTA Package Testing
International Approvals and Certification
Getting your product into international markets can be difficult—particularly during a pandemic. Plus, geopolitical dynamics fundamentally change the type of markings you might need to get your product into a new country. In the UK, for example, Brexit means that you will need a UKCA marking to sell your product. Meanwhile, new criteria for your product in Russia, Ukraine, India, Brazil, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates is necessary. Are you aware of these changes? The good news is that a team of experts is dedicated to helping you track every minor change to help you secure regulatory approval in global markets. The goal is to streamline the process for entering international markets to avoid delays and duplicative testing. The international approval services include the following:
- A Single-Point-of-Contact for 180 Countries
- In-country Testing and Approvals
- Globally Recognized Test Reports
- In-Country Representation
- On-going Compliance Tracking
- Compliance Strategy for Faster Certification
Take a moment to view the animation below about streamline international approvals—and let the experts at the Chicago lab accelerate your entry into key global markets.