HMS Dauntless stays on TRaC

HMS Dauntless, the second of the Royal Navy's class of air defence destroyer arrived at Portsmouth Naval base for the first time in December. Dauntless is one of six new Type 45 destroyers which will provide the backbone of the UK's naval air defences for the next three decades.

The impressive Sampson Radar from BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies is a striking feature, and was a particularly interesting project for TRaC in supporting BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies with qualification through means of vibration testing, finite element analysis and modal testing.

 

Image courtesy of BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies

 

Owing to the size of the unit under test (7m and 6 tonnes), the process for qualification went beyond conventional testing, and TRaC Employed a number of physical

TRaC Reaches Milestone in Worldwide Approval

TRaC, your partner for worldwide market access, has reached a major milestone, by now providing a turn-key test approvals management service for accessing over 150 countries.

The process of gaining test approvals for worldwide markets is complex; every region requires its own unique demonstration of compliance, making a 'one certificate fits all' approach impossible. Just as the CE mark applies to all goods traded in any European Member State, including those produced outside the zone, other worldwide markets impose their own compliance requirements. In developed countries such as the Americas, the requirements may be familiar to OEMs successfully trading in the European market. For developing regions, such as the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) or the Africas, the process is much more complicated.

Gaining access to the developing regions of the world is viewed by many as essential for growth. As traditional markets become saturated,

New automotive EMC test equipment

TRaC has purchased new automotive transient test equipment. TRaC customers can now benefit from testing automotive Electronic Sub-Assemblies (ESAs), with a continuous high current rating to the latest automotive transient specification ISO7637-2:2004, complementing the existing equipment.

Vehicles are in a very different environment from a house or office where large voltage transients are caused from the vehicle during a typical journey. These transients include cranking the engine, switching of large inductive loads (e.g. air conditioning), cables being disconnected inadvertently and other forms voltage spike.

ISO7637-2:2004 forms the basis of almost all the specific manufacturer specifications as well as the automotive directive 2004/104/EC (used for e-marking) and also products that are used in this environment to the EMC Directive (2004/108/EC).  The new NSG5000 system enables all the core pulse parameters to be adjusted to meet an individual manufacturer specification

Stress Analysis and Physical Testing - Complementary Processes or Alternatives?

A Presentation to the Engineering Integrity Society. TRaC, leading providers of environmental testing and finite element analysis (FEA) is delighted to be part of the Engineering Integrity Society (EIS) upcoming "Instrumentation, Analysis & Testing Exhibition" at Silverstone Race Track on 23rd February 2010.

The exhibition provides visitors with an opportunity to see and evaluate the latest industry developments within the Instrumentation, Analysis and Testing environment.

Dr. Peter Moir, TRaC's Technical Director, will deliver a paper on "Stress Analysis and Physical Testing - Complementary Processes or Alternatives". Finite Element Analysis is a commonly used means for de-risking the reliability and robustness of a design against its mechanical performance specification, particularly given the demands of faster times to market, cost reduction, etc.  Despite its widespread use, belief in computer simulation is still seen as a leap of faith by many technical and non technical decision

TRaC assists CSR in gaining Worldwide Approval of BlueSlim PC Host Bluetooth® Module Project

TRaC, internationally recognised as a test, certification and approvals expert, has received customer praise for its role in assisting CSR plc gain worldwide approval for one of the world's smallest PC Bluetooth® modules. The module is called BlueSlim.

Unlike many other test facilities, TRaC's extensive accreditations mean it is able to provide all of the testing and certification for all countries of sale, worldwide, in a single process. Not only does this drastically simplify the approvals process, but it also cuts the time and cost to launch new products into a global marketplace.  

Miguel Bravo-Escos, CSR's Technical Programme Manager said: "CSR appreciates TRaC's excellent work on this project and for getting our Bluetooth module qualified quickly and efficiently."

Through its worldwide accreditation and integrated project management services, TRaC is able to provide a single site solution for product approval,

11 ZigBee^® Home Automation products certified to meet growing needs of Home Automation market

28 Products Now Certified for Smart Home Use to Support Expanding Market. The ZigBee^® Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, today announced the certification of 11 devices from five different companies using ZigBee Home Automation. There are now 28 products certified to help consumers and professional installers create smart homes that control home appliances, lighting, heating and cooling, energy use and security.

According to ABI Research, home automation system shipments will approach 2.8 million in 2011 as standards-based mainstream home automation systems and home automation as a service expand rapidly in 2010. New standards-based wireless technologies such as ZigBee mean that many mainstream home automation installations are decreasing in price, while the segment is further driven by the growing availability of peripheral components, according

Fujitsu joins the TRaC Partner Laboratory Programme to Enhance Support for Companies Seeking European Certification

TRaC, the largest UK-based provider of testing, validation and certification, announces that Fujitsu General EMC Laboratory Limited has joined the TRaC Partner Laboratory Programme, enhancing services offered to manufacturers wishing to certify products for sale in the UK and Europe. This programme enables Fujitsu to provide CE certification to Japanese manufacturers with the support of TRaC's expertise.

The TRaC Partner Laboratory Programme helps test facilities based outside the EU to provide a reliable and efficient certification service. TRaC helps partners draw up test plans, verifies testing meets European legislation, generates reports and produces the technical file that demonstrates compliance. TRaC also ensures that other documentation such as Declarations of Conformity, approvals listings, labelling and instruction manuals meet the stringent requirements of their intended markets. The programme eliminates

TRaC Announces Plans for Major Investment in the North West of England

TRaC, the leading testing, certification and validation company, announces plans for a major investment of ?1 million in a new test facility in Up Holland, Lancashire.

The investment, which is supported by the North West Regional Development Agency, will create the largest comprehensive test facility in the North West of England and generate new jobs for the region. The new facility will provide convenient local test services, simplifying the certification process and helping companies in the region reduce the time to market of their products.

TRaC is the largest British test and certification company, providing a comprehensive service at seven locations across the country, as well as offering global reach through worldwide partnerships. The new facility will be much larger than the company's existing Up Holland site that it will replace,

TRaC opens flagship DSL test facility to address world market

TRaC – testing consultancy of choice for major telecoms operators around the world – has unveiled its expanded flagship DSL test facility during an official opening ceremony at its UK headquarters.

 

Robin Mersh, chief operating officer at the Broadband Forum - the global organisation working to develop the full potential of broadband, and of which TRaC is a member – cut the ribbon officially opening the newly extended centre, in Hull.

 

The opening follows the re-location of TRaC's Santa Clara test operation back to the UK and has created the most advanced and comprehensive independent DSL testing capability anywhere in the world today.

Robin Mersh said: "The growth of broadband around the world has created

TRaC one of the first to offer new VDSL2 testing following new Broadband Forum standards

TRaC - testing consultancy of choice for major telecoms operators around the world - is today (10 December 2009) set to become one of the first laboratories in the world to offer testing against new standards announced yesterday by the Broadband Forum.

TRaC will be utilising its newly extended Hull, UK-based test laboratory to offer its global customer base testing against the new Broadband Forum Technical Reports (TRs) TR-114 and TR-115.

"We have been offering VDSL2 testing for two years but without specific industry-defined standards. Now we have new Broadband Forum recommendations which allow our customers to test their products against a recognised benchmark, in order that they can respond to operator RFPs anywhere in the world where VDSL2 is deployed," said TRaC Telecoms & Radio