Passing a functional test is not the same as being reliable in the field. Reliability testing stresses a product with temperature, humidity, vibration and electromagnetic interference — before it ships — to expose the failures that would otherwise surface in your customer's hands.
The most common electronics failures don't happen at the factory — they happen afterwards: temperature cycling fatigues solder joints, humidity lowers insulation, vibration causes intermittent opens, and electromagnetic interference makes devices misbehave. Many factories only run a "power-on" functional test; the product then fails in the field — outdoors, in a vehicle, on a factory floor — bringing returns, bad reviews and recalls.
Treat reliability as two jobs: design validation (find weaknesses and fix the design) and production screening (filter early-life failures with ESS/HASS). Standards are a starting point — the real plan should follow the product's use environment and expected lifetime.
A device must not interfere with others, and must not be interfered with. Split into emissions and immunity — a hard gate for any product with electrons in it.
Read →Temperature, humidity, vibration, shock, salt spray, IP protection — simulating the real stresses of shipping and use.
Read →Multiple stresses at once (e.g. MIL-STD-810, RTCA DO-160) to catch coupling failures a single test misses.
Learn →Push far beyond spec to force design weaknesses out (HALT), then screen early-life failures at production (HASS) — sharply lowering field returns.
Learn →| Category | Typical items | Common standards |
|---|---|---|
| EMC emissions | Radiated / conducted emission | CISPR 32 / 22, FCC Part 15 |
| EMC immunity | ESD / surge / burst / RF | IEC 61000-4 series |
| Climatic | High/low temp, humidity cycling | IEC 60068-2-1/2/30, GB/T 2423 |
| Mechanical | Vibration, shock | IEC 60068-2-6/27, MIL-STD-810 |
| Corrosion | Salt spray | ASTM B117, ISO 9227 |
| Protection | Dust / water ingress | IEC 60529 (IP Code) |
| Automotive | Electrical / environmental | ISO 16750 |
| Screening | HALT / HASS | Company / industry methods |
IEC, ISO and EN are widely used for export; GB/T is China's national standard (largely equivalent to IEC). The right choice depends on product type, target market and buyer requirements — more standards is not automatically better. Choose by risk and use.
Use the self-check tool and tick your product type and use environment — we'll suggest EMC + environmental tests. Or shop industrial products already built with compliance in mind on KRANTY.