Mayor Jerry Willey stopped by Cascade TEK for a tour of our environmental testing laboratory. His entourage included Deanna Palm, President of the Hillsboro Chamber. We had some interesting tests going during the tour, including vibration testing on man-lifts, altitude testing on night-vision equipment and damp heat storage testing on marine control systems.
Mayor Willey & Chamber President Deanna Palm Can't Believe What Goes On In Hillsboro!
Anthony's Very Cool Copter
Anthony Vo, Mechanical Engineer at Rockwell Collins is our guest today. He brought in the coolest remote controlled helicopter we’ve ever seen. It’s a T-REX 700 with a size 90 motor. It can fly inverted, backwards and inverted AND backwards. It took Anthony about 6 months to learn that skill. Many crashes, too. Total flight time is about 10 minutes, before burning through the two nitro (alcohol based) fuel tanks. The helicopter has a range of about 1/2 mile and he’s taken it to about 500 ft altitude. Costs about $2K.
Cascade TEK does quite a bit of testing on aircraft components. RTCA- DO160 is the test standard most common for avionics. Let us know if we can help with your flying machine.
Tony "Dusty" Arbogast & Phan Tu Execute A Sand/Dust Test
Cascade TEK’s blowing sand and dust chamber has been operational now for a few weeks. So far we have tested products such as cell phones, door latches, filters and avionics equipment to the MIL-STD 810F Blowing Sand and Blowing Dust test specifications. Here is a picture of a test in action. It gives you a good idea of what this machine looks like.
Check out Cascade TEK MIL-STD 810 Blowing Dust for details on how the MIL-STD 810 Blowing Dust test is performed.
Check out Cascade TEK MIL-STD 810 Blowing Sand for details on how the MIL-STD 810 Blowing Sand test is performed.
Cascade TEK also performs SETTLING Sand and Dust testing, popular with automotive, avionic and entertainment component manufacturers. The SETTLING Sand and Dust tests we run most often are RTCA-DO-160, SAE J1455 and IEC 60529 IP5X and and IP6X. Exposure to fine dust causes problems with moving parts, forms conductive bridges and acts as an absorbent material for the collection of water vapor. Not good.
Cascade TEK can now life cycle a wide variety of products. Some of the different tests include Push & Pull, Open & Close, and Press & Release.
With state of the art modular fixtures, the testing lab at Cascade TEK can physically test product functionality thousands of times, replicating the repetition it would face throughout its normal lifetime.
Examples of such tests include hinge testing, clasp and release, button pushing, opening and closing, or pressing and releasing keyboard functions. Our facility also has the ability to customize our testing processes to meet most product needs. Have a product you need to test?
Detailed test data, cycle reports and photographs are provided upon test completion. You can check out our tests in action by watching the video below.
Cascade TEK’s new Blowing Sand and Dust Chamber is the first of its kind in the country. It is designed to perform the blowing sand/dust tests called for in MIL-STD 810F. What makes our Blowing Sand and Dust Chamber unique is that it’s able record test temperature, humidity, wind speed and particle concentration values in REAL TIME. This is unlike any other sand and dust test data available. Our next step is to have our Blowing Sand And Dust testing audited by A2LA and added to our list of accredited tests Cascade TEK performs.
Why conduct sand and dusting testing?
Sand and dust create a harsh environment for chassis, under-hood, and exterior mounted devices, and can be a long- term problem in interior locations, such as under the dash and seats in automobiles. Exposure to fine dust causes problems with moving parts, forms conductive bridges and acts as an absorbent material for the collection of water vapor. Some electromechanical components may be able to tolerate fine dust, but larger particles affect or totally inhibit mechanical action. Cascade TEK performs a wide variety of Sand and Dust Testing. For more information, visit our sand and dust test page.
We are always looking for better equipment and ways to improve our testing services. Check back soon for the latest from Cascade TEK or subscribe to our RSS feed.
In a video of about 2 minutes in length, our testing facility was featured on Channel 8 news in Portland with a segment called, “Product testing is the name of the game at Cascade Tek.” President Doug Barrett and Lab Manager Terry Candlish were interviewed, and quick demonstrations of testing procedures for popular products like cell phones and XBox 360 can be seen. You can also catch a glimpse of our capabilities and highlights here at the lab. Hulu here we come!
You can link to the full video below.
See the Full Video
On June 18th, at an awards ceremony hosted by the Portland Art Museum, The Portland Business Journal officially announced their annual selections for the Oregon’s Fastest Growing Private Companies Top 100 List.
We are extremely excited to have ranked #36 on this much anticipated list. Selections were based on total revenue growth over the past 3 years, from 2006-2008. Our total revenue has seen an increase from $2.8 million in 2006 to $5.2 million in 2008, for an 84.69% overall growth. This is the first time we have made the list of Oregon’s fastest growing private companies. It is such a thrill for our entire team.
Our excitement extends beyond the immediate Cascade TEK family. Seeing our customers on the list was such a great feeling. It means we truly are making an impact in helping Oregon companies bring new and reliable products to market with our product testing capabilities. We are very pleased that we have been able to continually increase the types of product tests we perform and that our accreditations and expertise attract customers from all over the world.
A Huge Thanks to all of our employees, team members, and loyal customers for helping bring Cascade TEK to #36!
As an accredited A2LA testing laboratory, we are constantly expanding our testing services ability by adding new test technology and updating our current technology with the specifications required to meet the stringent accreditation standards, ensuring quality performance from your equipment.
We have recently added new testing technology and are now accredited to test for the following A2LA standards:
Steam Clean and Pressure Wash Temperature Testing for SAE J1455 and DIN requirements.
Highly Accelerated Stress Testing (HAST) for JESD22 requirements.
Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) for Qualmark Guideline 9.0
We have also expanded our existing test technology and are accredited to test for the following standards:
Mechanical Shock Testing of batteries to meet UN ST/SG/AC.10/11
Temperature Cycling Testing for JESD22 requirements
Enclosure Testing for NEMA 250 requirements
Dust Testing for SAE J1455 requirements
To download Cascade Tek’s complete scope of A2LA Accreditations click here
For information regarding all the testing services we offer click here
Cascade TEK recognizes the market’s demands for vacuum ovens that can be easily tailored to meet unique drying requirements. After reevaluating our mid-sized vacuum oven design, we created the new SVO-501, a five cubic foot vacuum drying oven, and made specific improvements to the temperature uniformity and increased process automation features. These changes translate into improved drying time, greater batch consistency and ease of use for our customers.
Since consistent bake-out results rely on uniform temperatures, we improved the temperature uniformity of the SVO-501, to +/-3% of the user set point. As well, we incorporated an optional touch screen data logger to make real time temperature, vacuum and independent thermocouple data more accessible and easy to download. Making adjustments to accommodate for various drying requirements is easier.
Like other Cascade TEK vacuum ovens, the SVO-501 offers digital independent over-temperature control and protection, built-in serial communication outputs for both temperature as well as vacuum and smart alarms to notify the operator if required specifications are not being met.
View more information here about the SVO-501 features and specifications.
Cascade TEK’s test lab accreditation has been expanded to include the following SAE automotive industry tests:
SAE J1211 Section 3.2.7 (vibration)
SAE J1211 3.2.8 (shock)
SAE J1211 3.2.1 (temperature)
SAE J1211 3.2.2 (temperature and humidity)
SAE J1211 3.2.3 (salt spray)
SAE J1211 3.2.6 (Altitude)
SAE J1211 3.2.4 (drip, waterproofness, immersion)
