Application of F1508 in insulation test

Insulation resistance testing is a common test type that is often used to understand and evaluate the insulation performance of electrical equipment. Technicians usually perform insulation resistance tests on conductors, electrical parts, circuits and devices to achieve the following purposes:

● Verify the quality of produced electrical equipment
● Ensure that electrical equipment meets regulations and standards (safety compliance)
● Determine the change of electrical equipment performance over time (preventive maintenance)
● Determine the cause of failure (troubleshooting)

Generally speaking, there are the following types of insulation tests: design test, production test, acceptance test, preventive maintenance test and fault location test. Different test types depend on different test purposes and application areas, and the test process of different insulation also has different characteristics. And we can also see that using F1508 can simply, conveniently and accurately complete these tests and obtain satisfactory measurement results. The following will discuss this separately for different test types.

1. Design test

Design test is generally used to determine the performance of electrical devices in the laboratory. Design test is usually performed by the manufacturer on newly designed devices or devices purchased from other companies for product design. Design test checks whether the device has faults. Insulation resistance test should be performed before manufacturing any product.

When testing insulation, high voltage is applied to each device until the insulation of the device fails and the leakage current generated is higher than the acceptable current. Design testing should be performed not only when the product is first designed, but also whenever the product is modified. Different devices need to be tested with different voltages according to their different operating voltages, working conditions and performance requirements, which requires the test instrument to have different test voltages. F1508 has five voltage levels from 50V to 1000V, which can measure the insulation performance of various components. And its resolution and accuracy are higher than similar products, which can meet the accuracy and resolution required for experiments. The range of F1508 is also much larger than other similar equipment. Further analysis will not be impossible due to exceeding the range.

2. Production test

In order to ensure that the product that works well in the laboratory still works well after production, each product must be tested in production. Production testing is performed by manufacturers to meet the requirements of specifications and standards and to ensure quality control. Before new products and equipment are put into use, they are tested for insulation resistance. In production testing, product defects are generally revealed. Production testing is usually non-destructive. Since the performance of the components to be installed on the production line must be tested to see if they meet the insulation requirements. Since the purpose of this test is only to verify whether the components have sufficient insulation strength, rather than the factory acceptance test of the entire equipment, no specific parameters are required, only verification of whether they are qualified or not. F1508 has designed a special test mode for this, namely the comparison mode. F1508 has set a variety of voltages for comparison, such as 100KΩ, 200KΩ, 500KΩ, 1MΩ, 2MΩ, 5MΩ, 10 MΩ, 20 MΩ, 50 MΩ, 100 MΩ, 200 MΩ, 500 MΩ, etc. The comparison value is selected in advance. When performing the insulation resistance test, if the measured value exceeds the comparison value, the green "pass" indicator will be lit. The operator will be notified that the component is qualified, otherwise the failure display will be returned. Because there is no need to judge the specific detected values, the comparison function is very convenient for quality inspection on the production line; in addition, the remote control probe of F1508 can avoid operating on the instrument, making the operation easier and faster.

3. Acceptance test for handover

Acceptance test is performed by the installer after the installation is completed but before the system is put into use. The acceptance test includes insulation resistance test to check whether there is any equipment damage, cable damage, whether the spacing between electrical components is appropriate and firm, and whether storage, transportation and installation cause product damage. [page]

Then in the on-site installation acceptance test, it is necessary to measure insulation resistance, absorption ratio (hereinafter referred to as DAR) or absorption ratio (hereinafter referred to as PI). Since the on-site environment is usually harsh, it is very important for users to make on-site measurements more convenient and simple. F1508 can automatically calculate DAR or PI without human intervention. It will automatically read the data according to the time specified by DAR or PI, and automatically calculate and directly display the calculated PI or DAR. It is not necessary to read the measurement data at the specified time and calculate it afterwards like other test equipment. In this way, only one person is needed to complete the test, without the need for another person to remind the operator when to take readings and record data and calculations.

4. Preventive testing

Many plants perform insulation resistance and wire testing on equipment as part of their overall preventive maintenance program. The condition of the wire insulation is a good indicator of the overall condition of the equipment and electrical system. A good preventive maintenance program can detect and eliminate faults before they cause downtime.

Failed insulation must be repaired to ensure that the system does not fail at an inappropriate time. Generally speaking, the quality of the insulation of all systems will deteriorate at a predictable rate after a long period of operation. By regularly performing insulation resistance measurements, wire insulation failure (or expected life) can be avoided.

As mentioned above, using F1508 can not only automatically calculate DAR and PI, but also for the convenience of users to test, F1508 has a remote control probe. Using the remote control probe can simply start the test process without more operations on the measuring instrument. In harsh sites, there are many difficult to access and even dangerous environments. At the same time, F1508 is small in size, light in weight, and easy to carry, which brings great convenience to on-site operators.

5. Insulation testing for troubleshooting

Even if the equipment is manufactured to high specifications, installed properly, correctly sized, and tested for preventive maintenance, fault location testing is still required because the equipment will still fail. Failures are usually caused by fragile or damaged parts in a faulty circuit. When a device, equipment, circuit or system fails, insulation resistance testing is used to locate the fault. Troubleshooting with insulation resistance testing requires knowledge of equipment, circuits and test instruments.

In addition to the F1508's automatic calculation of DAR and PI, remote control probes, and its compact size and easy-to-carry weight bring great convenience to field operators. The F1508 also has some other commonly used measurement functions, which are essential for daily fault analysis and processing. For example, AC and DC voltage measurements can be used to determine whether the tested line is energized or not, and can also be used to determine the source of the fault. At the same time, the included resistance and continuity measurements also help determine and analyze the source of the fault. At the same time, the F1508 also has an automatic discharge function, which can automatically release the charge on the tested object after the test is completed to prevent the operator from electric shock.

6. Routine maintenance

Usually all electrical equipment requires routine maintenance. The purpose of maintenance is to find possible hidden faults or minor faults. If these hidden dangers or minor faults are found early, they can be eliminated later without causing losses (downtime, equipment damage or personal injury) or with very little losses. Routine maintenance can usually be divided into scheduled maintenance and unscheduled maintenance, or divided into preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance according to the purpose of maintenance testing. Regular routine maintenance

experiments are performed at specific intervals to prevent downtime and low production efficiency, and the plan is determined according to time, such as every day, week, month, quarter, or every few hours the equipment works. Tasks include equipment inspection, regular inspection of lubricating oil, adjustment of equipment and replacement of parts, and inspection of electrical, hydraulic and mechanical systems of running equipment. Regular maintenance is performed on one or several equipment throughout the year. Unscheduled maintenance is random maintenance performed by maintenance personnel, including emergency work and downtime maintenance.

Preventive maintenance is to keep the equipment in peak working condition, combining regular maintenance with irregular maintenance; predictive maintenance monitors wear conditions and equipment characteristics according to predetermined tolerances to predict possible failures.

The requirements of daily maintenance tests are very close to those of handover and acceptance tests. The convenience and superiority of F1508 for the above tests will be of greater benefit in daily maintenance tests. In addition, due to the status of the personnel performing daily maintenance, the friendly Chinese interface of F1508 will make it easier for daily maintenance personnel who have not received more training to master it, and it does not take too much time to learn and become familiar with the operation.

In summary, although there are different characteristics in different insulation test tests, there are still many common requirements. F1508 has made many designs that make users feel simple and convenient according to the requirements of different types of tests. And these designs can make the tests that used to be time-consuming and laborious for operators and inspectors easier and faster. (end)