Combined Temperature and Vibration Testing

Combined environment testing applies vibration to a product while it is held at temperature, in one run, on one rig. It is what a specification means when it asks for vibration at -40 C rather than vibration and, separately, cold. Megalab runs it accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by A2LA under certificate 5179.01, from -45 C to +120 C while the shaker runs, from 5 to 2,000 Hz and up to 100 G.

Running a product cold, then running it on a shaker at room temperature, tells you it survives each. It does not tell you it survives them together, and for a large class of failures that is the only question that matters.

Materials change stiffness with temperature. A gasket that seals at 20 C goes hard at -40 C and stops damping. An adhesive that holds at ambient softens at 100 C and lets a heavy component move. A potting compound shrinks away from a lead. The resonant behaviour of the assembly at temperature is different from its behaviour on the bench, so a resonance search run warm finds a different frequency than the one that will actually break the product in a cold vehicle.

Sequential testing also lets the product recover between stresses. A combined run does not, which is the point. Specifications that call for it are usually written by people who have already been surprised.

The combined rig holds the product from -45 C to +120 C while the shaker runs. Send us your profile and we will confirm it fits before you book.

• Frequency and level: 5 to 2,000 Hz, up to 100 G, displacement to 3 inches peak to peak.
• Vibration modes: sine, resonance search, resonance dwell, random, sine-on-random, random-on-random, and classical shock.

Accredited by A2LA to ISO/IEC 17025 under certificates 5179.01 and 5179.02. See our accreditations.

Automotive component suppliers, where a validation plan routinely specifies vibration at both temperature extremes. Aerospace and defence suppliers running MIL-STD-810 Method 514 or DO-160 Section 8 with a temperature condition. Rail and heavy equipment manufacturers whose product lives outdoors and moves. Electronics manufacturers chasing a field failure that will not reproduce at room temperature, which is the most common reason this test gets booked outside a formal programme.

Combined work usually sits inside a larger sequence. Most programmes pair it with thermal shock or temperature cycling, and enclosed products add ingress protection at the end.

• The standard and method, or your internal specification
• The vibration profile: sine or random, the frequency range, the level, and the duration or number of sweeps
• The temperature condition, and whether it is a soak or cycles during the run
• Sample dimensions, weight and mounting arrangement
• Whether the product is powered and monitored during the run, and what passes through to it
• Fixturing, which is a separate item on every vibration quote and is worth discussing early
• Which axes the specification requires

Send us your combined profile and we will confirm the requirement and quote it.