First matchmaking EMC-ESD and PLOT Association at NLR a great success!

On Friday, May 12, approximately 50 members of both associations were guests at NLR in Marknesse. In addition to networking, there were also interesting presentations on the program around the theme 'Applications of equipment outside the environment for which it was designed'. The meeting was concluded with 3 interesting tours in the EMC lab, Drone center and the department Full Scale testing & Non Destructive Inspection. It was a very successful day, with networking and knowledge transfer as central themes.

Jan-Kees van der Ven of RH Marine gave a presentation about COTS (Commercial off the shelf) equipment on board naval vessels. When you use this equipment on board naval vessels, you have to take into account various external factors; movements, vibrations, temperature, humidity, materials and EMC. The conclusion is that the use of COTS equipment outside the environment for which it was designed can be safely integrated on board, provided that you; make clear agreements with all parties involved, make a risk inventory, determine good risk-limiting measures, check whether the risk-limiting measures are implemented correctly and you validate that the assumptions were correct and the mitigating measures are effective.

Harry Roossien, who works for Dopple and is also chairman of the PLOT association, then discussed static electricity versus product reliability. Harry uses the Bluetooth headsets as an example. A product can be tested as well as possible and meet all the requirements, but if it is used incorrectly and outside the specifications, this has consequences and can lead to direct and/or latent failure. Possible solutions are labyrinth in housing, ESD protection components, grounding/distraction and shielding.'

Host NLR gave, after a short company introduction, examples of qualification and certification activities for aerospace applications in which (partly) COTS components or systems are used. Examples of this are the beer trolley or tablets on board.

The presentations given can still be viewed by members in the media library on the EMC-ESD website.