Instructions for use and safety measures for hipot testing
Hipot testing has long been a common practice verifying that electronic equipment complies with electrical safety standards. Early commercial hipot testers essentially consisted of a variac-driven step-up transformer to ramp up the test voltage. Then dwell at the designated voltage for the set amount of time while keeping an eye out for excessive leakage current or device failure. This technique could produce inaccurate results if a high impedance transformer source’s voltage output droops due to leakage current. Since operator competency cannot be replaced, offering training is the first step in creating a secure testing environment.
In this post, you can see the instructions for use and safety measures for hipot testing:
What is HIPOT Testing?
A high potential test is referred to as a hipot test and is also known as a dielectric withstand test. The opposite of a continuity test is the hippot test.
While the hipot test determines if current would not flow from one point to another, the continuity test determines whether current would flow easily from one location to another and turn up the voltage high to ensure no current will flow.
The Evolution of Hipot Testing
Hipot testing has been a common practice for many different kinds of equipment for a long time. The high voltage tester generates when conducting dielectric withstand and insulation resistance tests get their name. Many hipot testers also offer precise, low-resistance measurements and low-resistance or high-current outputs to verify ground resistance and ground bond integrity.
When used to alter an applied voltage in stepped increases over specific time segments to test for leakage or component breakdown, the early commercial hipot tester was little more than a step-up transformer. The voltage output from a high-impedance transformer source may drop due to leakage current, which could quickly end in inaccurate results when using this outdated technique.
Hipot Testing during production
Once in production, products must pass a strict testing process to ensure that they meet all safety requirements and certifications from the relevant agencies. Although production tests are less rigorous than initial certification tests, they often include fundamental dielectric withstand and shock hazard tests.
If needed by the relevant standard, ground resistance and ground bond tests will also be performed on plug-connected devices. Insulation resistance testing will probably be performed on electrical motors, high voltage auto transformers, and other equipment.
Test method for HIPOT Test:
The user can specify the current limit on contemporary hipot testers. The user can predict the product’s real leakage current. Testing some product samples and establishing an average highpot current is the best technique to determine the trip level. Once accomplished, the leakage current trip level should be adjusted to a marginally higher.
Wrapping it up
Hopefully, you will learn about the instructions for use and safety measures for hipot testing. Following these guidelines will make it simple for you to perform the hipot test, which is quick and helps you discover insulation that has been damaged or crushed.
