Teledyne Storm Products–Microwave has developed an improved strain relief that significantly extends the life of cable assemblies used in test applications requiring frequent flexure behind the connector. Hard-To-Hurt™ strain relief technology was developed in response to a common industry problem: early failure in cables with “standard” strain reliefs when repeatedly flexed behind the connector.
Since no industry-standard flexure test exists, Storm developed an accelerated life test to evaluate strain relief designs using a cable flexing device capable of testing up to six cables simultaneously. Connectors are held static while the flexer deflects the cable behind the connectors 30°to the right and 30°to the left. An integrated counter tracks the number of cycles (±30°per cycle) that the cables have been flexed (see video on the company’s website).
During flexing, the cables are connected to a network analyzer and monitored for insertion loss and VSWR. Every 1000 flexures, the movement is stopped, and each cable’s performance is measured and recorded to determine when a cable starts to develop instability. Flexing is continued until cables fail to meet insertion loss or VSWR requirements. To establish a baseline, Storm evaluated cable assemblies with standard strain reliefs, and then alternate designs and materials were evaluated until the Hard-To-Hurt design was selected.
Available on two of Storm’s most popular test cables, True Blue®205 and Accu-Test®200, Hard-To-Hurt technology increases their flex life by nearly four times over standard strain relief.
Teledyne Storm Products,
Woodridge, IL,
www.teledynestorm.com/microwave.