Useful And Essential Facts About Hipot Tester

By Diane Bailey


The phrase hipot test means high potential or high voltage test. Another name used to refer to this test is dielectric withstand test. This is an analysis of electrical components that is done with the intention of checking for suitability of electrical insulation. The analysis is meant to ensure that there is no current leakage from one point to another in electrical devices. It is the opposite of continuity test. This is worth knowing about Hipot tester.

Hipot testing is meant to be nondestructive and only to test the potency of electrical insulation. The testing uses high-voltage and is widely applied to all electrical gadgets for a certain period of time to be able to make sure that the insulating column is not marginal. The method involves applying the insulation with excessive amounts of voltage.

The purpose of the process is to determine if there is crushed or nicked insulation in a component. It also helps in identifying conductive or corrosive contaminants, braided shielding, and stray wire strands around conductors. Tolerance errors in cables and terminal spacing problems can also be identified easily using hipot testing. The voltage that is used in this process is usually two times greater than operating voltage.

Hipot testing is usually conducted using hipot analyzers. A typical tester usually connects one side of the supply to safety ground. The second side of the supply gets connected to the conductor that need to be tested. In this arrangement, there are only two kinds of contact to which conductors can be connected, that is, the ground and voltage.

In cases where there are 2 contacts that have to be connected, then one needs to be linked to the voltage whereas the other one is connected to ground. This type of connection is crucial as it guarantees that contacts get isolated from other kinds of contacts. If insulation between the two conductors is insufficient, then a small charge will flow between the two conductors when a massive voltage is passed through.

The flow of that tiny current is normally acceptable. However, a breakdown of air or solid insulation is supposed not to happen in any case. It is understood that any product is normally subjected to normal everyday transient over voltages. That is why high voltage is normally applied in these tests. Therefore, the product should remain safe and operational in event such differences in voltages happen during the day.

There are different standards that are usually observed when conducting this analysis. The various standards require the voltage to be applied for different amounts of time. Under the IEC 06950, the analysis is supposed to be continued continuously for a duration of one minute. However, a typical rule of thumb is to apply 110 to 120 percent of operating voltage of the product plus 1000 volts for 1 to 2 seconds.

There also are specifications for the quantity of current that is supposed to be applied. As of now, there are several distinct varieties of testers available in the market for people to purchase. Different types of testers are designed for different categories of products. It is therefore critical to know which tester to apply for certain applications.




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