TÜV SÜD opens new fully automated EMC and RF testing facility

Certification and quality testing services provider for the consumer electronics sector, TÜV SÜD, has announced the opening of a new £1.65m (US$2.2m) 1,800m2 fully automated EMC and RF testing facility.

Based at TÜV SÜD’s Hampshire headquarters in the UK, the new facility’s three semi-anechoic EMC chambers will be in addition to five existing ones – significantly increasing test capacity. This will help manufacturers achieve a shorter time to market for products which integrate RF modules, including technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and the new 6E frequency bands.

As the new chambers will also offer testing to worldwide compliance specifications, this will support growing demand from manufacturers to access multiple global markets simultaneously.

The three new EMC test chambers will be integrated with TÜV SÜD’s bespoke radiated emissions test software. This will create a fully automated solution that will minimize disturbance of the device under test, so that measurements have a high level of repeatability and accuracy. The 24-hour service will also mean that tests can be completed more quickly, ensuring that manufacturers can fulfil product launch timescales.

Mary Grigsby, head of product service at TÜV SÜD UK, said, “Manufacturers are always under pressure to minimize market delays, and issues such as Brexit and Covid-19, have further intensified this. However, as a growing number of products are being developed to take advantage of wireless connectivity, this increased complexity necessitates more testing. TÜV SÜD’s investment in a highly advanced automated EMC test facility means that we can customize our service to provide the most efficient route to market, to ensure that testing is completed on time and lead times are minimized.”

TÜV SÜD has also laid the foundation stone for a new state-of-the-art facility for testing and certifying electrical and electronic products and medical devices to national and international standards in Bengaluru, India. This new integrated office and lab facility is scheduled for completion in early 2023.

With an investment of €15m (US$17m), spanning across three acres and comprising 70,000ft2 in Phase 1, this new integrated office and laboratory is in KIADB Hitech Defense and Aerospace Park, Devanahalli, Bengaluru and will be the second lab facility in Bengaluru. This investment further adds to the existing network of testing laboratories across India catering to electrical and electronics, food, seafood, textile, leather, toys, hardlines and environmental requirements.