WESTPAK Adds New Equipment to its Union City Laboratory

WESTPAK Inc. has expanded its Union City, Calif., laboratory with new vibration and environmental testing equipment that will help increase testing capacity, support a broader product range, and accelerate clients’ projects. 

The new equipment includes an IMV electrodynamic shaker, a thermal shock chamber, and three reach-in temperature and humidity chambers. Together, these systems allow WESTPAK to perform more demanding test programs while reducing scheduling delays and equipment transfers. 

The new IMV electrodynamic shaker supports vertical and horizontal testing, as well as combined vibration and temperature programs. Its capabilities include: 

• 48-by-48-inch table
• A frequency range from 5 to 2,000 Hz 
• Three-inch peak-to-peak displacement 
• Sine, random vibration and shock testing 
• Maximum shock acceleration of 203 g 

The system can reproduce the vibration and shock conditions products may experience during operation and in field use. Testing in both vertical and horizontal orientations provides a more complete evaluation of product durability. 

Applications include autonomous vehicle systems, automotive components, wearable medical devices, computer and networking hardware, and military and aerospace equipment. 

WESTPAK’s new thermal shock chamber exposes products and components to rapid changes between hot and cold environments. The system includes separate hot and cold zones and a transfer basket with a capacity of up to 100 pounds. Its key capabilities include: 

• Hot-zone temperatures from 25°C to 215°C 
• Cold-zone temperatures from -73°C to 180°C
• Test chamber dimensions of 25 by 23 by 14.5 inches 
• Eight-second basket transfer 

Rapid temperature cycling can reveal thermal fatigue and assembly weaknesses in materials, connections, and seals that may not appear under steady-state conditions. This makes the chamber well suited for testing automotive electronics, autonomous vehicle components, wearable medical devices, computer hardware, aerospace and defense products, and solar modules and subcomponents.  This chamber also uses Air-to-Air Thermal Shock as a fast method for inducing thermal fatigue in solder joints or circuit board structures. 

Three new reach-in temperature and humidity chambers provide additional capacity for product conditioning and environmental testing. Each chamber offers: 

• 34.8 cubic feet of interior volume
• Temperatures from -70°C to 180°C
• Relative humidity from 10% to 98%
• Heating rates up to 17°C per minute
• Cooling rates up to 11°C per minute 

These chambers can support package conditioning, accelerated environmental exposure and operational product testing across many industries. Their size also allows WESTPAK to accommodate larger products or multiple samples within the same test cycle. These new chambers are in addition to the four large walk-in chambers in Union City, and the 46 other chambers in service in WESTPAK’s San Jose, Calif., and San Diego laboratories. 

Adding this equipment at the Union City laboratory gives clients access to more testing services in one location, according to executives. Greater in-house capacity reduces scheduling bottlenecks, limits the need to move samples between facilities , and simplifies coordination across multi-stage test programs. 

The result is a more efficient testing process—from test planning and setup through execution and reporting. For clients working toward product launches, design approvals or validation milestones, shorter testing timelines can help accelerate time to market. 

WESTPAK continues to invest in the equipment and expertise needed to meet evolving product and package testing requirements. These new systems expand the Union City laboratory’s ability to support complex vibration, shock, temperature , and humidity test programs while providing the responsive service clients expect. 

WESTPAK Inc. is a third-party, independent test laboratory specializing in product and package testing. Its facilities are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) as well as certified by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) to perform a wide variety of testing. Found in 1986 by Herb Schueneman, the company is employee-owned.