Original Date: 01/23/1995
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL's) Electronic Fabrication Department used a manually operated megohmmeter-based continuity and highpot tester to evaluate cables. In 1986, the need to improve the inherently slow operator-controlled system was recognized, and the SE3262 Cable Tester was developed and finally implemented in 1988.

The SE3262 tester consists of commercially available equipment including IEEE-488 controlled power supplies, multimeters, and scanners. The scanner's relays provide a matrix to provide the connection paths for the desired measurements under IEEE-488 control. Simple continuity and isolation tests up to 500 Volts as well as accurate four-wire resistance tests can be performed from the menu-driven computer screen. One hundred wire cable assemblies can be tested at a time, and a larger number of assemblies can be tested by breaking the tests into smaller groups. The accurate resistance measurements can be used to verify the gauge of the wire in the cable.

A library of over 700 interface adapters has been developed to interface with each different connector type. Building an additional interface requires only a spare connector from the customer and is easily constructed.

The significance of the SE3262 Cable Tester is the flexibility of the test configurations and ease of use. For a large number of simple cables, a local contractor is used to lower costs. A similar tester is being developed to allow isolation tests up to 1000 volts. The cost for both testers is approximately $300K.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.