Is Your Hipot Tester Safe?
Ten Whys of Electric Safety Testing

Author: Stephen Wu
Director of Business Development Department

Foreword

Withstanding voltage, insulation and grounding resistance (Ground Bond) are the test functions of the electric safety tester. Among them, the withstanding voltage test is a required test item for electrical equipment before leaving the factory.

Although these tests are widely applied, many engineers still have some questions that they seem to have answers but actually they don't. In this application white paper, we have complied the ten most frequently asked questions and explored the answers to these questions from the fundamentals.

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The ten questions are:

1. What voltage is set for the withstanding voltage test? Why is the voltage of the withstanding voltage test much higher than the working voltage?
2. What is the common withstanding test voltage?
3. How long should the test time be set?
4. How to choose the output capacity of the withstanding voltage tester?
5. What is the definition of insulator and insulation breakdown?
6. According to the definition of insulation breakdown, how do we avoid misjudgment?
7. Does the appearance of ARC and Flashover mean that the insulation has broken down?
8. In the test sequence of insulation resistance and withstanding voltage, can the withstanding voltage be excluded after passing the insulation resistance test?
9. Will the high voltage withstanding voltage test damage the expensive chips in the circuit?
10. What is the difference between grounding and continuity measurements?

In addition to these ten frequently asked questions, due to the safety hazards of high-voltage instruments (instruments used for insulation resistance measurement or withstanding voltage test), IEC has formulated the latest regulations for high-voltage instruments IEC-61010-2-034 to ensure the safety of engineers while using the instrument. This white paper will also discuss these safety hazards and the countermeasures of instrument manufacturers, so that you can safely complete the tests when analyzing insulation materials or conducting production testing. Finally, we will provide effective suggestions for the test plans from R&D to production testing, as well as equipment deployment.