A Closer Look At Our Test House

12/7/2017

As a small company we are remarkably agile in terms of design, manufacture and installation of test equipment for our in-house test services. This allows us to quickly respond to our customer's test requirements by getting custom components machined and fitted. For our customers, this quick turn around can mean the difference between meeting or missing a deadline.

Urgent Test Requirements

While we do not recommend working under such conditions, we are sometimes asked to help with urgent test requirements with little time to prepare.

We were recently contacted with very short notice for a thermal vacuum test requirement. Less than two weeks after receiving the test procedure document we had begun the test and, even with the chamber not being configured how we would have liked it and the test procedure being altered by the customer 'on-the-fly', the test was completed on schedule. The results of the test were critical to the acceptance of a flight component and as such the customer was able to meet their deadline due to our rapid response.

Large Sample Loads

A customer requirement for baking out hundreds of thermocouples meant pushing the capacity of our TVAC chamber. The down-time between bakeouts gave us a week to measure, design, manufacture, clean and fit spool system for loading the thermocouples. We were constrained by our temperature controlled shroud, but we were able to fit the components in time and complete the bakeout.

Tricky Sample Loading

Our chamber can be fitted with a large a range of temperature controlled shrouds we have manufactured for it. However, we are able to manufacture new shrouds to accommodate samples which are more tricky to mount.

For this particular bakeout the samples need to be suspended in the center of the chamber. We were able to get a design to our highly skilled engineer within the day and continued the re-configuring of the chamber while the machining was being undertaken. Computer controlled DC power supplies were installed into the control rig and the PID software updated to take care of the temperature control of the multi-segment shroud. In a week we had the new shroud installed along with re-routed thermocouples, QCM and cold plate lines. The bakeout was then started on-schedule thanks to our quick turnaround.

Latest news from TS-Space

13/4/2017

Our test facilities for both thermal vacuum testing and ECSS-Q-ST-70-02 outgassing both continue to be in demand. We've recently overhauled our thermal vacuum test chamber (TVAC1) after the turbo pump failed early this year. We have stripped and cleaned the chamber and now have the new turbo installed along with UPS and automated shutdown for the pump and thermal system in the event of power failure. The thermal control has also been upgraded to use a custom built system using the NI CDaq units for accurate PID control of the hot and LN2 modes of the chamber. We've even gone so far as to give TVAC1 its own twitter feed for remote monitoring.

We are beginning a new build of our Unisim Compact solar simulators as our stocks are almost sold out. The latest model has the improved, sliding enclosure for all-round access to the optical enclosure as well as an IV measurement system with source meter as standard. Many of our customers are ordering these with the optional LED boosts fitted. This allows the simulator to be used as a 4-zone system using our 'N-Zone' technique covered on this blog.

If you have any interest in our simulators or test facilities, please feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements.

TSIV Software Update v4.3

12/1/2017

The full installer for our free IV software v4.3 is available to download from our IV software page. Please see our IV software support page for the v4.3 patch fo existing installations as well as update notes.

Test Quote Request Form

4/1/2017

Due to an increase in quote requests for our test services we have a new form for requesting quotes for vacuum testing which can be found here. Although we specialise in custom testing requirements, collating common test requirements using this initial form will help us get your quote out much faster.

We are also in the process of updating our standard outgassing test information to cover regular questions and problems we are asked regarding sample preparation. For our existing customers please note our outgassing charges will remain the same for 2017, so if you used us for your outgassing test work in 2016 and are looking to use us again in 2017, the prices are the same.

Merry Christmas from TS-Space!

14/12/2016

We'd like to wish all of our customers and clients a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2016 has seen a particular increase in demand for our in-house test and consultancy services and we are grateful for all of the interest, feedback and references you've given us. We will be working on further expanding our test services in 2017.

We are also always working on our Unisim range of solar simulators which continue to lead the world in solar simulation and 2017 will be no different. We are working on new products, designs and also an expansion of our in-house solar simulator service for next year.

Please note that we will be closing for the Christmas period from the 22/12/16 to 02/01/17 so please contact us with your requirement before then, otherwise we will see you all in 2017!

IV Software v4.2 Patch Available

24/11/2016

A new update for our IV software is available. This will patch your existing installation to v4.2.
For new installations you will need to download the full version (available here) and apply this latest patch.

The full installer download will be updated for the next version (v4.3) which will add in additional features. Please follow our news section or twitter feed for updates.

v4.2 Update Log
- VL/IFwd grouping window is now scrollable
- Bug fixed in group name list when new group table added
- Bug fixed when adding identical group tables
- Bug fixed in 'clear graph' function
- Bug fixed in 'edit test info' function
- Bug fixed in 'save data' function when cancelling save

ts_iv_measurement_v4_2.zip
File Size:	11976 kb
File Type:	zip

Download File

Full IV Software v4.1 Download Available

22/9/2016

The full download for our latest IV measurement software v4.1 is available via the download link below.

For more information on our IV measurement software see our product page.

The full IV measurement system source code is included with any of our Unisim solar simulators including our new Unisim Compact solar simulator.

Customer List Update

12/9/2016

We are very proud of our extensive customer list which includes some of the most prestigious research and commercial groups working in photovoltaics today and we are very happy to be able to add SJ Solar and Tulane University department of Physics and Engineering Physics to that list.

If you would like more information on our 4-zone Unisim close match solar simulators with LED boost zone options, please have a look at our brochure or contact us to discuss your requirements.

If you are interested in our close match Unisim Compact solar simulator designed for smaller research applications, please see our new informational video or download the brochure for a full overview of what is possible with our Unisim range of solar simulators.

IV Software support page

8/9/2016

We have started an IV software support page for our free IV measurement software.

All full version installers and sub version patches will be available here. If you have any problems installing or running the software then please post a description of your problem on this support page.