Investigations of an Innovative Drop Test Facility for Shock Evaluation of Portable Electronics

Abstract

Drop‐induced shock is a major cause of failure in portable electronics, impacting their useful life. Traditional drop weight shock testing methods, conforming to the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) standard of 1500 g for 0.5 ms half‐sine waveform, are often expensive, complex, and require delicate balancing. In this paper, a far simpler, two‐meter‐high, drop test facility is proposed for testing small‐sized portable electronics. The proposed equipment is easier to realize, conforms to the JEDEC standard, is easier to operate, offers a small turnaround time, and is economical. The novel design and the results of the shock test equipment are reported. A weight instrumented with high‐g accelerometers is dropped from a height of two meters inside a drop tube that is vertically straight and hits the aluminum base plate. The acceleration levels, ranging from 30,000 g for 100 µs to 1600 g for 1 ms, are achieved using the drop weight of 3 kg and pulse shaper of different thicknesses. The results are presented as a regression model, correlating peak acceleration and duration with pulse shaper thickness. The model accurately predicts the desired conditions for JEDEC testing and is validated under the standard conditions of 1500 g for 0.5 ms. This minimalistic approach simplifies shock testing, supporting future research in extreme testing scenarios.