The MIL-STD-810, “Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests,” is used by both the U.S. military and industry to assure that the environmental design and test limits of equipment match the requirements that equipment will face in actual use. (Do you recall radio ads for commercial phones that meet the MIL-STD-810 requirements for “ruggedness?”) A new Revision G with Change Notice 1 for this document has just been released. This new update is perhaps the most significant modification of the standard ever.
You’ll need a copy of MIL-STD-810G with Notice 1 and it’s a whopping 1058 pages. That’s over 280 pages more than the Revision G alone and more than twice as many pages as the previous Revision F. Changes are marked by lines in the margins, so you can move fairly quickly to the updated sections of the standard. Here’s an overview of what to expect:
First, in Part 1 the section on Life Cycle Environmental Profile (LCEP ) has been expanded. This is Task 402, and additional guidance can be found in Annex A of Part 1. And take a look at new expanded coverage in Section 402.4, the Life Cycle Environmental Profile Questionnaire.
Next Part 2 with the actual test methods is greatly modified. For example, there is a new note for each of the methods 500 through 527:
“Tailoring is essential. Select methods, procedures and parameter levels based on the tailoring process described in Part One, paragraph 4.2.2, and Annex C. Apply the general guidelines for laboratory test methods described in Part One, paragraph 5 of this Standard.”
And FYI: Only Method 528 can be called out in blanket fashion now.
Of course, these changes are to both the dynamic and climatic test methods. They affect all test methods 500 through 528. Of particular note is Multi-Exciter Test Method 527.1 with the addition of the new Annex E, Laboratory Vibration Test Schedule Development for Multi-Exciter Applications.
You may be interested in additional training on this significant update. You can turn to IEST, with a training course available in September in the Chicago area. More information is available on the IEST Test Reliability Institute site for the Understanding the New MIL-STD-810G Change Notice course. The trainer is Chris Peterson, former President of IEST and a long time member of the committee that oversees this standard.
Meantime, you’ll get your copy by going to the Document Center webstore at www.document-center.com. You’ll not only get a copy in either paper format or for pdf download, but you’ll get our best-in-class notification service as well. This tool helps you keep up with changes to your standards as they are released.
And if you prefer, you can contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). We have been providing our customers with copies of Mil Specs and Standards since we were founded in 1982. Thousands of customers rely on us. Make Document Center your standards experts too!
