When new devices are released to market, one of the enjoyable past times for many is the viewing of all the drop test comparisons. Part of what makes it enjoyable is knowing that it is not our own personal devices that are being shattered in an effort to find the limits of durability. Before a Samsung device ever reaches the point where it can be subjected to a drop test, it goes through a litany of tests the company uses to try to produce at least three years of useful life for digital devices as revealed by a recent tour of a Samsung facility. One of the tests involves a zap from a stun gun to test the ability of a device to withstand static electricity. Another test involves dropping a tablet from a ledge about three feet off the floor, replicating a drop from a typical table. The drop test is not performed a single time though – it is repeated about 300 times to make sure the device continues to function.
The tour of Samsung’s facility included a trip through a large, open room similar to warehouse space where several large metal boxes were lined up. Inside each of these boxes a different test is underway, most of them automated. A small window provides passersby a look in on the action. For example, one test puts a smartphone in a clamp between two arms and proceeds to twist the device over and over. Another test repeatedly pushes on a smartphone’s home button, up to 200,000 times. Yet another test subjects a smartphone and keyboard to a continuous rain shower to see how well the device holds up against precipitation.
According to Samsung, about 7,000 tests are completed on a mobile device before they are released to the manufacturing floor. Samsung is able to perform so many tests because they produce many of their own components and parts. Even so, other manufacturers subject their devices to the torture chamber as well. The efforts by Samsung to try to ensure the quality of their devices will meet the demands of the market is part of their larger goal of dominating a variety of electronics markets around the globe.
source: CNET
