What is HiPot testing?
There are a lot of jargon words in the Test & Measurement (T&M) world, so let’s eliminate some.
HiPot is the abbreviation for ‘High Potential’ and, in turn, ‘Potential’ is short for ‘Potential Difference’ or ‘PD’, which is another term for voltage level. Put them together and you have ‘high voltage level’.
So, HiPot testing just means High-Voltage Testing. Generally abbreviated to HiPot or hi-pot.
What is considered ‘high voltage’?
In safety systems, a high voltage is generally anything above 48V above the system ground. At 50V, from a low impedance source, it is possible to seriously injure a person, and it is necessary to start taking precautions against electrical shock.
Fast, flexible and powerful HiPot testing for cables
The CableEye HVX Systems combine our M3z technology with a high voltage module to provide HiPot testing of insulation resistance and dielectric breakdown up to 2100Vdc and 1200Vac.
Adjustable in 1-volt increments from 10V to 2100V, you have complete control over Ramp-Up, Ramp-Down, Dwell Time (same as Test Time), Trip Current, and Trip Delay (same as Soak Time). this means that you can design each HiPot test procedure to match your customer’s HiPot test standard.
Aside from the unique hardware design, CableEye’s PC software is key to the stability and ease of measurement that has made the whole range of testers such a success.
Safety using CableEye HVX Systems
Many safety protections have been built into the system, including a fast-trip 1.5mA current limit, a manual high voltage ‘Enable’ function at startup, and login control to ensure that every user has been properly trained before their login name will enable the system for Hi-Pot testing. Additionally, the optional HV Remote option (item 829X) can link into fixture covers or even area-access control guards and visual/audible warnings through Light Trees and sounders.
The HVX systems will operate as the M3Z does now for low voltage testing, and then optionally perform HiPot testing up to the voltage limit required.
Another popular option for CableEye HVX high voltage tester is 4-wire measurement. A module that enables you to eliminate the effect of adaptors and adaptor wiring to show you the actual resistance of your cable-under-test. For more on this take a look at our 4-wire measurement page.
The test results page provides a suite of HiPot test results including leakage current, voltage achieved and insulation breakdown. This means that with the click of a button, you can provide your customer with full testing history and traceability. See our page about the reporting capabilities of CableEye here: https://cimbian.co.uk/products/cami-research/cableeye-reporting/
FAQ
What is HiPot Testing?
Essentially, The term “HiPot” refers to a voltage that is above 50V and comes from the phrase ‘High Potential’, or ‘High Voltage’.
What does HiPot testing test?
A HiPot tester is designed to look for very small current leakage through the cable’s insulation or within a connector.
What is HiPot test used for?
In cable assembly terms it’s important to understand that HiPot should be looking for the things that have been changed during assembly… cutting/stripping/connecting etc. rather than the specification of the cable.
What is HiPot?
In general terms, HiPot is considered any voltage over 48V above local ground; however, we consider HiPot to be anything over 20vdc (+10/-10) as this is the maximum used on our ‘M’ series Low Voltage systems.
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