MicroTouch Touch Monitor and Computer Products have a calculated ≥ 50,000 hr MTBF. This article attempts explain what MTBF is and how it is determined
MTBF is commonly confused with a product’s useful life, even though the two concepts are not directly related. MTBF represents a top-level calculated statistic only. This, along with the environmental factors, means that MTBF is not suitable for predicting specific time to failure.
During the development process of new products are subjected to a battery of tests to expose potential weaknesses of the system under extreme stress. The results of these tests provide insight into potential changes to the products prior to release and for on-going quality improvement.
These tests include:
- Highly Accelerated Life Test
- Accelerated Stress Testing
- Voltage and Current Stress Tests
- Temperature and Vibration Tests
- Agency and Reliability Testing
In addition, many factors affect product life and performance over time, and their impact cannot be completely measured during testing. Examples of these factors include:
- Environment
- Electrical Network
- Temperature and humidity
- UV Exposure
As a result, stating a “normal” life expectancy of an electrical appliance is not feasible. Therefore, electrical products use the industry standard term Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) as a statistical prediction of the elapsed time between failures in a large population of systems.