Ogden, Utah – September 15, 2023 –
Universal Synaptics Corporation (USC), the global leader in detecting and isolating elusive electrical intermittent faults that cause No Fault Found (NFF) test results, announced today that the Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) has received its second Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System 2.0 (IFDIS 2.0).
USC, together with its partner Lockheed Martin (LM) delivered the IFDIS 2.0 to FRCSW with a focus on improving the readiness and sustainability of the F/A-18 Generator Convertor Unit (GCU). Additionally, the USC / LM team performed a technology refresh on the original IFDIS delivered to FRCSW in 2016, bringing the original IFDIS up to the current technology standard.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the IFDIS has reduced the depot repair time from 90 days to 30 days and quadruped the F/A-18’s GCUs mean time between operational failures (MTBF). Additionally, FRCSW has implemented the IFDIS 2.0 as a “best practice” based on the information sharing and weapon system improvement data received from Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OO-ALC) based on their IFDIS success on multiple F-16 LRUs.
The IFDIS 2.0 is a patented diagnostic instrument that can simultaneously and continuously monitor all unit under test (UUT) circuits, individually at the same time, detecting intermittent faults that occur, even as short as *50 nanoseconds (0.00000005 seconds) in duration. IFDIS 2.0 is a modular Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) test bench and capable of interfacing to components in increments of 1,280 electrical connection points.
In addition to detecting and isolating intermittent faults, the IFDIS 2.0 AutoMap feature automatically interrogates and stores the as-wired configuration for a good unit and then, based on that “gold” configuration, detects any open, short, ohmic, impedance, drift, or mis-wiring problems in subsequent UUTs.
The IFDIS 2.0 was purpose built to detect and isolate intermittent faults that result in No Fault Found (NFF) test results. The United States Navy currently operates IFDIS test benches at FRCSW, Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane.
Current day, undetected and hence unrepaired intermittent faults are responsible for $5.5 billion in annual costs, and 383,000 non-available days of end-item-subcomponents to the Department of Defense (DoD).
“Universal Synaptics is proud to have participated with our partner Lockheed Martin to deliver another IFDIS 2.0,” said Kenneth Anderson, Universal Synaptics President & CEO. “FRCSW continues to leverage the most advanced maintenance and sustainment technologies to ensure weapon system readiness, and they lead the way in battling the status-quo. It was an honor for our team to collaborate with the dedicated sustainment professionals at FRCSW.”
The Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System 2.0 (IFDIS 2.0)
Since 1996, Universal Synaptics Corporation, based in Ogden, UT., has been an industry leader in detecting and isolating elusive intermittent faults and spent years in the “trenches” researching and solving complex diagnostic and testing problems. Their research into the primary root causes of intermittent / No Fault Found (NFF) problems and the massive digital testing void that exists today with conventional scanning test equipment, led to the development of the patented Portable Intermittent Fault Detector (PIFD™), the Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System 2.0 (IFDIS 2.0™), and the Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System (IFDIS).
For more information, contact Universal Synaptics at +1 801.710.1618
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