MARCH 2020

QUARTERLY

NEWSLETTER

NEW CUSTOMER

REFERRAL SCHEME

Earn a free corporate gift for

every successful referral…

PLUS a personal

reward!

Details on page 6.

PRODUCT FOCUS: ExLRT

ABOUT: DIGITIZATION

UPCOMING EVENTS

ABOUT TEAM MK

SLIP RING TESTERA new test system, developed specifically for slip

ring manufacturers. Learn more on page 5.

We’ll be attending or exhibiting at the following events throughout 2020. Please contact us to

book a meeting slot or just visit our stand on the day.

If you’re a distributor for MK Test Systems and would like sales or marketing support at an

event you’re exhibiting at, please get in touch!

1 2 3AEROSPACE

TECHWEEK

Toulouse, France

18-19th March 2020

Visit us on stand 813 at

Aerospace TechWeek in

Toulouse to see a demo of

our latest test systems.

As well as exhibiting at this

event, Jason Evans (our Sales

Director) will also be a

guest speaker on Thursday

19th.. Don’t miss his talk on

Space, High Altitude and

EMC Testing.

MRO AMERICAS

Dallas, TX, US

28-30th April 2020

ELECTRICAL WIRE

PROCESSING EXPO

Milwaukee, WI, US

13-14th May 2020

1

2

3

We’re at booth 1303 and

will have demo systems

available. Drop by the booth

or pre-book a meeting!

Head for booth 1718 – pre-

book an appointment or

just visit our stand.

p1

The Intrinsically Safe ExLRT loop and joint resistance tester is

now a fully launched product, both operationally and

technically.

Boeing have already begun to issue the updated AMM for 737

variants, clearly showing use of the ExLRT. The update program

is ongoing; the remaining model AMMs are due to be issued

within the next few months.

Boeing have approved the use of the ExLRT ahead of the AMM

release – please see recent FTDs for details (extract shown

below). If you have any doubts about the authorised use of this

tool there are 3 ways to get confirmation: 1) Raise a query

directly in myboeingfleet.com; 2) contact your Boeing Fleet Team

Manager; or 3) contact us and we’ll put you in touch with Boeing.

✓ ExLRT is a direct

replacement for

the ‘yellow-box’

LRT

✓ Approved by

Boeing for use on

737, 747, 757,

767, 777 and 787.

✓ Certified as

Intrinsically Safe

on a global basis.

✓ Short leadtime of

4 weeks

✓ Not yet ready to

buy? Join our

priority waiting

list!

NO BUDGET UNLESS YOUR LRT FAILS? JOIN OUR WAITING LIST!

KEY FACTS:

✓ No commitment to buy

✓ Priority delivery leadtime

✓ Be notified of all AMM

updates

✓ Dedicated sales manager

for easy ordering

Sign up for the no-obligation waiting list now – simply email

sales@mktest.com or call your local office. We’ll need to

know some details about your current kit and then we’ll add

you to the wait list. You get all the benefits listed in the white

box, PLUS peace of mind knowing you have a solution

arranged for when your LRT fails.p2

of

WHY THE LULL IN AEROSPACE ORDERS WILL CREATE A PATH FOR INDUSTRY 4.0.

The market for new aircraft from

the UK is currently in a lull,

fueled in part by the uncertainty

of Brexit. The ADS Group

reported a year on year 79%

reduction on orders for August.

Conversely, turnover is on the

up, with ADS reporting the latest

annual turnover for the UK

aerospace industry at £35.9bn, a

45% growth since 2010.

The inference is that spend is

currently focused on MRO

rather than manufacturing, a

logical strategy in these times of

global financial uncertainty. But

the future is looking bright;

Airbus’ Global Market Forecast

predicts the world’s civil aircraft

fleet to double to 48,000

commissioned aircraft by 2038.

That’s 1,300 new aircraft coming

into circulation per year for the

next 19 years.

Orders are coming, and changes

are imminent. The UK

aerospace sector therefore

needs to embrace the digital

technology which will drive

Industry 4.0, transforming

manufacturing sites and MRO’s

across the nation.

When the tenders are issued,

the big winners will be those

who can build the future.

The bigger picture is that digital

technologies will transform the

manufacturing industry by

reducing production bottlenecks,

improving productivity and

providing comprehensive and

accurate data which will in turn is

used to drive further

improvements to the process.

For this bigger picture to come

into focus, all elements in the

production cycle must embrace

the potential of Industry 4.0, and

MK Test Systems are driving the

changes for electrical testing.

The key digital developments

driving the next generation of

high voltage automatic electrical

testing systems are automation,

big data and the concept of

Internet of Things.

> cont. over the page

p3

enabling the tool to be used across multiple

projects and with various types of source data.

Wiring schedules or connection tables in

electronic format can be used; and

interconnect rules can be set to accommodate

multiple connected harnesses and set up an

end-to-end test program.

of < cont.

REAL-TIME SCANNING

The RTS system from MK Test Systems combines the Internet of Things with

the power of real-time data.

Devices are fitted onto the ends of wire harnesses early in the manufacturing

process. As these harnesses are fitted into the aircraft, Main Control

Modules (MCM) ‘see’ the devices and measure the resistance of each

connection made. The result is compared to the netlist (in real time) and

the test system reports either a pass or fail for each one. The fact that

aircraft often have unique configurations (customerisation) is not as issue; this

does not impact the testing as the test is created from its unique data set.

The MCM scans up to 5000 measurements per second, thus providing real-

time scanning. Multiple MCM modules can work together, scanning many

thousands of connections per second. The beauty of the RTS system is that

integrating testing with installation redistributes the testing procedure to an

earlier stage in the process, thus eliminating bottlenecks and reducing costs.

“For an industry so heavily focused

on safety and compliance as

aerospace, digitalisation can deliver

huge improvements.”

AUTOMATIC PROGRAM GENERATION

The advent of Big Data and automation have driven the development of

APG software; this use of data from multiple functions across the same

business means the APG has to be able to handle several different data

formats and combine these data sets in a test program.

The APG software toolset allows test programs to be created seconds

before testing is due to start and include late design captured by this real-

time data. It also eliminates manual programming errors by allowing the user

to re-map fields and use their existing data formats to automatically create

test sequences and programs.

The APG mapping tool allows users to map specific source data formats,

Connected data means that

a paperless factory is

possible, therefore

minimising human error and

guaranteeing traceability. It

means that all measurements

can be logged and used

across a range of analysis

tools. The data can be used

to understand the types and

regularity of specific failures,

thus identifying the cause of

failure and driving change to

eliminate the problem.

For an industry so heavily

focused on safety and

compliance as aerospace,

digitalisation can deliver huge

improvements – from

manufacturing and supply

chain through to MRO. It

just needs the commitment

from its leaders to trust in

the benefits and commit to

change.

This article was written by

MK Test Systems & was first

published in Aerospace

Testing International 2020.

p4

The Slip Ring Tester (SRT) is the latest product from MK

Test Systems.

We’ve worked closely with some of the largest slip ring

manufacturers in the world to ensure the SRT performs

exactly as needed - for example, the hardware is tuned to

have low noise characteristics.

The system has been designed for critical testing in key

specialist industries where there is a need for fast and

accurate slip ring testing of:

✓ Noise

✓ Contact resistance

✓ Insulation resistance

To learn more about this exciting new system, please visit

the dedicated product page on our website –

www.mkest.com/slipring-tester.

✓ Developed specifically for manufacturers of slip rings

for wind turbines, medical devices, military and radar.

✓ Software communicates with 3rd party environment

test systems such as climate chambers & vibration

beds.

✓ Reports are generated automatically, with

customization options available, including graphics.

✓ Commercially available to order now.

✓ Global support and training is available.

KEY FACTS:

p5

REFERRAL SCHEME

If you know of a need for a slip

ring tester amongst your

contacts or within your

organization, please pass this

information on. We offer

rewards for all successful

referrals! Learn more on p6.

“Sliprings, schleifrings, rotary connectors,

rotary base junctions or

commutators…whatever you call them,

your customers depend on the quality of

your slip rings.”

DISTRIBUTOR FOCUS:

GAP WIRELESS

THE BIG PICTUREour key industries

MEDICAL

DEFENCE

RAIL

AEROSPACE

WIND

ENERGY

SUBSEA /

OIL & GAS

NEW CUSTOMER

REFERRAL SCHEME

Every successful referral earns your

organization a free gift…PLUS a personal

reward!

Word of mouth counts for a lot – and

we’d like to say thank you when you

recommend us to your peers.

All referrals which result in a new

order can earn two rewards*:

✓ For your business – a free gift

for your team to enjoy. Trust

us, you’ll like it!

✓ For you – a gift card worth

£50 / €50 / $50 from an

online retailer of your choice

We’re delighted to introduce Gap Wireless as

our new Canadian distributor, who can now offer

localized sales, support and training for the entire

MK Test Systems product range.

A leading distributor throughout North America,

the company distributes wireless infrastructure and

test and measurement products throughout Canada

and the U.S.

Gap Wireless customers include carriers, contractors,

wireless service providers, test & measurement users,

and network implementation in sectors spanning

government & military, education & utilities, and telecom

installation.

With significant interest coming from this region, we’re

anticipating a strong start to

this partnership…hope

you’re up to the

challenge Gap!

p6

MK Test Systems have been a leading

manufacturer and supplier of automatic harness

testing systems since 1991.

We have successfully delivered and implemented over

3000 electrical test systems into 34 countries

and have built an enviable reputation for excellence

in Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) solutions and the

way in which we support our customers.

MK Test Systems Ltd MKTestSystems

WE ARE SOCIAL:

Follow us on the following social media channels for our latest news and product updates:

CONTACT DETAILS:

Our regional offices are listed

below. For worldwide agents

and distributors visit mktest.com.

Global Headquarters

MK Test Systems, ATE House, 26

Westpark, Chelston, Wellington

TA21 9AD, United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1823 661100

Fax: +44 (0)1823 661160

Email: sales@mktest.com

Regional Office Americas

MK Test Systems Americas,

22102 Pepper Road, Lake

Barrington, Illinois 60010, USA

Tel. +1 773 5693778

Mob. +1 773 6961060

Email: sales@mktest.com

Regional Office Asia Pacific

MK Test Systems Asia Pacific,

Block 5 Emerald Villa, 328 Mong

Tseng Tsuen, Yuen Long, NT

Hong Kong

Tel +852 93030048

Email: sales@mktest.com

WELCOME TO TEAM MK:

We’d like to welcome the following staff members

to MK Test Systems in the last three months:

Kerry Thain

Sourcing Lead

01823 653 584

Kerry@mktest.com

Brian Lever

Sales Manager

07776 303 538

BrianL@mktest.com

MK Test Systemsp7

CYBER ESSENTIALS CERTIFICATION:

We are pleased to announce that we have had our

Cyber Essentials certificate renewed for another

year. Signing up to this

government scheme

demonstrates our

commitment to cyber

security and have measures

in place to protect our

business against cyber attacks.