It’s got to be a fun job, creating catastrophes in a cube.
Testers at Underwriter Laboratories in Camas now have a massive dose of electricity at their disposal with the push of a button. It’s not for fun, though — it’s for safety.
“We ensure the products we certify maintain a level of safety with respect to electric shock, with respect to fire, with respect to casualty hazard — something that could possibly explode and come at you,” said Ralph Parker, UL’s vice president of operational excellence.
The company’s new short-circuit laboratory was unveiled Wednesday in a high-powered demonstration and ribbon-cutting for employees and media.
There were warnings of possible fires and explosions in the sealed testing chamber — the lab can send enough amps through a circuit to power 25 homes at once — but the breakers subjected to the high voltage were built tough.
With the new short-circuit laboratory, UL is able to do more testing from start to finish at the Camas location, saving time and money for local and regional businesses who send their products to UL for its stamp of approval.
“Short-circuit testing allows us to close the loop on the West Coast,” said laboratory manager Charles Temple. “It’s now going to provide us the capability to do complete testing … where in the past we’ve had to send products to other UL labs.”
Short-circuit testing is like forcing lightning to strike — except, thankfully, the exact voltage can be controlled, and plenty of UL-tested materials separate testers from the currents. The lab also has its own power source to provide the 240 volts and up to 5,000 amps it runs through products.
“We don’t dim the neighborhood’s power when we turn this on,” Parker said to laughter from the 50 or so people watching the demonstration Wednesday.
Companies including Tesla, Charge Point and Square D will send components to UL for short-circuit testing. The diversity of products that could get time in the short-circuit chamber is endless.
The lab cost more than $250,000 and six months to complete, Temple said. It’s tucked among other testing sites on the ground floor of the company’s Camas campus, which employs about 270 people.
“For us, this is our only short-circuit testing facility in the Western United States, and we’re really excited to kick off this lab,” said Edward Lemos, senior staff engineer.
Temple said the new offering comes down to “science, safety and relevance.”
UL also recently opened a dedicated fabrication shop, streamlining processes for building and maintaining lab equipment. Safety testing at UL runs from fire and water to impact and beyond.
The company, headquartered in Illinois, first opened offices in Camas in 1994 and has grown its workforce nearly tenfold in that time.
