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IEC 60300-3-7: Reliability Stress Screening — Exposing Hidden Defects Before They Reach Your Customer
Your Product Passed Factory Tests — Why Does It Still Fail in the Field? Stress Screening Exposes “About-to-Fail” Defects
IEC 60300-3-7:1999 specifies Reliability Stress Screening (RSS) methods. Unlike traditional burn-in testing, stress screening aims to precipitate and expose early-life failures — identifying products that would fail shortly after deployment, while still in the factory.
| Dimension | Stress Screening (RSS) | Burn-In / Ageing |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Expose infant mortality, eliminate defects | Verify design life, assess long-term reliability |
| Stress Level | Above normal, below damage limit | Accelerated (high temp, humidity, voltage) |
| Duration | Minutes to hours | Hundreds to thousands of hours |
| Coverage | 100% of production | Sample or type test |
The goal of stress screening is to push products through the “infant mortality” phase of the bathtub curve before they leave the factory. The stress must be strong enough to expose defects — but not so strong that it consumes useful life. IEC 60300-3-7 provides recommended stress ceilings for various component types.
TNLab — Stress screening is not “testing.” It uses controlled stress to “flush out” hidden defects before they reach the field.
📥 Standard Documents Download
- IEC 60300-1-2014.pdf
- IEC 60300-2-2004.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-1-2003.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-10-2001.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-11-2009.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-12-2011.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-14-2004.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-15-2009.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-16-2008.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-2-2004.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-3-2017.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-4-2007.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-5-2001.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-7-1999.pdf
- IEC 60300-3-9-1995 scan.pdf