Reliability in Electronic Equipment

Since the last years of World War II, the use of electronic equipment has come more and more into being. Maintenance and repair techniques have so lagged behind this development that, in the case of military electronics, maintenance costs are sometimes one hundred times the production cost. Motivated by rising costs, the need for safety, and the lack of trained repair personnel, steps are being taken to provide greater reliability in electronic equipment. Using reliability data obtained from effective telephone repeater equipment and other systems, attempts are now being made to effect on-the-spot replacement of faulty subassemblies and to make available better vacuum tubes. Progress has been made with printed wiring components imbedded in plastic compounds. The military, faced with overburdening maintenance problems, production demands in times of mobilization, and untrained personnel, looks to development of greater reliability, inbred into equipment design. At present the military is seeking to have the manufacturer join, with comparable research, into the search for greater reliability. The Office of Naval Research is carrying out a research program in analyzing electronic maintenance minimization.