MK Test Systems’ latest loop resistance tester, the ExLRT, has been awarded ATEX and IECEx Intrinsic Safety certification with UL certification due to follow next month.
The classification of the ExLRT as safe to use in Zone 0 means that the ExLRT can be used on all aircraft – fuelled as well as unfuelled – enabling customers to carry out loop resistance testing using a significantly lighter and technologically advanced tool than the current industry standard Loop Resistance Tester (LRT).
UK-based MK Test Systems, which makes electrical harness testing equipment said that the certifications make the ExLRT the most suitable loop testing tool for airlines and MROs available on the global market.
Carl Bullock, managing director of MK Test Systems said, “The ExLRT has been developed as a much-needed replacement for the existing LRT. It eradicates the problems commonly associated with the current tool which is heavy, uses ageing technology and has obsolescence issues.”
A detailed program of document updates is underway by Boeing to ensure operators have full confidence in the approval status of the tool. The aircraft manufacturer has released a Multi Operator Message confirming that the ExLRT is an approved alternative to the LRT, and advising that they will grant a Non-Technical Objection to all airlines and MROs who wish to use the ExLRT prior to the AMMs [aircraft maintenance manuals] being updated in 2020.
Alan Wilson, engineering director at MK Test Systems said, “The intrinsically safe certification of the ExLRT is the latest stage in what has been an extensive and close collaboration with Boeing to create a world-class tool.
“The main requirement for the ExLRT was that it absolutely had to be intrinsically safe – we knew that once that aspect was achieved that the product would be well-received within the industry.”
The ExLRT can be ordered now, with the first units being delivered to Boeing within the month.
The addition of this latest model means that MK Test Systems now offer a complete family of loop and joint resistance testers with a wide range of specifications and capabilities suitable for both MRO and OEM environments.
