What is the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of SDI quartz gyroscopes?
SDI’s quartz gyroscopes are micromachined from pure crystalline quartz. Since there are no moving parts, and hence no wearout modes, they feature an unlimited life. Standard MIL-HDBK-217 MTBF calculations, depending upon the environment used, are typically better than 400,000 hours for a single axis sensor. In commercial aircraft applications, SDI’s quartz gyroscopes have accumulated over 1,500,000 hours of operation without a single failure. In US Navy shipboard antenna stabilization applications, SDI’s quartz gyroscopes have accumulated over 2,000,000 hours of continuous operation without a single failure. In contrast, some conventional mechanical gyroscopes must be replaced after only a few thousand hours of operation!
