MTBF: What is it ?

MTBF is an information that you always find on the technical datasheet of SpringCard’s products. We are going to explain to you what is the MTBF and more especially what is it for.

MTBF : What is it ?

MTBF stands for Mean time between Failures. It is an indicator of the reliability of a repairable product or system.

It is calculated using the probability of a technical fault for all the components of a system, assuming that a technical fault from any component will cause the failure of the entire system.

In modern electronics, the probability of a fault is very, very low. To make the figure significant, the MTBF is expressed as the number of hours the product is likely work without a fault. For a typical SpringCard product, the calculated MTBF is over five hundred thousand hours. This is more than 57  years uninterrupted use of the product !

Note that the probability of a fault vary with the operating conditions. The MTBF is calculated for the typical operating conditions. Exposing a product to abnormal conditions, such as a very high temperature, could dramatically change the figures. SpringCard's readers can operate at different temperatures which ensure your reliability.

Other type of indicators

MTBF is different from MTTF - which stands for mean time to failure and only considers the first failure, but if the system is too old, or too cheap to be repaired, both figures are identical. One of the difference between MTBF and MTTF is also the fact that MTBF is used for repairable products whereas MTTF is used for non-repairable products. That is why SpringCard uses only MTBF, our readers are repairable.

MTBF also differs from MTTR - which is the mean time to recovery. MTTR is the average time needed to repair a failure on a given product or system.

To sum it up MTBF as well as other indicators (MTTF, MTTR) are essential to assess the reliability of products and systems.

Published on 10/02/2018