News & Events

The state-of-the-art shaker allows customers to pinpoint the root causes of buzz, squeak and rattle (BSR) issues under simulated real-life conditions.

03/02/2022

The state-of-the-art shaker allows customers to pinpoint the root causes of buzz, squeak and rattle (BSR) issues under simulated real-life conditions.

The Applus+ Reliable Analysis (RA) team have continued their investment drive for next-generation test equipment at their Madison Heights base. Going another step further in offering unique testing solutions to improve and validate their clients’ components, the addition of the Tri-Axis Shaker, as with the autonomous door slam test bench, gives the lab a unique capability in the automotive hotbed around Detroit.

Cutting-edge tech for next-level analysis

Sticking to their speciality for performing tests under conditions as true to real life as physically possible, the new shaker operates under various vibration profiles (including random, sine and shock) so it can accurately simulate different terrains and road surfaces.

The Tri-Axial shaker is also known as the XYZ shaker as it analyzes sound in all three cardinal directions (X, Y and Z). The shaker itself is virtually silent due to its permanent magnet design, and it is specifically constructed for acute detection and characterization of any BSR sounds which don’t conform to OEM specs.

The shaker can support far heavier components and assemblies than the shakers of our competitors, and it allows the Applus+ RA team to test and analyze for longer periods of time too. Not only will it be used to detect the very slightest of noises (of less than 28 dB(A)), but also to characterize the root sources of those noises so we can advise on how best to ratify issues.

Compatible with a wide variety of automotive components and assemblies, the shaker’s large bare table can also be used for medical devices and consumer electronics.

Building on the collection

The X-Y-Z shaker adds to an already extensive fleet of next-generation vibration test machines at the Michigan lab. The team have several electrodynamic shakers at their disposal, which operate from within custom-designed climatic chambers. Fitted with electric lifts for use with components of varying physical configurations, these chambers allow tests to be performed at temperatures between -60°C and 175°C, with controlled humidity if required.

The lab is also equipped with various Multi-Axial Simulation Tables (MASTs), which link up with Applus+ RA’s proprietary software.  While the vibration frequencies are lower with this kind of testing, MASTs allow all three axes of movement to be simulated, as well as pitch and roll. These simulation tables are also enclosed within environmental chambers, with sun loading available too, and are used in accelerated life cycle testing for a variety of industries. Payloads (supported weights) for the MAST tables exceed several hundred pounds and road load or recorded data can be brought to RA for analysis and conversion to be able to simulate on these tables with utmost accuracy.

The test bench will soon arrive at Applus+ RA’s facilities in Madison Heights, USA, where it will enhance the lab’s capabilities for Life Cycle & Durability testing.

25/11/2021

The team at Madison Heights have been performing life cycle and durability testing and failure analysis on automotive parts for over 20 years, but wanted to offer their clients a unique environmental testing solution. That solution would combine door slam tests with climatic testing, providing them with the most accurate data on door slam durability, taking into account the effects of extreme temperatures. Earlier this year, they challenged our engineering team in Barcelona to develop a versatile test bench capable of autonomously slamming car doors from inside of their climatic chambers, all whilst sticking to the test parameters of the various automotive manufacturers.

These tests would consist of multiple types of open-close cycles under different temperatures. To emulate real life conditions, doors would need to be closed from different locations depending on the test phase. The experts at Applus+ RA would be looking for information about the speed at which the door closes for each cycle, which they would use in conjunction with the information derived from their visual examinations of the door under test. The test bench would need to take care of the open-close cycles autonomously, and do so regardless of the extreme temperatures under which it, and the door are exposed.

Design and Validation
Our engineers worked closely with the experts at Applus+ RA during the design stage and came up with a system combining electromechanical actuators with an easily-movable mechanical rig. Other key components are a heat/humidity protection system, a fibre-optic speed sensor proven to perform under extreme temperatures, a PC and Control Rack and specifically-designed software to run the OEM-specific test profile.

Once they had assembled the system, our engineers worked with the environmental testing team here in Barcelona to validate its performance inside a climatic chamber, at temperatures of -40ºC to +80ºC.

Following lengthy but successful trials, the test bench will now be commissioned in the Applus+ RA facilities. Finally, QPS, another Applus+ Laboratories company, will perform their expert inspection of the equipment and certify it for use with our clients in America.

Expanding the Portfolio: Life Cycle & Durability Testing
This test bench builds on what is already an extensive service portfolio for Life Cycle & Durability testing at Applus+ RA, which specialises in testing automotive parts under veritable real-life conditions. These solutions go beyond compliance testing to provide real-life simulation along with accurate data for automotive manufactures to understand the true limits of their parts so they can design and improve them accordingly.

The American lab boasts a range of different sized climatic chambers as well as advanced durability controllers and facilities for cyclic corrosion. As well as door slam, the lab has dedicated setups for sun loading and fatigue and actuation testing of interior automotive components.