Product testing and certification company TÜV SÜD has invested more than £300,000 (US$351,000) in its environmental testing facilities.
The upgrade includes a third fast-rate-of-change climatic test facility, a complete refurbishment of its drive-in climatic test chamber, and an increase in vibration testing capabilities.
The bespoke fast-rate-of-change test chamber will greatly increase TÜV SÜD’s climatic test capacity, reducing test waiting times and time-to-market for aerospace and defence equipment manufacturers.
The chamber replicates rapid and extreme environmental temperature variations, covering a wide range of fluctuations from -70°C to 120°C and rapid temperature change rates of up to 10°C per minute.
Part of TÜV SÜD’s investment also includes a complete refurbishment of its drive-in 120m³ (4,238ft³) climatic test chamber as part of its proactive upgrade and maintenance strategy to future-proof test services. One of the largest commercial drive-in test chambers in Europe, it can accommodate entire vehicles or substantial aerospace components and systems.
The addition of new high-force and medium-force shakers will enable TÜV SÜD to deliver vibration testing at higher levels, to better simulate real-world scenarios for shock, vibration and temperature. The increase in vibration testing capability will reduce test lead times for manufacturers.
“Manufacturers are operating in a highly competitive market, but they must also adhere to complex standards to ensure the reliability and safety of their products.,” said Chris Bowles, TÜV SÜD’s environmental test supervisor. “TÜV SÜD’s investment will help them to realise this, but they will also benefit from reduced test waiting times, which will help them to achieve a rapid time-to-market.
“The new fast-rate-of-change chamber is built to a bespoke design, following feedback from our engineers on the innovations that we could introduce to streamline the test process to help our customers. The new and upgraded chambers, alongside our improved vibration testing capacity, complement our already comprehensive selection of environmental and EMC services. Manufacturers can now access the full range of tests from a single location.”
