Ingress and Egress Testing

Full Vehicle Durability Testing

I recently toured Ford Motor Company’s “Tough Testing” center in Dearborn, Michigan.  This facility boasts an array of robotic, hydraulic, computer and other simulation devices which help to accelerate the design and development of new products.  The facility sports a variety of laboratories capable of more than 100 tests on systems and components.  According to Ford engineers these tests reduce the number of prototypes required for road testing while simultaneously improving product quality.

Some of the highlights of the tour include:

• Robots which simulate ingress (entry) and egress (exiting) of a vehicle, based on sampling data from a variety of humans of all shapes and sizes in order to gather wear data on the fabric, seat cushions and seat frame to help design seats which are comfortable for at least 10 years.
• Tire brake testing conveyor belt.  This system tests not only braking in straight line conditions but also braking at a variety of turning angles.  The system simulates braking in city traffic and mountainous terrain in a variety of environment conditions to test braking performance, wear, noise and roughness.
• Electro-magnetic Interference chamber.  This chamber blocks all out side radio, satellite, cell phone and other sources of EM radiation.  The testing devices in the chamber allow Ford engineers the ability to test if various systems interfere with each other, cause EM interference and/or are interfered with by outside sources of EM radiation.  A variety of solutions are available when a problem is found including rerouting of wiring, relocation of components, shielding and redesign of components.
• High-speed Uniformity machine.  This laboratory is basically a large horizontal roller which the tire/wheel combination rolls against.  It is capable of measuring small variations in the tire at both low and high speeds.
• Fastener Testing laboratory which tests how much torque nuts, bolts and joints can take.  A demonstration was made with a bolt with a piezo-electric sensor mounted on one end.  The piezo sensor allows a computer to sample data about what is happening in the bolt (for instance, how much it is stretching) while torque is applied.  If you’ve never heard a bolt break with 2000+ ft/lbs of torque applied to it, let me assure you its loud.
• Door testing.  Robots open and close doors and hatch-backs continuously (with a short pause between each cycle) to simulate 10 years of service in a variety of temperature conditions.
• Seat Durability.  This test is different from the egress and ingress testing.  It simulates seat shaking and vibrations which a seat structure might experience in the real world based on sampling data.
• Full Vehicle Durability.  This was an impressive test.  The entire vehicle is mounted on hydraulic pistons which simulate real world driving conditions including smooth roads, pot-holes, wash-board roads, dirt/gravel, road construction and more based on real-world samples.  Over 100,000 miles of driving can be simulated in under four weeks.
• Environmental chambers which tests the durability of plastic and rubber parts.
• Flat Trac-II Tire and Wheel Test – this measures tire forces generated at different speeds, camber and steering angles.  Different weighted loads are applied to the tires to measure the handling capabilities of the tires.  Loud squeals are often heard from this laboratory, similar to what you would hear during emergency maneuvers.

Ford’s Tough Testing center helps Ford bring products to market faster with higher quality, as evidenced by the J.D. Power and Associates rankings released June of 2007.  Ford Motor Company surpassed Toyota as leader in initial quality rankings.

 “It’s not Ford Tough until we say it’s Ford Tough,” says Pete Dowding, chief engineer of the test laboratories. “That’s why every vehicle program passes through our ‘Tough Testing’ laboratory to ensure it meets the standards expected by Ford and our customers.”

(Copyright 2007 Ken Payne, All Rights Reserved. This article is used by Internet Brands, Inc. with permission - no license is given beyond this permission and may be revoked by Ken Payne.)

I whole-heartedly agree….