Automotive industry is booming exponentially. As more and more brands are jumping, the competition among automobile manufacturers is rising. Today, the way a vehicle is manufactured or designed has changed a lot. Parts are imported from different locations and assembled at one point. In fact, the assembly is done with minimum human interference. Everything is controlled with computers and high-end machines. The assembly line is actually a very fascinating site to visit.
Apart from this, every vendor is extremely cautious with the industry standards. As human safety is associated with it. On one side, manufacturers don’t give a second thought for rejecting a consignment which is not as per the specifications. On the other hand, vendors are worries about his cost of production affected due to rejection. Moreover, it is about reputation and relation with client that matters. This is why, quality and timely delivery is key to success of automotive vendors. To keep the quality up to the expectations, vendors are often engaged in certain mandatory tests.
Every part which is made up of metal undergoes salt spray test. In this test, the sample is exposed to the salt laden fog for certain hours and it behaviour is observed under such circumstances. This test determines the corrosion resistance of the sample. In real working conditions, automotive parts are exposed to heat different environmental conditions that can initiate corrosion. To protect the metal from this, there is a coating on metal parts. This coating either be paint or electromagnetic plating. How effective these protective layers are assessed with this test. The sample with desired coating is placed inside the chamber and its reactive properties with NaCl fog is evaluated with a visual inspection.
This test is performed to check the performance of paint coating on the body of the vehicle. Due to physical impacts, sometimes the body develops a dent and may lead to chipping of paint. Cupping tester is small testing instrument but it tells a lot about paint coating and sometimes metal sheet also. Along with the drawability of metal sheet, it checks for the elongation property of paint. In this test, a metal sample coated with paint of desired quality is fixed in the fixture. It has a punch, which is moved forward using a revolving handle. As operator rotated the handle, the punch is displaced from its position and starts moving towards the sample. This punch will be kept on moving until it creates a deformity in the metal sheet. The cupping will be measured by a dial gauge. A visual observation is also important to check the performance of paint. In good coatings, the metal sheet ruptures, whereas the coating doesn’t chip off. While in poor quality paints, due to deformity in the sheet the paint becomes flaky.
Literally, any automotive part can be tested for its tensile properties. But tensile test is performed as per industrial requirements, like you don’t need to perform tensile test on tail lights or head lights. It can be performed on tyres, door seals, metal sheets, fibre sheets, fabric of seat, covers of steering, electric wiring and so on. It evaluates the performance of the materials when subjected to outward force.
In automobiles, aesthetics matters a lot irrespective of class of vehicle. From the colour of dashboard to colour of handles, everything has to be in sync and consistent throughout the production line. In fact, when it comes to the lighting of the vehicle, there are strict standards established by relative authorities. The colour of tail light should not deviate from what has been specified. Maximum rejections faced by automotive vendors is due to colour in discrepancy.
Everything has to be design as per design and specification. Thickness measurement is very important for airbag manufacturer. They are designed in such a way that air bag module should rupture when impact sensor the threshold force. If the grooves of airbag module are too thick, it will not allow the airbags to inflate when required. If they are too thin, the airbags will inflate will when the collision impact is not very high.
A vehicle is made to deliver the best performance in every condition, a user never expects the colour to fade our when his vehicles is parked in open parking lot, neither expects the body to corrode when metal piece is subjected to rain. To deliver a satisfactory performance, a weathering test chamber test the sample in 5 different weathers in cyclic process. Heat, Rain, Condensation, UV and Humidity.
For more information about automotive testing instruments like cupping tester, weathering chamber, salt spray chamber, etc., contact our team of experts.
