New Test Centre

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31124, 29 July 1966, Page 11

New Test Centre

A NEW multi-million dollar reliability laboratory and technical computing centre has been opened in the United States by the Ford Motor Company. The new reliability laboratory of 125,000 sq ft, houses the latest equipment to simulate customer usage of vehicles and parts. There are nearly 100 test stands in the laboratory, including a new four-position brake dynamometer, two bump rigs to reproduce rough road surfaces, a ride simulator which gives engineers an underneath “glass road” view of a car’s suspension, and many fixtures which can subject frames, suspensions, steering systems and brakes to life-time durability tests.

The stresses and strains of a life-time can be simulated in the laboratory in a few days or weeks. A truck or car is instrumented to record its various vibrations and chassis movements as it rides over various surfaces. This information is recorded on tapes, which are then used to programme the various stresses into the test rigs, which subject the vehicle to the same stresses, but at an accelerated rate.

The associated computer centre allows engineers to solve complex problems related to chassis reliability in minutes. The testing in the new buildings is designed to augment the 15 million miles a year run by engineers and test drivers on the company’s three major proving grounds.