Multi-axis test system automotive

Lifting and driving system

Road safety is one of the most important and cost-intensive areas of research in the automotive industry. The airbag tests of new prototypes use state-of-the-art technology and bundled know-how from various work areas. Highly precise, reproducible and flexible test mechanisms are needed to find out how airbags and people behave in the event of a collision. The design of the lifting and driving device must reliably and precisely withstand the tons of dynamic force generated when the airbags are deployed.

The test vehicle is maneuvered over the guide rails of the three-axle test facility and fixed to its test position. One arm on the tower’s vertical carriage carries the dummy. The device is moved into the vehicle interior by remote control via a distance measuring system through the side window. Sensors are used to align the system with the dummy with millimeter precision. During ignition and subsequent contact of the dummy with the airbag, the supporting arm of the handling system must remain absolutely rigid. To give the test results the desired significance, the device must not give way and must have an accuracy of 0.1 millimeters with each repetition. The entire test station must be realized on an area the size of a double garage. Maximum travel distances are required in order to be able to control a wide range of positions with the dummy on the arm. The low height of the room poses an additional challenge to the spatial conditions. With the help of an underfloor construction, part of the technology is sunk into the ground. This meant that the tight installation space could be fully utilized. The use of recirculating ball bearing guides enables an extremely precise, linear movement to be described. Pneumatic clamping elements tighten on the guides to additionally stiffen the moving parts of the superstructure before a test shot.