Industry competence
Modern car manufacturing is a highly developed technology that requires a reliable, fully automatic quality control of many different components from manufacturers and parts suppliers. The continuous further development in the automotive industry, for example, achieving more and more power with increasingly smaller and lighter engines, places very high demands on the material. The individual components are subject to extreme loads, such as high temperatures or friction, and even very small cracks in the material or the wrong material properties can lead to total engine failure. For this reason, a reliable crack testing and microstructure inspection is essential to ensure proper functioning of the components.
FOERSTER has therefore developed special testing systems for a wide variety of applications. These can be used for 100% testing of the most varied components of the gearbox and engine as well as the steering, chassis, and connection elements.
Take a look behind the scenes of the automotive industry with us.
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY - Process-integrated quality assurance for metal components
Application examples
When the FORMULA 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was only 200 m away from the finish line during the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2015, he suffered catastrophic engine failure without warning. The driver barely managed to roll over the finish line in sixth place. Subsequent analysis showed this had occured due to a broken piston pin.
At high speeds, the pistons and piston pins and other components, have to withstand high loads that occur in the cylinder. This results in very high stress for the component material. In addition, engines are ever becoming smaller to reduce weight while ate the same time increasing efficiency efficiency.
To prevent the pistons and/or piston pins from breaking, it is essential to use appropriate homogeneous material without any defects. The MAGNATEST test system can be used to continuously ensure the microstructure is correct during production, whilst cracked components can be identified using the STATOGRAPH device.
This ensures that only flawless components are installed in the engine to minimize failure. After all, only with a perfectly running engine will you safely reach your destination.
Application Notes - Automated Crack Detection of Piston Pins and Piston Rods
The engines of today's vehicles have to meet a lot of requirements. They are supposed to consume less fuel while simultaneously providing more power and producing low exhaust emissions. To be able to implement this, all components of an engine must be perfectly coordinated with each other and free of material defects.
The inlet and outlet valves are among the thermally and mechanically most stressed components in an engine. After all, high engine speeds require a fast and precise closing of the valves on the valve seat inserts. Here, high temperatures of 800°-1000° C prevail, and even the smallest cracks can lead to valve failure. For this reason, the components are tested for cracks in the material surface with STATOGRAPH devices after the production process. The valve end also has to be specially hardened, since it rubs against the cam and is thereby subject to a particularly high load. The MAGNATEST devices can be used to check the degree of hardness of the material very precisely.
It is the invisible parts within our cars that make for its performance, and we at FOERSTER help to achieve optimum results.
Application Notes - Automated Crack and Structure Testing of Valves
Application Notes - Microstructure and Crack Testing on Rotor Shafts using Eddy Current
Application Notes - Spring Wire
Application Notes - Aluminium Components
Application Notes - Valve Sleeves
Application Notes - Automated Crack Detection of Brake Discs
Application Notes - Automated Crack Testing of Ball Pins
Application Notes - Automated Testing of Cylinder Bores with the Eddy Current Method
Application Notes - Non-Destructive Crack and Structure Testing of Cams and Camshafts
Application Notes - Structure and Crack Testing Axle Pivots with Eddy Current
Application Notes - Monitoring the Autofrettage Process of Injection Systems
Application Notes - Structure Testing of Cast Components
Application Notes - Automatic Crack Inspection of Sintered Gear Components
Application Notes - Hardness Testing of CV-Joints and Tulips
Application Notes - Automated 100% Crack Testing of Wheel Hubs
Application Notes - Automated 100% Crack Testing of Wheel Hubs
Application Notes - Automated 100 % Crack and Heat Treatment Testing of Gear Shafts
Application Notes - Hardness, tensile strength and foreign material inspection of forged products
Application Notes - Cast swash plate inspection of automobile air-conditioner compressor