Many organizations that manufacture vehicle components send custom components to an outside lab at great expense. If you’re looking to partner with a company that has in-house validation capabilities, your options are much more limited. And you want to make sure that company has the capacity to do things right if they are handling in-house validation.
In this blog post, we’ll explore a few of the benefits of in-house testing and validation. Then we’ll cover some of the most common types of tests performed by the engineers at KUS. Finally, we’ll briefly talk about the importance of certifications in making your purchasing decision.
Benefits of In-House Testing & Validation
There are three primary benefits of working with a vehicle component manufacturer that offers in-house testing and validation capabilities for the standard and custom components it creates. Saving time and money, as well as providing precise customization options, can benefit your bottom line and improve the performance of the vehicles where the components are installed.
Faster
Testing vehicle components at an outside lab takes time. Lead times are longer when working with an outside lab. It takes time to ship components to and from an outside lab. When you work with a company that can handle everything — product design, creation, testing, and validation — you gain access to a well-coordinated process that ensures things go as smoothly and efficiently as possible
Less Expensive
When the manufacturer you’re working with ships parts to an outside lab, the cost of manufacturing vehicle components skyrockets. There is always the likelihood something may go wrong during the process, such as shipping delays, quality control issues, and a backlog of work, and these things can all cause delays, which can impact the cost of your components.
Customizable
All too often, sending custom components to an outside lab for testing and validation means you also are likely working with subcontractors. While this can still be a viable setup when done correctly, an outside lab typically will not offer the flexibility in design that a vehicle component manufacturer who does everything in-house can. At KUS, our in-house engineers have an in-depth knowledge of our products and how to best adapt them to your vehicle.
Different Types of Tests Available
Different products require different types of tests. KUS can perform at least 80 different tests in our in-house lab. Following are examples of some of the different types of tests we perform.
Thermal Shock
Thermal shock testing helps determine if your vehicle components can withstand sudden changes in the temperature without physical damage or a deterioration in performance. Your components start at an ambient temperature and switch between high and low temperature. If there is any sign of cracking or damage, then we make sure to account for the issue.
Vibration Tests
Once installed, vehicle components encounter vibrations on a frequent basis. Vibration testing ensures that your standard or customized component can withstand vibrations without breaking. These tests improve vehicle component product design and help eliminate faulty units.
Extreme Environments
The vehicles you manufacture, and the components you install within them, are going to travel a lot of places. This is especially true for industrial applications. Extreme environment testing ensures that your vehicle components can withstand the harshest conditions.
UV Light Testing
We perform ultraviolet light testing, also referred to as ultraviolet exposure testing, to understand how your vehicle components will withstand the damaging effects of ultraviolet (sun) exposure. UV testing involves the use of special lamps that simulate the effects of long-term UV exposure in realtime.
Electrostatic Discharge
Electrostatic discharge is the release of static electricity that occurs when two objects come into contact. We use this test to evaluate the durability of your vehicle components in the event of a sudden transfer of electricity. We apply a series of pulses to the component during testing.
Don’t Forget to Ask About Certifications
When selecting a partner for your parts and/or testing, you’ll want to ask about their certifications. KUS’ in-house laboratory is ISO 17025 certified. This is a CNAS and CNCA accredited process. The process of achieving this accreditation qualifies KUS as a third party lab issuing independent test reports. The laboratory spans 17,000 square feet and includes a wide range of services.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of partnering with KUS for manufacturing your vehicle components or our in-house testing capabilities, contact us. We’ll be in touch!