Shaker delivers good vibrations at test house

It puts a premium on the quality of the test equipment available at the test house.

Mannheim-based TÜV SÜD has a range of vibration test systems, including a Brüel & Kjær LDS V9 shaker system (105 kN), which is used for a huge variety of tests including sine, random shock and drop, plus resonance, search and dwell.

The test house is dedicated to providing a wide range of environmental testing services in its multi-purpose environmental chambers. Vibration testing accounts for approximately 50% of the business, and the facility also provides drop testing, HALT (Highly Accelerated Lifetime Testing), HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening), climatic testing, corrosion testing, humidity testing and dust protection.

Consulting and guiding customers is also a very important aspect of a test house’s work. Hari explains: “As a test house, we must fully understand customers’ requirements and act quickly to adapt to their needs in a very responsive and dynamic way. This is where experience and a good range of high-performance and flexible shakers comes into play.”

He continues: “This is where the V9 shaker comes into its own - the V9 has a nice large working area and can be quickly converted from vertical testing to horizontal testing. It is also very useful for combining temperature cycling with vibration testing as TÜV SÜD has an environmental chamber, mounted on rails, which can slide over the shaker.”

"TÜV SÜD chose the V9 based on its very high performance with respect to force, velocity and a long, 3˝ stroke, which is really good for shock and low-frequency testing. The V9 is a high-force shaker for large and heavy payloads. The company also has several head expanders up to 1500 mm in diameter and a large 1500 mm slip table with 12 bearings so TÜV SÜD can test a whole pallet packed with equipment and products in one go - excellent for transportation testing.”

Over the past two years, the V9 has been used for six hours a day (average), clocking up more than 3,000 hours of intense testing.

Bruel & Kjaer VTS Product Manager, Ole Thorhauge said: “In 2010 we initiated a hefty V9 validation project, which led to a number of process and design changes, all based on issues closely related to what TÜV SÜD has experienced. We have carefully monitored and succeeded in improving the V9’s reliability. The V9 is now a very mature shaker with strong specifications, and to reflect this, we have decided to call it V9x. It is already used for the most diverse applications around the world.”

TÜV SÜD's Head of Environmental Simulation, Wolfgang Jakobi said: “The last two years have been very good, and the Brüel & Kjær LDS V9 has proved to be a very reliable and powerful vibration test system. The vibration test business is growing, and with requirements for testing even larger and more payloads in the future, we will be investing in more shakers in the coming years.”