“Meaningful dataabout the reliabilityof
aproduct canonlybeobtainedunder
realistic conditions,”explains the testing
expert. “However, cautionshouldbeexer-
cisedwhenworkingwith time-lapse
effects. Security takes time.”Thequestion
as tohow longanewproductwill remain
operational is investigatedbyThomas
Rittler,HeadofMechatronicsEndurance,
andhis team. “Tofindoutwhat kindof
performanceaproductwill deliver and for
how long takesagreat deal of skill and
technical expertise,”explainsRittler.
Theproduct specimensare testeduntil
theyhaveproven that theysuccessfully
meet the requirementswith respect to
thenecessaryminimumservice life. To
seehowmanyweeks,monthsor yearsa
product specimen lasts, Rittler andhis
teamcarryoutendurance tests.Thesecan
takea long time, asshown in the caseof
the ISOvalveMFH-5/2-D-1-C ISO. This
unrelentingperformer hasproven tobe
so resistant towear that ithasbeen tested
continuouslysince1992. In this time ithas
completedmore than1.6billionswitching
cycles. For products that have longsince
reached their target,wehaveset upa
special “veterans’corner”.Thishasaround
70product specimens, all ofwhichhave
reachedover 200millionswitching cycles.
If aproduct specimendoesn’tmeet the
requirementsormeets themonly inpart,
itmust first beoptimised in thedevelop-
ment departmentsand then testedagain.
Allmeasuredvaluesandobservationsare
documented in theOASISdatabase.
Given thesheer volumeofdata,with infor-
mationonmore than32,000endurance
product specimens,OASIS isan impor-
tant knowledgebase for service lifeas-
sessmentsand futurenewproducts. The
reliabilitydatadetermined isused tode-
signmachinesandsystemsand isacentral
qualitycharacteristicof Festoproducts.
inaddition to thestandardised tests,”
explainsSteinlein. The characteristicsof
individual productsarenot always com-
patiblewithspecific customer require-
ments. In these cases, theprofessionals
on thematerialssidearealsoactively
involved inproduct analysis. Theyhavea
rangeof equipment for thispurpose. From
simplestereoor opticalmicroscopes
throughscanningelectronmicroscopes
andgas chromatographswithmassspec-
trometers toultra-modern3DX-ray com-
puter tomographs, the teamhasaccess to
state-of-the-art equipment similar to that
found ina research institute. Theexperts
fromAnalysisandMaterialsalsoadvise
designerswhenselectingmaterials.
Efficientworldwideproduction
The results from theseextensiveproduct
tests for determining the technical specifi-
cationaswell as theperformanceand
endurance tests canbeused to continu-
ouslyoptimiseproducts. Thisextends
Especiallysince theMachineryDirective
2006/42/EC tookeffect, customers fre-
quently request this characteristicdata.
Standardandspecial tests
WhileThomasHeubachandThomasRittler
are responsible for puttingnewproducts
through their paces, KatharinaSteinlein,
Headof AnalysisDiagnosticsandMater
ials, gets to theveryessenceof things.
Her team consistsofmaterialsexperts,
metallographers, physicists, chemistsand
measurement engineers, all ofwhomuse
their extensiveknowledge tosupport
development.Beforeaproduct cango into
production, they carryout IPprotection
class tests (“International Protection”),
corrosion tests (CRC) andPWIS tests
(verifying theproduct’ssensitivity to
paint-wetting impairment substances).
“Because Festoproductsareoftenused
inhighlyspecificoperating conditions,
our experts frequently carryout special-
ised testsunder application conditions
their service life, increases reliabilityand
ensuresmaximumoperational efficiency.
Theservice life characteristics from
the testsareessential for preventive
maintenanceand theevaluationof safety
functions.
(E)Hot/cold continuousoperation:
Endurance test between–40 °Cand
+150 °C (ambient temperature).
(F)Drive testing:
Continuousoperation
at Festo isperformed inaccordancewith
international standardsand therefore
guarantees comparableservice lifevalues.
(G)Acoustic chamber:
Soundsource
locationwithacoustic camera.
(E)
(F)
(G)
“Meaningful data
canonlybeobtained
under realistic condi-
tions.”
ThomasHeubach,Headof Technologyand
InfrastructureMechatronics, Festo
“Tofindoutwhat
kindof performance
aproductwill deliver
and for how long
takesagreat deal of
skill and technical
expertise.”
ThomasRittler,HeadofMechatronics
Endurance, Festo
1.2014
trends inautomation
Impulse
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