Element Automotive Brochure

ABOUT ELEMENT

We are one of the world’s leading laboratory-based testing groups, trusted by organizations to test and advise on the safety, quality and performance of their products and operations. We operate 189 laboratories and offices and employ 6,700 people throughout Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia/Asia Pacific and Africa. Our capabilities help to extend asset life bring predictability to applications, and shorten the time to market for customers’ products, processes and materials. With over 90 years’ experience, we specialize in testing across a number of key sectors ranging from Aerospace to Fire & Building Products; Oil & Gas and Industrials; Infrastructure & Environment; Transportation; and Health Sciences.

In June 2017, Exova Group Limited was acquired by Element Materials Technology, a company with a global presence. Element’s laboratories are staffed by experts specializing in materials testing, product qualification testing and failure analysis for the Aerospace, Oil & Gas and Infrastructure Transportation & Industrials sectors. For a complete list of Accreditations and Approvals and more information, please visit www.element.com

184 laboratories across five continents, providing global solutions to our customers.

THE BEST TESTING PARTNER IN THE WORLD

THE WORLD’S MOST TRUSTED TESTING PARTNER

OUR VALUES:

SAFETY

We keep our colleagues and visitors safe.

INTEGRITY

We act honestly and fairly to do the right thing.

EXCELLENCE

We set new standards of excellence in everything we do.

PARTNERSHIP

We work together for the benefit of our customers.

WELCOME

Element’s UKAS accredited UK automotive test facility is based in the West Midlands, specializing in interior and exterior automotive trim and components for commercial, passenger, rail and off-road vehicles.

OUR TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

Environmental Testing

Temperature capabilities of -40°C to 200°C.

Humidity testing capabilities 10% to 100% relative humidity (RH).

Reach in and full vehicle chambers available.

Accelerated Weathering Testing

Interior and exterior weather-ometer tests.

Xenon-Arc, Carbon-Arc, Sunshine Carbon Arc, QUV

Fluorescent and open air weathering available.

Corrosion Testing

Neutral Salt Spray (NSS), Cyclic Corrosion (CCT) and Copper Acetic Salt Spray (CASS), Prohesion, Filiform and Ozone.

Reach in and full vehicle chambers available.

Vehicle Interior Air Quality

Fogging, Odor, Determination of organic compounds, Specific compound emission, Formaldehyde, Full Vehicle Interior Emissions, 10L/2000L Bag Method and Thermodesorption.

Physical and Performance

Scratch, Mar, Adhesion, Abrasion/wear, Crocking, Cleanability and Fluid resistance.

Impact, Chemical resistance, Stonechip, Gloss, LAB, gray scale, High pressure jet wash and Car wash brush.

Functionality and Durability Testing

Insertion and removal, Force pound test, Door/boot slam and mechanical efforts.

Electrical operation and monitoring, Fluid and pressure.

Flammability Testing

Horizontal and vertical burning available.

ISO 3795, FMVSS302, GB8410, TL1010, NES M0094, TSM0500G, SAE J369

Vibration and Mechanical Shock Testing

Sine, Random, Resonance search and dwell.

Dimensional Stability

Gap, Flush, Deflection, Deformation and Point to Point measurement using a portable photogrammetry system to perform 3D measurements on components and full vehicles.

A GLOBAL CUSTOMER BASE (OEM, TIER 1 AND 2 SUPPLIERS)

These

logos are used without the direct permission of the trademark owners and are used in a nominative way to indicate that Element is either currently or has in the past successfully completed testing tasks and projects on behalf of these organizations.

TESTING CAPABILITIES

Element provides a comprehensive range for both material and component testing for automotive interior and exterior suppliers.

The services offered are designed to provide full support for both Design Verification (DV) and Product Development (PV) test phases.

Completion of a Design Validation Plan and Report (DVPR) or OEM test plan is also offered:

ɤ Dedicated program management

ɤ Test, plan, design and verification

ɤ Test sample storage

ɤ Part build and assembly

ɤ Fixture design and manufacturer

ɤ Interior emissions testing

MATERIAL TYPES

ɤ Paints

ɤ Plastic

ɤ Rubbers

ɤ Textiles

ɤ Metals coating

ɤ Glass

ɤ Performance testing

ɤ Durability and fatigue testing

ɤ Mechanical testing

ɤ Environmental testing

ɤ Accelerated weathering

COMPONENTS TESTED

ɤ Seating

ɤ Instrument panels

ɤ Doors

ɤ Consoles

ɤ Overhead systems

ɤ Acoustical packages

ɤ Tensile, compression and shear testing

ɤ Impact testing

ɤ Materials failure analysis

ɤ Chemical testing and analysis

ɤ Metallurgical services

ɤ Flooring systems

ɤ Trunk trim

ɤ Automotive glazing systems

ɤ Headlamps

ɤ Window screens

STANDARDS WE TEST TO

Element specializes in interior and exterior automotive trim for the commercial, passenger,rail and off-road vehicles.

We test to a variety of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) standards and international specifications, including:

ɤ Jaguar Land Rover (STJLR and TPJLR)

ɤ VW

ɤ Honda

ɤ Ford

ɤ GM

ɤ Nissan

ɤ Renault

ɤ Volvo

ɤ Toyota

ɤ John Deere

ɤ Bentley

ɤ Aston Martin

ɤ BMW

ɤ Suzuki

ɤ Mazda

ɤ McLaren

ɤ Rolls Royce

ɤ SAE

ɤ FMVSS

ɤ Bosch

ɤ DIN, ISO, ASTM, GB, Taiwan and JIS

ɤ VDA

Bespoke testing is also available.

To view a full list of our accreditations, please visit element.com/accreditations-and-approvals

ENVIRONMENTAL CAPABILITIES

At Element Automotive we have selected our test equipment to meet the greatest variety of environmental test procedures.

Our chambers are fully programmable to allow precise controlled ramping speeds in order to duplicate any desired specification of environmental strategy. We can also provide mechanical cycling, vibration and system operational tests in conjunction with the environmental testing.

ENVIRONMENTAL TEST

ɤ Temperature capabilities of -40°C to 200°C

ɤ Humidity testing capabilities 10% to 100% relative humidity (RH)

ɤ Thermal shock -70˚c to 170˚C (transition five seconds)

ɤ Water condensible (100% humidity)

ɤ Infra-red sun simulation

ɤ Freeze thaw testing

INDUSTRIES

ɤ Automotive passenger vehicle

ɤ Aerospace

ɤ Marine

ɤ Rail

ɤ Building products

DRIVE-IN CHAMBERS

Our UK facility has a total of 26 chambers available:

ɤ Two full vehicle chambers and 24 reach in chambers of varying sizes

ɤ Full vehicle chambers size: 6m x 3m x 3m

coordinates of object points at quasi-static conditions. This information is then sent to the system’s software which is capable of calculating 3D displacement and deformations of objects and components. This allows the creation of a more accurate picture of a part’s performance either at the initial stage or when subjecting them to environmental and physical test conditions.

TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

ɤ 3D coordinates

ɤ 3D displacement

ɤ Deformation, gap, flushness

ɤ Bending, torsion, deflection

ɤ Rotation angles

ɤ Six degrees of freedom

ɤ Relative displacement (point - point, point - line, point - plane)

FIELDS OF APPLICATION

ɤ Environmental simulation

ɤ Misuse test / load tests

ɤ Stiffness testing

ɤ Gap size change

ɤ Flush

Ability to perform measurement analysis on single components, assemblies and full vehicles.

ɤ Full vehicle chassis

ɤ Instrument panels

ɤ Spoiler assemblies

ɤ Bumper systems

ɤ Door casing

ɤ Headlights

ɤ Seats

ɤ Trunk load space and pillars

ACCELERATED WEATHER TESTING

We have extensive facilities to test and reproduce various weathering regimes in order to test materials and components for light fastness and degradation. We can capture and record color drift (Delta E), gloss reduction and visual properties.

Our Atlas and QLab equipment are all approved by many OEMs in the automotive, paints and coatings industries. Programmable temperature, humidity and irradiance allow us to test to many specifications ranging from international standards such as ASTM, ISO, SAE and DIN to OEM standards such as Ford, GM and Nissan.

UV WEATHERING CAPABILITIES

ɤ Xenon weather-ometer

ɤ Fluorescent QUV

ɤ Sunshine weather-ometer (Carbon Arc)

ɤ Open air weathering

ɤ Kalahari weathering

ɤ Florida weathering

ɤ Solar simulation

ɤ Metal halide

ɤ Infrared testing

ɤ Ford lantern

TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS

ɤ ASTM G155

ɤ ISO 4892-2 and ISO 4892-3

ɤ SAE J2412 and SAE J2527

ɤ Ford FLTM BO 116-01

ɤ Nissan NES M0135

ɤ VW PV1303, PV3920 and PV3930

ɤ Honda HES D6601

ɤ Peugeot PSA D47 1431

Other international and OEM specifications are available upon request.

CORROSION CAPABILITIES

Element offers a comprehensive corrosion testing service, enabling us to cover a wide variety of industry requirements.

Corrosive tests are important in order to measure the corrosive effects a particular environment may have on metals and coated metal surfaces. The correct choice of material and the use of protective coatings is essential for extreme environments. Our chambers range from ‘reach in’ chambers to ‘drive in’ chambers with a maximum capacity of 6m x 3m x 3m – designed to suit all needs.

CAPABILITIES

ɤ Neutral salt spray

ɤ Copper Acetic Salt Spray (CASS)

ɤ Cyclic Corrosion (CCT) with roof spray and humidity capabilities

ɤ Roof spray capabilities

ɤ Humidity exposure 5% to 95%

ɤ Water condensible 100% relative humidity

ɤ Ozone testing

ɤ Prohesion

ɤ Filiform

ɤ Water immersion

TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS

ɤ ASTM B117

ɤ ASTM B368

ɤ ISO 9227

ɤ TPJLR.52.253

ɤ ISO 6270

ɤ VDA 233-102

Other international and OEM specifications available upon request

FUNCTIONALITY AND ENDURANCE TESTING

Element offers simulation testing for functionality and endurance by exposing components and materials to external inputs.

Vehicle components demand precise and consistent performance to ensure they perform throughout the lifecycle of the vehicle. Bespoke testing can involve various pre-treatments of the parts such as environmental cycling, corrosive atmosphere exposures, fluid or dust exposures, or pressure loading. The endurance and functionality tests can also take place at high or low temperatures with specified levels of humidity or cyclic conditions. Our services in this field include the building and designing of test fixtures, including the production of bodywork profiles from client-supplied CAD data either for direct supply to the customer or retain in order to offer this service in house.

CAPABILITIES

ɤ Insertional and removal forces

ɤ Serviceability cycles

ɤ Static and dynamic loads

ɤ Operating efforts

ɤ Deflection

ɤ Power and manual durability

ɤ Material wear

ɤ Stiffness

ɤ Pressure pulse

ɤ Leak detection

ɤ Quality feel

TYPICAL TEST ITEMS

ɤ Door latch and assemblies

ɤ Cup holder and glove box

ɤ Cooling systems

ɤ Seat mechanisms

ɤ Lighting systems

ɤ Vents

ɤ Sunvisors

ɤ Hand brake mechanisms

ɤ Boot lid and trunk space assemblies

ɤ Floor mats

PHYSICAL AND PERFORMANCE TESTING

Element offers a comprehensive range of material tests to allow you to understand the behavior and characteristics of automotive materials across all industries using the latest equipment and techniques.

TEST CAPABILITIES

ɤ Adhesion

ɤ Scratch and mar

ɤ Taber

ɤ Scuffing

ɤ Erichsen

ɤ Finger abrasion

ɤ Abrex

ɤ Martindale

ɤ Soiling and cleanability

ɤ Transverse abrasion

ɤ Curved surface abrasion

ɤ RCA abrasion

ɤ Functionality testing

ɤ Durability

ɤ Strength testing

ɤ Endurance testing

ɤ Colorfastness / crocking

ɤ Migration / blocking

ɤ Hardness

ɤ Impact / indentation

ɤ Stone chip resistance

ɤ Chemical resistance

ɤ Tensile

Peel Compression

Shear

ɤ Rigidity and deflection

ɤ Dimensional stability

ɤ Color measurement

ɤ Gloss retention

ɤ AATCC gray scale

ɤ Torque testing

ɤ Hardness

ɤ Paint thickness

ɤ Plating thickness

VEHICLE INTERIOR AIR QUALITY (VIAQ) TESTING

Element provides a number of different methods to analyze emission levels in materials, components and full vehicles.

Emissions from vehicle trim components (PVC, polyurethane, foam, carpets, adhesives etc.) can adversely affect Vehicle Interior Air Quality (VIAQ), and subsequently the comfort and health of drivers and passengers. As a result of these concerns, VIAQ is of growing importance to the automotive industry, mainly due to market image but ever more increasingly due to the increase of industry regulation.

TEST CAPABILITIES

ɤ Fogging / condensible constituents (photometric and gravimetric)

ɤ Odor testing

ɤ Determination of organic compounds

ɤ Specific compound emission

ɤ Thermodesorption

ɤ Tedlar bag method 10L and 2000L

ɤ Formaldehyde

ɤ Full vehicle interior emissions

EMISSION SPECIFICATIONS

ɤ Jaguar Land Rover STJLR.51.5229

ɤ VDA methods: VDA 277 and VDA 278

ɤ VW emissions: VW50180

ɤ Ford methods: FLTM BZ 156-01 and FLTM BZ 157-01

ɤ ISO methods: ISO 12219

ɤ Nissan NES methods

ɤ BMW GS methods

ɤ GM GMW methods

ɤ Volvo STD methods

VIBRATION AND MECHANICAL SHOCK TESTING

Element offers mechanical vibration and shock testing in three axis, ensuring integrity of your automotive components by employing various dynamic inputs to simulate driving conditions.

Ensure the integrity of your automotive products using our electromagnetic derritron low frequency isolation trunnion, which incorporates double air spring suspension of low and natural frequencies and still permits rotation of the vibrator into any position between horizontal and vertical. Our vibration trunnion also has a VP85 slip table to facilitate horizontal vibration of large or heavy products.

TYPICAL TESTS

ɤ Resonance search and dwell

ɤ Sine vibration

ɤ Random vibration

ɤ Multiple accelerometers to control and monitor various simultaneously

ɤ Jigs and fixture build to simulate in vehicle orientation

ɤ Sunvisor

TEST ITEMS

ɤ Spoilers

ɤ Coolant tank

ɤ Under body housings and brackets

ɤ Gear assemblies

ɤ Interior components

FLAMMABILITY TESTING

Element offers numerous fire, flammability and smoke testing standards to verify the performance of automotive interior materials.

Motor vehicles contain a number of components and materials that are used within the passenger compartment that can burn if subjected to a large enough ignition source. These materials need to have a degree of burn resistance so that occupants have time to escape the vehicle in the event of a fire. Element offers a wide range of test methods which have been developed by the motor industry to assess burning behavior.

CAPABILITIES

ɤ ISO 3795

ɤ FMVSS302

ɤ BS AU 169A

ɤ GB 8410 Republic of China

ɤ TRIAS

ɤ VDE 0471 Glow Wire

ɤ ASTM D635

ɤ Nissan NES M0094

ɤ SAE J369

ɤ ASTM 5133

ɤ Honda D6003

ɤ Toyota TSM0500G

ɤ Volvo VCS5031,19

ɤ VW TL1010

Other international and OEM specifications are available upon request.

Horizontal and vertical flammability testing is available.