Kit media
A specialist in aerospace applications, Smac is expanding its testing capabilities by acquiring two new vibrators to ensure high-precision measurements and meet the highest requirements of its customers.
Manufacturer of custom parts for the protection of equipment used in extreme environment, especially in high altitudes and in space, Smac needed reliable vibration test solutions, capable of characterizing a new shock absorber and validating its behavior in a very short time.
Its commercial partners, Airbus, Safran or Ariane Espace impose extremely rigorous performance criteria, particularly with regard to the rigidity of the elastomer.
For example, the Smac teams consulted the specialists Hottinger Brüel & Kjær (HBK), who, after a thorough study of the needs, recommended the LDS V8 vibrator for high force tests and the LDS V721 vibrator for less severe tests.
Pierre Lamy, head of the Smac testing laboratory, explains: "The tests are carried out not only on the prototypes of the proposed damper, but on the raw material, the elastomer being an extremely non-linear material. It is therefore essential that at all stages of product development we have a vibrator to start our vibration tests. It is the feedback from vibrator tests that guides us at every stage of the design and manufacture of our products. The important thing for us is also to be sure that the molds we make for manufacturing will not have to be redone. »
He continued: "Our specifications specify mandatory deadlines and the V8 system for high-force tests and the V721 system in parallel for less stringent tests have proved to be the most relevant choices to ensure all of our present and future vibration tests."
The new vibrators – the V8 model with a nominal force of 57,000 newtons and the V721 model with a force of 3,000 newtons – were installed in the Smac laboratory based in Toulon.
Visit HBK's website:
hbkworld.com
