Belt Up with Confidence
Test System for seat belts and webbing offers speed, efficiency and precision
Contact: Lisbeth Harpsoe, lisbeth.harpsoe@ametek.com
BOGNOR, UNITED KINGDOM – One vital aspect of vehicle safety is the reliability of passenger seat belt materials. AMETEK Test & Calibration Instruments, a leading supplier of materials testing equipment to the automotive industry, recently launched a testing system designed specifically to test the tensile strength and elongation at break of webbing materials used in passenger vehicles, freight handling systems, sports equipment, safety harnesses and other industrial applications. Originally developed for a leading UK-based supplier of webbing materials to the European automotive and other industries, the Lloyd Instruments seat belt testing system brings speed, efficiency and repeatable test precision to manufacturing, quality control and research environments.
Webbing materials must be strong yet sufficiently flexible for easy handling. For total safety and accuracy, special testing grips are required to prevent slippage during testing. The Lloyd Instruments seat belt testing system consists of the powerful 50 kN (11,000 lbf) LR50K universal testing machine fitted with special split bollard grips for webbing materials.
The system also features proprietary NEXYGENPlus materials testing software for flexible test control and analysis. Along with its comprehensive library of international standard test set-ups NEXYGENPlus offers high multi-level security and audit tracking for total traceability of user access without any loss of data.
“We wanted a set-up that was just as easy to operate on factory floor as in the development laboratory, which made the Lloyd Instruments system ideal for us,” comments the manager of the UK company. “Unlike previously, with the Lloyd Instruments’ seat belt testing system we now can conduct tension and high-accuracy elongation testing modes on the same machine.
“In addition, NEXYGENPlus software provides us with a powerful tool that not only makes the task of switching between test set-ups effortless but also can generate data in great detail for comprehensive reporting.”
The “explosive” nature of a webbing rupture at the point of break also can cause damage to mechanical extensometers. That is not a problem for non-contact extensometers like the VE1 video extensometer. The use of the VE1 video extensometer with the Lloyd Instruments’ seat belt testing system also allows for video capture and playback, which provides a powerful visual tool for training as well as additional sample analysis.
AMETEK Test & Calibration Instruments offers a comprehensive range of materials testing equipment for testing plastics, wood, metals, rubber, textiles and packaging. It is a unit of AMETEK, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices. To learn more about AMETEK TCI visit www.ametektest.com
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