Moog Car Seat Test System Allows Greater Flexibility in Automotive Test Labs

22 January 2015

Moog Industrial Group has developed a 3-channel electro-mechanical test system to simulate loads on the seatback and benches of vehicles. The system has been installed at a car seat manufacturer in Asia that manufactures complete seating systems and interior components for automotive and transport companies.

The test system is based on the Moog Electric Linear Actuation Solution that incorporates Moog’s innovative brushless servomotor and ball-screw technology, a state-of-the-art servo drive and user-friendly commissioning software that is easy to setup, maintain and move around in the test lab, while saving energy and providing clean operation. This is especially important when testing is performed inside a car. In addition to seats and benches, other applications can be tested with this solution such as: Car doors and panels, car accessories, assemblies, gear levers, pedals, and seat belts.

The Moog test system consists of three Electric Actuators,a Portable Test Controllerwith three channels, three Servo Drives and Test Software. All of the components are optimized to work together to provide the highest levels of performance and accuracy. In addition three electric Servo Motors move the actuators in a vertical direction to compensate for vertical displacement of the seats. An angle sensor placed on the seat provides information concerning seat displacement in order to determine the correct height of the actuators. All core products are designed and built by Moog using technology proven to be reliable in the most rugged applications.

“Our newly developed electro-mechanical seat test system provides the advantages of an electric system: Easy to setup, versatile, and compact, but more importantly it allows our customer to test seats in-house, which saves time and allows for greater flexibility in the research and development of new seats”, said Marie-Laure Gelin, marketing manager Test and Simulation at Moog.

 The Moog Portable Test Controller is a digital servo controller capable of running hydraulic, pneumatic or electric test actuators and 6-DOF hydraulic simulation tables. It has the ability to control up to 6 channels in one chassis and offers language selection. Recently released software gives access to the new embedded user interface of the Portable Test Controller. It can be used standalone directly through the display or by using a mobile device. Tasks such as calibration and tuning and test setup are made easy through the PC software application, with the ability to run multiple stations simultaneously.

Car Seat Test System

Photo caption: Moog Electric Car Seat Test System schematic, featuring Moog Electric Actuators, Servo Drives, Test Controller and software user interface.