DURABILITY

For product safety, knowledge about the flammability or burning behavior of the materials used is crucial and required by law. imat-uve provides support here with the necessary burning tests, e.g. for interior fittings.

Various tests examine mechanical impacts on materials and determine specific properties. imat-uve has a large range of established tensile, impact and bending tests, as well as shock and vibration tests according to DIN norms. Furthermore we offer durability tests using robots, which record the mechanical strain during a material’s specific service life. The identified data allow us to compare materials as far as their intended use is concerned and help manufacturers to plan the intended service life.

imat-uve examines surface stability using cutting and scratching tests or abrasion tests as well as color and luster measurements. When testing stability we focus in particular on lacquered surfaces, which are frequently used for interior car design. User impacts put stresses on surfaces in many ways.

We test materials according to standard requirements, ascertaining their consistency against solid and liquid mediums and chemicals, such as lotions and cleaning agents. This includes tests for changes in chemical features, weight, changes in volume; reaction to swelling as well as changes in color and density.

The "Point of no return" describes the moment at which an accident can no longer be prevented, but whereby the consequences of the accident can be kept at a minimum with suitable measures of passive safety. For this purpose, the engineers at imat-uve conduct safeguarding tests with the objective of protecting the passengers in accordance with statutory requirements currently applicable worldwide. imat-uve operates various climate chambers, e.g. for airbag status tests. The protection of the functionality of airbags occurs under extreme temperatures. Shooting tests can also be conducted simultaneously due to the multitude of ignition channels. imat-uve furthermore provides for the testing of other relevant components of active protective systems for passive safety such as belt tensioning devices, active headrests, active roll bars, battery separation or rising bonnet. Improvement measures are subsequently integrated into the development process.