Companies test all kinds of equipment before, during, and after production. Even with advanced CAD and simulation software, they still test engines and pumps, and assembly systems. Lots of technical facilities, in many industries, have “test cells” to do this checking.
An example would be developing a new engine. This is where the design team tries different configurations to see what is quietest, or vibrates the least. Some manufacturers have a test cell at the end of their production line. They check that all the seals and connections are good, and the engine is fit to ship. Also, another example would be when an established product has to be tested in controlled conditions to report data for emission controls.
In all these cases, they need connections to get the exhaust out of the laboratory or assembly line. They might also need railings, gates, or stanchions to keep people away from the equipment. We’ve made all of these. One customer has us make reducers to fit a line of engines being tested at once – 6 inch down to 4 inches is an example – and another has to miss some obstacles in the test area, so their connector gets a couple of bends and an expanded end that’s not concentric, all formed with no welds. We can make tooling to make the ends (and middles) match the places they need to be, and we have fun doing it.
In Southeast Michigan alone there are dozens of facilities with literally hundreds of test cells. General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) all have Engineering Centers and Proving Grounds in Michigan. In just Ann Arbor you have Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Hundi, Subaru, Kia, Mercedes, and other automobile exhaust testing facilities.
Each of these facilities along with the EPA and independent suppliers have test cells with all types of equipment that require tube connections. Whether it’s custom exhaust connections from vehicles on a dynamometer or bottle gas feeds to sensitive equipment and analyzers, tubes play an important role.
Are you in the R&D or testing lab, and need to step up from hoses and clamps (or duct tape)? Finally, contact Detroit Tube Products and let us help.