This month two leading Chinese vehicle manufacturers have invested in AB Dynamics’ Suspension Parameter Measurement Machine (SPMM), making it a record-breaking sales month.
They will utilise the equipment to improve the vehicle dynamic performance of their products and benchmark their competitors.
Matthew Dustan, AB Dynamics Laboratory Test Systems Director said:
We have seen a significant increase in interest from China for our chassis testing equipment within the last decade. Chinese manufacturers are investing heavily to develop vehicles for both the growing Chinese domestic market and setting their sights on exporting vehicles to compete with their much longer-established competitors from Europe, the US and elsewhere in Asia, particularly in the EV sector.
"Improving the refinement of vehicles and how they ride and handle is a key part of this. Our SPMMs enable manufacturers to benchmark a vehicle’s chassis and suspension very quickly and accurately.”
Both OEMs have purchased a four-wheel-station SPMM 5000e. The first of the machines is due for delivery at the beginning of May.
The SPMM is a Kinematics and Compliance (K&C) test machine designed to simulate the on-road behaviour of a vehicle’s chassis. It measures and analyses the suspension’s K&C characteristics, which enables engineers to understand the vehicle’s ride, handling and steering performance. The data generated can be used to benchmark existing products, develop simulation models, verify new designs, resolve problems and monitor product quality.
At the centre of the SPMM 5000e is the moving table which is precisely controlled in six degrees of freedom by precision electromechanical actuators, so that a combination of roll, pitch, bounce and yaw motion can be applied to the vehicle body. This design means the ground plane (road) remains fixed during vehicle cornering and braking simulations as it would driving on the road.
“Introduced in 1995, the SPMM is one of our most established product lines,” said Dustan. “All of our SPMMs are still in use more than 25 years after they were first delivered, which has been possible through regular software updates and upgrade options that enable the machine to accommodate evolving vehicle designs. Our latest version, the 5000e, has been updated to accommodate a wider range of vehicle sizes and features the latest electromechanical actuators and computer software.”