Rotary damper gear precision torque characteristics

Case study

Rotary damper with gear sample on Helixa

Rotary damper with gear testing on Helixa

Testing for torque to turn characteristics of small components in mechanical systems that are often subjected to light loading but are very influential in the performance and tactile feel of the assembly.

Solution

Mecmesin's Helixa-i precision torque testing system, modified for testing a plastic rotary damper with gear.

The Helixa motor's rotational speed was increased for the R&D benchmark tests and a bespoke support fixture designed by Mecmesin.

Benefits

Extreme design specification able to be tested
In-house testing capability enhanced

Requirement

A global manufacturer and distributor of component parts that are used in products across many industries including transport, beauty, consumer goods and healthcare, came to Mecmesin with a challenging torque measurement application.

Their division in Thailand was manufacturing a new design of small rotary damper gear for their own customer.

To enable the development of the product, specific performance targets had been set and there was a requirement to measure and report of the torque-to-turn characteristics of the gear.

The very light torque values involved with such a small component needed an instrument with appropriate accuracy and sensitivity in order to provide meaningful data for confident comparison of differences from sample to sample.

Solution

Mecmesin Asia supplied a Helixa-i precision torque testing system which is built to measure down to mN.m values with high accuracy - facilitated by precise and adjustable axial alignment of the rotational axis.

The Mecmesin engineers modified the motor drive to increase its standard speed to 100 rpm maximum; a specific requirement of the customer's test procedure.

In addition, a bespoke fixture was designed to support the damper gear sample.

Helixa-i is computer-controlled by EmperorTM Torque software, which allows the user to write flexible and unique test programs, store them in a library of procedures and run them against any design variant or development sample.

This in-house R&D capability to apply any test condition will boost the efficiency of the new product development cycle.