Potential savings in terms of costs and time?
Does QA contribute to environmental friendliness – and thus to material and energy savings?
The NFT test bench revolutionizes quality control!
Let’s take phenolic brake piston production as an example:
In the series production of brake pistons, quality assurance has so far been associated with considerable effort: To check product quality, pistons must be cut and visually inspected at random. Some pistons are also cut during production line setup—a process that not only incurs enormous labor costs but also results in a large amount of scrap.
With the Natural Frequency Test Stand (NFT) for brake pistons, MAUL-THEET now offers an innovative laboratory solution that drastically reduces this effort – and at the same time significantly increases quality standards.
The NFT uses the determination of dynamic properties such as natural frequencies and damping* to non-destructively detect even the smallest defects. Thanks to an exceptionally wide frequency range of up to 40 kHz and high frequency resolution, fine cracks, geometric and form defects, and hardness defects can be reliably identified – all without destroying the component.
*The frequency bands defined during the NFT test can be used to parameterize the 100% end-of-line test bench VQC to enable automated pass/fail evaluation in the series process.
The advantages at a glance:
- Significant time savings
thanks to non-destructive testing during production machine setup, as cutting samples are no longer required. - More efficient sampling inspection
because the inspection process takes only a few seconds per component – this allows for even more sampling with the same personnel effort. - Less waste
because good parts no longer need to be cut up. - Cost reduction through fewer false positives
Instead of rejecting entire batches due to a single defective test part, the NFT identifies and sorts out only those parts that are actually defective. - Early detection of reject parts
before they reach downstream process steps such as hardening – saves energy and reduces effort. - Increased quality assurance
Only pistons of absolute top quality reach the next production step or reach the customer.
A particularly strong argument for the NFT: Even for small, inexpensive components costing just one euro, the investment is worthwhile. Why? Because the test bench avoids unnecessary waste, conserves resources, and ensures high quality with minimal effort—a decisive competitive advantage even in mass production.
Conclusion:
With the NFT for brake pistons, MAUL-THEET creates the perfect balance between efficiency, precision and sustainability – a system solution that quickly pays for itself and makes a decisive contribution to process reliability and cost-effectiveness in production.
