John Hamrin, an acoustic engineer with TEAM Industries, is a one-man NVH department. He must get as much data as possible from fast-turnaround acoustic and vibration tests he runs both in the lab and in the field. Headquartered in Bagley, Minnesota, the company designs, tests and manufacturers drive-train components and systems for vehicles such as snowmobiles, ATVs, personal watercraft, golf carts and garden tractors made by OEMs such as John Deere, Ford, Dana, Polaris, Ingersoll-Rand, Textron, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha.
Like most first-tier suppliers in consumer products industries, TEAM maintains its strong market position by working closely with OEMs in developing subsystems that satisfy increasingly demanding scheduling, cost and quality requirements while rigorously meeting end-user expectations for overall product performance, a critical part of which for vehicles is sound quality and pressure level.
“I have to provide designers with acoustic and vibration information as quickly as possible throughout the development cycle, from concept through engineering, prototyping and production,” Hamrin explains. “There’s no time to lug around heavy equipment or fool with anything less than a state-of-the-art analyzer that gets the job done quickly and accurately. Based on this test data, critical design decisions are being made on our product’s functional performance.”
According to Hamrin, TEAM Industries recently selected the LMS Pimento multi-channel noise and vibration analyzer for a number of reasons including portability, internal battery power, 24-bit resolution, ease of use, speed and compatibility with LMS CADA-X.
“The system has all the channels I need with the ability to run all channels simultaneously at full bandwidth, so usually I can get the required readings in a single run,” says Hamrin. “Additionally, the 24-bit inputs allow a very wide dynamic range. Built-in templates for setup and post-processing analysis, as well as other automated features, allow tests to be set up and analyzed quickly. Data
is available instantly, so we don’t waste time waiting to see results. And the equipment is compatible with our existing LMS systems such as CADA-X, so we have a fully integrated test and analysis solution.”
Hamrin finds real-time order tracking analysis capabilities particularly useful in relating noise to the internal components of the gearboxes he tests. He also takes advantage of Pimento’s modal analysis features in determining modes of vibration on components such as transmission cases. Most of the work involves spectrum waterfalls and orders as well as frequency response measurements.
“The greatest benefit of the technology is that I can run tests based on the data I need, not on the limitations of the testing system,” says Hamrin. “The value in going with LMS is that they are a leader in acoustics and vibration, a company in which you can have confidence, with people who are always willing to provide advice and guidance.
There’s a lot riding on our test data and LMS provides the close support I need.”
