TEST METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR MULTIPURPOSE BRACKET VALIDATION FOR HCV APPLICATION

In the modern automotive sector, durability and reliability are two terms of utmost importance and relevance. The ever improving standards and cut throat competition has led to customers expecting highly reliable products at low costs. Any product that fails within its useful life leads to customer dissatisfaction and affects the OEM’s reputation. To eradicate this, all automotive components undergo stringent validation protocol, either in proving ground or in lab. The multipurpose bracket is one of the most important and critical aggregate in the vehicle assembly. It encompasses various mounting components such as FUPD bracket, steering mounting bracket, front spring front bracket, cab mount bracket, cab tilt cylinder mounting bracket, front cross member, footstep bracket, FSM and bumper. All these components experience various degrees of vibration and fatigue during its running period. The multipurpose bracket has to be designed and tested to withstand these multi-dimensional forces transferred simultaneously by the above mentioned components. This paper tails on developing a new test methodology to cover all load cases for this multipurpose bracket.