DEFA car engine heater End-of-line-test

We were engaged with DEFA to create a turnkey test solution for car engine heaters, focusing on automatic operation and operator safety.

Test system to secure the high quality of DEFA products 

DEFA is market leading within car engine heaters and has many years of experience with innovative development and production of quality products. For a new generation of car engine heaters, DEFA partnered with us to develop and manufacture a turnkey End-of-line test solution to ensure the high quality of their products.

Based on DEFA test specifications, we made idea presentations for the mechanical design of the test system. Through a creative dialogue, we visualized the design ideas in 3D to find the optimal solution for testing the DUT (heated up to 200° C). The main focus was product quality, operator safety, and production cost.
We delivered the turnkey test system complete, including CE certificate.

 Agnar Kopperud, R&D Director at DEFA says:
”DSE offers a turnkey test solution to DEFA as a one-point-of-contact for the test system, including fixture, measurement instruments, controller, test software, rack, wiring, and documentation. We could use our resources and focus on ”what we do best” innovation, development, and manufacturing of new products to the car industry.”  

Advanced hardware/mechanical design of fixture

A customized water-cooled fixture cools down the DUT/heater element. The fixture control includes IR temperature reading of the DUT, supply voltage read back, and controlling lock/unlock of operator protection.

To protect the operator from High Voltage and heated DUT during the test, the following hardware safety precautions were implemented:

•  A safety lid protects the operator from any contact with the DUT / Fixture.
•  A safety switch with a lock function is connected via a safety relay to ensure the lid is locked during the test.
•  The safety relay is connected to an interlock switch on the HiPOT safety tester, and the temperature of the DUT is monitored to ensure safe operation.
•  Automatic fixture with pneumatic lid operation and automatic slide-in connection to the DUT.

Testprogramming based on LabVIEW and cDAQ controller

The test programming is based on National Instruments LabVIEW and cDAQ controller. LabVIEW is a well-defined and documented "market standard" for test programming and will make service and maintenance, upgrades, and future configuration of product parameters significantly easier.

Based on DEFA requirements, we implemented the test sequences, Graphic User Interface, Fixture control, test data log, and a ”plug-and-play” driver for the barcode reader and label printer. 

The test system can be serviced/supported via a remote connection. 

Key features

•  Generic modular test platform based on standard elements.
•  It can be used for future multiple test lines or expanding/changes test specifications.
•  Safe, easy, and fast test operation.
•  Easy and quick maintenance of the test system.

Download the case here