Vibration testing is an essential part of the manufacturing process for virtually any product that must sustain repetitive vibration from internal or external sources, including mechanical components for air, sea, and land vehicles. It assures quality control and product reliability during the design process, evaluates a product's overall performance in "real world" conditions, and may also be used to test a product to the point of destruction to accurately measure its tolerance in the field.
Vibration Fatigue Laboratory specializes in vibration testing and has worked primarily with automotive, aerospace, and heavy equipment customers. Using highly-controlled shaker systems, Vibration Fatigue Laboratory is able to correctly simulate the specific types of vibration that individual components and products will undergo during their actual use, assuring that a manufacturer's finished product will function according to its specifications.
With such high importance being placed on the vibration testing industry, proper and thorough training for shaker system operation is absolutely vital to ensure accurate results and subsequent quality control. For the manufacturers of vibration testing equipment, however, training that extends to include their sales and design engineers can greatly benefit their company's longterm success. We spoke with James T. Dumas, Technical and Operations Manager for Vibration Fatigue Laboratory, to learn more about their OEM training process and why specialized instruction is so important to the OEM sector.
A Meticulous Training Approach Benefits Original Equipment Manufacturers
Vibration Fatigue Laboratory's training program was developed to assist not only the engineers who design vibration testing equipment, but the sales engineers who are involved in marketing shaker systems to other vibration testing companies. "This was a specific targeted group," explained Dumas, "to help them better understand their equipment, to help them design, sell, and maintain their equipment better in the United States."
Training participants worked with Vibration Fatigue Laboratory for six months, learning every aspect of setup, operation, repair, and maintenance of the vibration testing equipment onsite. This has resulted in a much stronger understanding of vibration testing machinery for everyone involved in the program. "Any product can be designed from paper, but to understand how it is being used, the limits of what it is for, and testing for validation of product is essential for making a quality product," said Dumas.
This inclusive and thorough training approach provides the design engineers with a superior working knowledge of their machinery in real-world applications, granting them the ability to create the best products possible to meet their customers' needs. It also equips the company's sales engineers with a comprehensive, hands-on understanding of the complex equipment that they intend to market to vibration testing facilities, helping to generate more sales and build stronger relationships between the manufacturer and its customer base.
For original equipment manufacturers, particularly those who deal with intricately-designed and highly-specialized products, a training program that includes the company's sales and design engineers will expand expertise in their respective fields, as Vibration Fatigue Laboratory's successful OEM training program has demonstrated.
About Vibration Fatigue Laboratory
Incorporated in 2014, Vibration Fatigue Laboratory is a privately-held company that has been actively providing vibration testing services since 2015. Headquartered in Wood River, Illinois, part of the St. Louis metropolitan area, Vibration Fatigue Laboratory's facility utilizes both One-Axis and Tri-Axis shaker systems and is an A2LA Accredited Laboratory for acoustics and vibration testing. For more information visit Vibration Fatigue Laboratory.
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