Shock and Vibration Testing

What is shock and vibration testing?

Shock and vibration testing are tests intended to assess the wide range of impacts goods may undergo during their distribution cycle. Shock tests and vibration tests have very precise characteristics and can be executed independently or together within a protocol.

Shock and vibration testing ensure product performance under extreme conditions. Vibration testing and shock testing are used to simulate in a controlled laboratory environment the extreme conditions that a product may face during use in a controlled laboratory environment, such as mishandling, dropping, and various modes of shipment. TÜV SÜD has the infrastructure required to provide professional shock vibration testing services to multiple industries.

Why is shock and vibration testing important?

Shock and vibration testing provide a wealth of benefits. Shock and vibration testing use a test environment to help imitate the circumstances that a product might see during its lifetime. These tests are meant to ensure that products are robust and function safely during their process or transit. Vibration testing spots performance issues and probable failures before they start.

Some benefits of shock and vibration testing include:

• Discovering if your product can withstand use in ‘the real world.’
  
• Checking if your products comply with relevant regulations.
  
• Avoiding costly damage during transport.
  
• Reducing the number of returns and defective products.
  
• Having total confidence that the product will remain in an excellent working condition.

TÜV SÜD have unique, state-of-the-art shock and vibration testing facilities

TÜV SÜD provides shock and vibration testing services in vibration testing labs that use state-of-the-art equipment to reproduce low and high-frequency conditions and to test products up to 5 tons in accordance with the requirements of MIL-STD 810, DEF STAN 00-35, RTCA DO160, BS EN 60068, among other regulations. Any additional tests can be added quickly through our flexible schedule.

Our shock testing laboratories have a unique set of facilities designed to test the robustness and fragility of product samples and their packaging. We have several shock machines, a side impact machine, a compression machine, a precision drop tester, and bounce facilities.

Furthermore, for long-term mechanical cycling with or without climatic conditions, our experienced engineers have the skills, facilities, and experience to build a solution for almost any shock and vibration testing services challenge.

TÜV SÜD’s shock and vibration testing process

Depending on your product and its intended use, we will carry out the appropriate shock and vibration tests.

Typical assessments for vibration testing include:

• Sinusoidal
• Random
• Sine on random
• Swept sine on random
• Gunfire
• Shaker induced shock, including SRS
• Bump
• Hydraulic and electromagnetic shaker frequency range of 1Hz to 3kHz with up to 150kN of thrust

Conditioning of test samples during vibration between +80⁰C and -55⁰C Our shock testing capability include:

• Free fall
• Bump
• Drop topple and stability
• Bounce
• Static load
• Compression
• Bending
• Racking

We can deliver UKAS accredited vibration testing and shock testing to the following standards:

• MIL STD 810
• RCTA DO 160
• DEF STAN 00-35
• DEF STAN 07-55
• DEF STAN 08-123
• BS 3G100
• BS EN 60068
• EN 60945

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS