As Anonymous puts it “If you don’t like testing your product, most likely your customers won’t like to test them either!”
Without a doubt, testing the product is an indispensable aspect of the product life cycle. It helps to obtain the precise feedback of the quality, durability, overall utility and also ensure effective Quality Control.
Neo wheels Testing Facility is thus actively involved in ensuring the quality, safety, performance and aesthetics by undertaking the following tests.
-> Alloy Chemical Analysis: Chemical Analysis of the alloy constituents determines the composition of the material which is essential for classifying the material itself. For identifying, sorting, inspecting and analysing metals, SPECTRO metal analysers are used. Neo Wheels testing facility boasts of a well-equipped, in house Spectro lab to analyse the chemical properties of the alloy wheels.
-> X-Ray Test: The Radiographic or X-ray test is a Non-Destructive Test which uses Gamma Rays to examine a test specimen’s change in thickness & volume and thereby detect the presence of defects like inclusions, cracks, voids and porosity. Neo Wheels testing facility equipped with an inhouse X-Ray facility to ensure defect free casting of the alloy wheels.
-> Physical Properties Test: There are four main tests pertaining to the Physical Properties of materials.
- Tensile strength: Tensile Strength can be defined as the maximum stress (force per unit area) which a material can withstand while being stretched / pulled before failing or breaking.
- Yield strength: Yield Strength can be defined as the value of stress (force per unit area) at which the material undergoes permanent (plastic) deformation.
- Elongation: Elongation is the measure of the maximum degree of deformation that occurs before a material eventually fails (breaks) after being subjected to a tensile (stretching/ pulling) load.
- Hardness: Hardness test is typically performed by pressing a loaded into the surface of the material and measuring the depth of the impression left.
Neo Wheels testing facility consists of has an inhouse physical testing laboratory dedicated to the strength, elongation and hardness of the wheel after the heat treatment of the alloy wheels.
-> 100 % leak test: Leak detection test is used for locating and quantifying leaks in a wide variety of industrial applications. At Neo Wheels, all the wheels are leak tested for suitable Tubeless Tyre fitment.
-> Radial & Lateral Run out: Radial runout is when the radius of the wheel is inconsistent when measured from the wheel midpoint to any point located on the rim. Lateral runout is the degree of sideways motion (wobble) in the wheel when it rotates. Neo Wheels testing facility ensures that the runouts are within permissible limits.
-> Balancing: All wheels are tested on a balancing machine to ensure the specified allowable balance weight. It ensures the minimum balance weight requirement during fitment & better performance of vehicle after fitment.
-> Dimensional check: Dimensional inspection is the process to compare what the object is, actually, as compared to what it is supposed to be. It ensures standard profile & dimensional parameters of the alloy wheels.
-> Paint adhesion test: The effective adhesion (sticking) of the paint to the surface is measured by the paint adhesion test which assesses the minimum stress (force per unit area) needed to rupture/remove the coat from the surface.
-> Visual Inspection: To ensure aesthetic & visual defect free wheel.
-> Salt spray for approval of paint: Salt spray testing is a laboratory simulation of a corrosive saline environment. Neo Wheels used as an accelerated means of testing the ability of surface coatings to withstand atmospheric corrosion.
-> Cornering / Dynamic Fatigue Test: At regular intervals, we have to ensure all the safety aspects of the wheel. Neo Wheels thus conducts these fatigue tests as per IS 9436 OR IS9438.
It is said that ‘Testing the product is also a very crucial learning process!’ and thus, by re-iterating the testing – learning – implementing cycle, Neo Wheels’ testing facility always believes in generating the best output for all its valuable customers.