Research and development: crash tests ensure safe design standards

Whether you need ramps, rear cut-outs, or wheelchair securement products – AMF-Bruns GmbH & Co. KG specializes in vehicle conversions and makes all models wheelchair accessible. When it comes to mobility, safety requirements take top priority. To drive research and development in this specific area, the company newly founded the AMF-Bruns Forschungs-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (English: Research and development company), which operates separately from the successful car conversion entity. Its competence center for mobile safety opened its doors in 2021 in Apen, Germany. The perfect reason for REHACARE.com to talk to AMF-Bruns Managing Director Gerit Bruns about the new venture.

Mr. Bruns, what stages do new product innovations have to go through before they can be installed in vehicles?

Gerit Bruns: Behind every innovation and every product is an idea, whose feasibility and requirements must first be carefully examined and analyzed. If the resulting concept ends up meeting all requirements, you start creating a product prototype. The research and development center enables AMF-Bruns to ensure that all relevant inspection criteria for our new products and ideas are strictly reviewed for compliance in the immediate vicinity of the company headquarters. Besides static and fatigue resistance tests, the facility is also host to dynamic sled crash tests. The tests findings are incorporated into the development process and product optimization. After the verification tests confirm the product meets all relevant safety requirements and specifications, the product is completed and ready for sale.

How does the adjacent research and development test center benefit AMF-Bruns product development?

Bruns: AMF-Bruns R&D is an independent company that focuses on research and development pertaining to mobility. The competence center features nearly 20,000 square feet (1,800 square meters) and is primarily used for dynamic crash and static tensile tests. We also have a team of highly qualified experts in charge of the development and construction of innovative products.

AMF-Bruns R&D not only makes the wide range of services available to AMF-Bruns GmbH & Co. KG. The testing facilities are also accessible for third-party users, including testing institutes, car manufacturers, wheelchair manufacturers, seat manufacturers, vehicle body manufacturers, and makers of safety-related vehicle components – such as harness systems and child seats – to test the safety of their products and foster new product development.

One key advantage is the short lines of communication, which facilitate continuous and direct interaction between design, production, and testing. The high degree of vertical integration on-site enables both us and third-party users to quickly react to changes and new situations and promote progress in effectively performing static and dynamic tests.

Products related to passenger transportation must meet many requirements and standards (ISO, DIN) to obtain approval. This includes safety requirements. What do these safety tests look like?

Bruns: These testing standards are critical for both dynamic and static tests. The standards provide all the pertinent information needed for the correct and replicable performance of the measurement procedure, ensuring the results are comparable with one another. The standards contain precise definitions of specifications or other criteria essential for transport security in a wide variety of vehicles. AMF-Bruns always aims to ensure its products meet the same high standards in terms of safety, design, and functionality for occupants in a converted motor vehicle as in a non-converted car.

The calibrated tensile testing facility allows the inspection and testing of safety-relevant products and components in the vehicle. The static test center facilitates seat testing, strength testing of built-in vehicle components or passenger and wheelchair restraining systems. With up to six hydraulic cylinders the required tension is built up within a matter of milliseconds. The tests can be performed for all types of vehicles on the market. The tests can be carried out to check the safety performance for both EU regulations and the U.S. Federal Motor and Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

Dynamic sled testing offers a method of testing products under simulated crash conditions. One standardized test is part of ISO 10542 -1 and applies to the design, testing, installation, and use of wheelchair tie-down and occupant restraint systems. The test simulates a head-on crash at 50 kilometers per hour. To achieve repeatability and controllability of the system, the sled with the test setup is accelerated from rest within a few milliseconds in the opposite direction to its velocity. The mass inertia creates the same effect as if the test setup were to hit a stationary object at the specified speed. The respective test standards define all parameters relevant to the test. The state-of-the-art concept ensures maximum precision and delivers more accurate results than conventional deceleration sled systems.