Smithers services

Understanding the performance of tires and tire mechanics is critical in determining their influence on the ride, handling and safety of cars, commercial vehicles and airplanes. With over 90 years of expertise in rubber testing, Smithers Rapra provides custom tire analysis and standard testing to meet your requirements.

Our wheel testing laboratory performs tests that are precisely controlled and repeatable to the client`s exact specifications. Testing a wheel to ensure it meets or exceeds your clients` needs will only help you maintain or gain new business. Using our wheel rim testing services for aftermarket parts will help you understand the life of the wheel, understand your liability position and warranty potential.

From coolant hoses to fuel and brake lines, Smithers Rapra conducts a range of hose tests for the automotive industry. The tests required for hose assemblies include those carried out directly on the product as well as tests made on the materials used for the hose construction.

Smithers Rapra provides you with instant access to a world class R&D team specializing in automotive plastics, rubber and composite materials. As polymer specialists, we can assist on a wide range of internal and external automotive fascia and trim projects – providing guidance through OEM engineering performance specifications and with expert support in testing to meet your development and approval deadlines. Whether you need simple material testing or full project management of your qualification requirements and entire R&D programs, our experts can support your project.

A bushing is a cylindrical component designed to support a shaft or axle in order to reduce friction and wear, guide motion, or provide structural support. When carefully tested to optimize performance, bushings or mounts contribute to smooth machinery operation and a comfortable driving experience by softening vibration and noise. The experts at Smithers Rapra have the expertise needed to recommend and carry out standard and custom testing packages for bushings and mounts in alignment with your specific needs.

In the physical testing laboratory, a comprehensive range of tensile, compression, adhesion, abrasion, flexing, aging and performance tests are performed. Capabilities include testing to ASTM, SAE, ISO, military, and federal specifications, as well as numerous automotive specifications, plus unique tests and test development procedures.

Our chemical laboratory can efficiently and accurately analyze raw materials, rubber, and other components of polymer products. Hundreds of manufactured products are routinely tested using a wide variety of analytical methods and wet chemistry techniques, including compound formulations, to identify and quantify constituent materials. Let Smithers Rapra test the analytical chemistry of your rubber and polymer products.

The global automotive and aviation markets are imposing ever increasing product qualification requirements, ensuring that automotive and aerospace components are fully compatible with the demanding environments in which they operate. Automotive and aviation products must be able to perform with exacting combinations of resistances to heat and various fluid exposures. Among the wide range of testing and consulting services available from Smithers Rapra, we have the capacity to provide fluid susceptibility testing to a number of recognized automotive and aerospace standards, or to customer specific parameters. Our test equipment has been developed and proven to satisfy demanding testing criteria.

Smithers Rapra performs a variety of hose pressure testing from a number of specifications including automotive, marine, and industrial. Pressure tests include impulse, static, burst, etc. High and low pressure impulse: Smithers can impulse hoses using air (low pressure), water, radiator coolant, oil, brake fluid, and transmission fluid. Burst: Most burst tests are performed hydrostatically using water or oil as the fluid pressure source. We have capabilities up to 30,000 psi. Proof / leak testing: Applying a pressure to a hose before it burst. Tests typically use water or oil as the fluid pressure source. Circulation / constant pressure: We can circulate fluid at a constant pressure over a period of time. The temperature of the fluid can be either room temperature, cold, or elevated.

Vibration testing is commonly used as a method to recreate the fatigue stresses that occur during the life of an engineered product or assembly. Many in-service product and component failures are caused by fatigue, but these are avoidable with appropriate validation or investigative laboratory vibration testing.