Customer: Gates Corporation
Main Product: Worldwide maker of belts, hoses and hydraulics
Interview Contact: Mike Ellis, Project Engineer in the Customer Solutions Center focusing on Advanced Product Technology
SoMat Product Profile:
SoMat History: Have owned eDAQ systems for about two years.
Test: Field testing rock breaker attachment on skid steer loader
Mike Ellis and his team were recently in the field collecting hydraulic pressures and acceleration data, trying to replicate and capture an event causing customer failures on a rock breaker attachment on a skid steer. During the test, extremely high shock and vibration levels shook the eDAQ and skid steer, and, as a result, dust from the rock breaker covered the machine. In addition to the dust, a failure occurred, spraying hydraulic fluid around the entire machine for about 10 seconds at over 1,000 psi. After the failure was contained, his team inspected the damage. The eDAQ was covered in hydraulic fluid from top to bottom - soaked in about ¼” of fluid. Mike remarked, “my colleague who operated the skid steer at the time of the failure was concerned the system was destroyed, or, worse yet, the data lost. I assured him that wasn’t an issue. We wiped down the eDAQ and downloaded the data from the run. We continued to test the rest of the day.”
Recalling this incident and the operation of the eDAQ, Mike confidently stated: “Our eDAQ system is by far the most rugged piece of testing equipment we own. If my laptop or our other test equipment had been in the machine, it would certainly not have survived.”
The rugged and dependable capabilities of the SoMat eDAQ have held true for Mike even before Gates purchased their two systems. Mike was impressed with their use at many of his customers’ sites. The dependability has even proven itself in Gate’s lab as well as the field. Mike adds, “It is an extremely accurate system that is so easy to use, we use it as a check on our other pieces of lab testing equipment – to make sure they are set up correctly. If I do have a question, I know SoMat is a true engineering firm and with their support team, you can always call and ‘talk application’ not just to see if ‘a certain transistor is bad.’ Furthermore, the updates on SoMat’s software are great. They are always backwards compatible and, unlike our other lab equipment, they are no hidden/upgrade fees. I know that I can depend on our investment being supported for years to come.”
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