edViking (Plymouth, MI) made its mark in automotive power transmission test stands beginning in 1981 as Superior Controls. Spun off in 2010, RedViking designs and builds powertrain test equipment, metrology, and produc- tion solutions for government and commercial OEMs. For a recent defense department customer, RedViking was challenged to replace an existing bank of 20 individual test stands, ranging from 20 to 50 years old, used for dynamic testing of performance factors for Apache, Blackhawk heli- copter powertrain transmissions.
The legacy test stands were anything but lean and green. They required an increasing amount of maintenance, con- sumed excessive power, and wasted floor space. Spare parts weren’t readily available, unique training was required to operate each stand, and they didn’t produce the desired level of data for analysis.
When a unit test was required, the test article would be built up and dressed within the envelope of the test stand, fully connected, tested, disconnected, and then removed from the workcell. This procedure produced extremely long downtime on the customer’s equipment utilization with various corresponding challenges to logistics.
RedViking Controls and Software Manager Jason Stefanski at the main transmission flexible test module.
New testing system requirements included better compila- tion of test data, automatic closed loop operation of the ma- chinery, true speed and torque measurement with a local test executive as the main operator interface to the test machine
and, finally, a standardized control platform to allow easier operator cross-training on the equipment. The customer set the goal high: three to four tests per working shift versus the current one test per shift being achieved with their multiple machines. RedViking performed its onsite assessment and subsequent situation analysis, and then devised a solution that utilized common components and an entirely new material handling strategy. A series of five flexible test stand designs was determined to be sufficient to replace all existing machines. To improve efficiency in utilization of the test stands, a series of workpiece carriages was designed, allowing the Units Under Test (UUT) to be mounted and staged outside the envelope of the test stand and then brought into the work cell for faster connection, test, disconnect, and exit. RedViking terms these devices Transportable Test Fixtures (TTFs), which automate shaft connections, clamping, and positioning, as well as provid- ing 360° access to the UUT. This design provides significantly greater efficiency as well as a safe and ergonomic operator environment, reducing hours of test setup time to minutes. RedViking Controls and Software Manager Jason Stefanski and his team devised an entirely new, modular software sys- tem and common human machine interface (HMI) platform for all five test stands, with a common user interface and plug-in architecture, comprising common function blocks, I/O coding and CAT 4 safety functions. This design approach al- lows the software to be easily configured to accommodate the various transmission models being tested. Once the test article in the TTF is automatically positioned and attached, RFID tags on the TTF identify both the article and its test profile configuration and communicate them to the Test Executive. All test profiles are generated and stored of- fline, with modifications made by the customer’s engineering staff outside of the test cells. Test profiles are then linked to the UUT type and model data for further system integrity. The main software feature of the test machines is the ability to execute a fully automated, repeatable, and traceable test. To provide this functionality, RedViking has developed a Test Sequence Set (TSS) Editor, allowing all parameters to be set by the customer, downloaded to a Test Executive from a localized laptop, thus eliminating the need to modify validated machine code. The TSS editor provides the customer with adaptability to easily modify future or existing test profiles. After a review of the potential suppliers for the power com- ponents and controls on the new test stands, Siemens Industry