Nanomechanical Testing of Electromagnetic Components for the Automotive Industry

Metering pumps for exhaust-gas aftertreatment and auxiliary heaters, proportional solenoids for camshaft phasing and proportional valves are just some of the products offered by Thomas Magnete GmbH. To be able to guarantee high performance, precision and reliability in all application areas, these products are now being tested with ZwickRoell's ZHN nanomechanical testing system. As a manufacturer of original equipment components for the automotive and mobile hydraulics industries, Thomas follows a zero-defects quality philosophy when developing and manufacturing its products. Among other things, quality assurance includes the characterization of near-surface volumes of materials that are used in a heavily loaded tribological system.

To increase the performance of electromagnets, basic investigations are carried out on soft magnetic materials. With the ZHN nanoindenter from ZwickRoell the mechanical properties can be compared to the magnetic properties. Further nanomechanical tests, such as scratch tests on DLC coatings complete the practical modeling of the loading conditions. Market research indicates that ZwickRoell is the ideal partner and impresses with its wide load range (up to 20 N) and modular design of the testing system. In addition to the nanomechanical properties, the patented measuring head performs conventional Vickers tests on surface hardened and thermochemically hardened components. Within the optical image measuring points can be defined, reviewed at the push of a button, and lighting and image parameters can be changed.