SPE machine helps OEMs test fuel pumps

’While such mechanical systems did overcome the difficulties caused by the inertia of the cams inside the pump, the inertial mass of the flywheel itself meant that they were unable to achieve the acceleration or deceleration times that were now being demanded by the automotive OEM,’ said Baker.

Being unable to decelerate quickly also meant that, should any pump failure such as a seizure occur, the older flywheel-based machines were unable to stop before the pump itself was destroyed. Hence, the OEM had no way to investigate any potential causes of failure after such an event. With the S400 machine, however, there are no such difficulties.

’By comparing the digital output from an encoder on the back of the motor with the output of an encoder on the front of the pump, the new machine is able to quickly detect when a pump might be starting to fail. If it is, then a slip coupling on the front of the machine can disengage the pump from its load and the machine can be brought to a halt so that the pump can be removed and examined in detail,’ said Baker.
As the system exorcises the pump through different cycles, a sophisticated acquisition system collects data from sensors around the machine.