Froude Hofmann Ltd

Froude Hofmann have been involved in the supply of Mileage Accumulation Chassis Dynamometer test systems from the earliest requirements for the regulatory U.S.E.P.A. 50, 000 miles, exhaust system endurance testing. With the development of our product capability and the increasing demands for more sophisticated test requirements from our customers, this application has evolved into a fully flexible Automated Test solution. These systems now include a Chassis Dynamometer, an integrated Robot Driver, automated fuel filling units, comprehensive Data Acquisition, airspeed simulation fans, automated safety guards and security systems for unattended operation 24hrs a day / 7 days a week - collectively providing a highly effective, advanced endurance or rapid development test facility. As the capability of the systems has increased, the Test Engineers have been able to produce more intricate simulations of real world situations under controlled conditions. What used to be called a "Mileage Accumulation Facility" now also provides a variety of dedicated and sophisticated tests for powertrain development. The traditional Mileage Accumulation Facility remains a semi-outdoor installation; however today you are as likely to find the Froude Hofmann automated systems installed in test chambers where the automation of the testing process is extremely beneficial. The system provides: robot driver automated fuel filling systems airspeed simulation fan automated drive cycle control and monitoring effective integration of all the safety systems. The unique ability of Froude Hofmann to engineer and integrate all the devices into one complete test automation system realises many benefits for the test engineer, eg reduced interfaces and controllers, fully integrated control and data acquisition, synchronisation of test cell sub systems The core of the system is a comprehensive schedule generator function for creating, editing and executing the automated drive cycles. This utility in conjunction with the Robot Driver system; provides a highly capable "real world" or regulatory simulation package with human driving capability and fully automatic operation of all the vehicle function Fully integrated, automated endurance / Mileage accumulation test facility including: 48” “emission” chassis dynamometer (suitable for semi-outdoor installations) Automated robot driver, integrated into chassis dynamometer control system Automated fuel filling system Data acquisition and vehicle health monitoring system Airspeed simulation fan Safety systems