High Speed Mechanical Component Testing

Millisecond-based functional tests with HBK's transient recording systems, delivering accurate force, acceleration, displacement and many other physical measurements for design validation.
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Reliable Measurements for High Speed Component Testing

Component crash tests create high-energy events that happen in milliseconds, meaning you need measurement data you can trust the first time. HBK supports reliable, high-speed acquisition for dynamic component and sub-assembly tests, providing accurate force, displacement, and timing data to inform design and validation decisions.

Capture Every Critical Event

Reliably measure mechanical, electrical and sensor data across small or large channel counts. Combine mixed sample rates and synchronize with high-speed cameras to ensure no critical event is missed during component validation.

Faster Validation Decisions

Turn raw test data into actionable results within seconds. Automated calculations, reporting and analysis help engineers validate component performance faster and make confident go/no-go decisions immediately after testing.

From Test Data to Engineering Insight

Go beyond single-test analysis with built-in statistical evaluation across dozens or thousands of test runs. Generate automated reports, export results to your preferred tools and extend capabilities with custom analysis functions.

Validating Component Behaviour in Real-World Test Scenarios

Any data loss during component testing can compromise the results and reduce confidence in validation and simulation correlation. 

Whether testing an automotive suspension, a pyro fuse, a protective helmet, an aircraft windshield against a bird strike, or the strength of a ship's window against a rogue wave, you need to capture precise force, displacement, and strain data during a single, often destructive, event.

HBK supports component testing with high-speed data acquisition systems designed specifically for transient measurement. By combining synchronised acquisition, even with different sample rates, deterministic triggering, secure local data storage, and integrated high-speed camera data support, our systems enable engineers to capture clean, reliable data. This provides the crucial experimental evidence needed to validate component behaviour, improve simulation accuracy, and enables making final design decisions regarding a component's intended performance.

From Impact to Insight: A Complete Measurement Chain

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Capture the complete physical response of components during high-speed testing in a single system.

  • Universal signal inputs for strain, force, displacement
  • Dedicated IEPE-inputs with up to 2 MS/s
  • Galvanically isolated inputs to minimise noise and ground loops
  • Versatile hardware and software filter options, programmable by channel

High-speed, transient-ready data acquisition systems with local RAM storage, to securely log every critical data point.

  • Multiple mainframes from 2 to 17 slots, with or without integrated PC
  • Up to 8 GS local transient memory per input board
  • Synchronised acquisition, even with different sample rates per channel
  • Unique trigger-based sample rate switch 

Powerful software provides immediate insight and accelerates the post-test workflow.

  • HBK Perception software with formula data base with >100 analysis functions for instant results after the test 
  • Optional creation of custom analysis functions
  • Integrated report generator for dynamic data transfer into custom MS-Word templates
  • Automated export and transfer in various high-end analysis packages

Key Areas of Application

Component Crash Testing

Evaluate the crash behavior of individual body, chassis, or safety-related components before full-scale system testing. HBK systems capture force, displacement, strain, and impact timing with high accuracy to support design validation.

Bird Strike Testing

Verify the ability of aircraft structures and engines to withstand bird impacts under certification conditions. HBK synchronizes sensor measurements and high-speed video to capture every critical detail of these destructive tests.

Pyrofuse Testing

Validate the performance of pyrotechnic disconnect devices used in modern safety systems and electric vehicles. HBK captures fast electrical and mechanical responses with the precision required for these non-repeatable events.

Aircraft design

Case Study: University of Ghent uses GEN5i from HBK to measure the impact of bird strikests

How does Ghent University simulate bird strikes to protect aircraft? Discover how they use HBK’s ultra-high-speed GEN5i data recorder to set critical technical design constraints and improve aviation safety. Read the full case study now.

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Case Study: Reliable Results in Rogue Wave Testing

Can a cruise ship's window withstand a massive rogue wave? The Hamburg University of Technology dropped a 1,500-liter water splash from 38m to find out, relying on HBK’s Genesis HighSpeed DAQ system for critical data. Download the case study to see how they optimize maritime structural safety.

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FAQs

Component tests allow engineers to study crash behaviour earlier in the design process and at a lower cost, while still applying realistic dynamic loads to critical parts.

Key measurements typically include force, displacement, impact velocity, acceleration, and strain, depending on the test objective.

The primary impact event usually lasts only milliseconds, which is why component crash testing requires high-speed data acquisition and precise triggering to capture accurate readings.

Yes, high-quality measurement data is essential for correlating and improving the accuracy of crash and material simulation models.

Because these tests are often destructive and expensive to repeat, missing data can limit the usefulness of the test, require costly re-runs, and delay project timelines.

High-speed DAQ systems use local memory and onboard storage to ensure all data is captured securely, even under extreme shock, vibration, or a loss of external power or network connections.