Friction material manufacturer Fras-le North America announced that it has purchased a new brake NVH dynamometer from Link Engineering to expand its testing capabilities. The $1.5 million investment allows Fras-le to fit a full axle of a pickup truck inside for testing, whereas only corner axle testing is possible with smaller dynamometers.
Fras-le’s new dynamometer for light- and medium-duty vehicle testing is designed to reproduce actual vehicle road conditions and will test for durability, wear, performance and NVH. The new large chamber also enables Fras-le to test for environmental control by reproducing many different humidity and temperature differences and to conduct enhanced noise testing. The new dynamometer is located in Link Engineering’s facility in Dearborn, Mich., which is near Fras-le’s North American headquarters in Northville, Mich.
“The new dyno, with the larger chamber, continues Fras-le’s efforts to expand and invest in our U.S. operations and gives us greatly enhanced capabilities to better serve the needs of our customers,” said Rodrigo Meirelles, Fras-le North America’s vice president and general manager.
The new dynamometer complements the company’s increased commitment to friction manufacturing in the United States at its plant in Prattville, Ala., which recently announced an $11 million investment in friction manufacturing equipment. Fras-le also has a research and development center in Brazil, where the company has multiple dynamometers.
