Challenges

Assem­bled com­pon­ents typi­cal­ly have com­plex inter­ac­tions with one ano­ther. Cont­act points can vary during ope­ra­tio­nal cycles due to part move­ment. This means that the loca­ti­ons of peak strains can be hard to pre­dict, and they are often not sta­tio­na­ry. The move­ment of parts can also make it imprac­ti­cal to main­tain elec­tri­cal con­nec­tions with gau­ges. Even when they are sta­tio­na­ry and easy to loca­te, the hig­hest strains can be con­cen­tra­ted in very small are­as or have high gra­di­ents. Peak values may be lost to the aver­aging effect pro­du­ced by gauges.

Solution

Vic-3D pro­vi­ded a means for making strain mea­su­re­ments across the enti­re pro­fi­le of the gear tooth. Becau­se it pro­vi­des full-field mea­su­re­ments, it was not neces­sa­ry to choo­se a par­ti­cu­lar point at which mea­su­re­ments would be made. This allo­wed the peak strains to be cle­ar­ly visua­li­zed and accu­ra­te­ly mea­su­red at various stages of the ope­ra­tio­nal cycle. Vic-3D also mea­su­red dis­pla­ce­ment in three dimen­si­ons. This fea­ture allo­wed our cus­to­mer to reco­gni­ze and quan­ti­fy twis­ting of the gear tooth under load.