Manufacturing it cheaply wouldn't be a problem; it's getting it tested and approved to a level that would remove liability from whoever took on selling them. No matter how cheap they could be made, they'd still cost a fortune by the time the suppliers added their margin.
I agree...but as it's pretty clear that non of the companies who have a vested interest in buses have taken it on board, there's no reason why a good product couldn't be developed within the community, so to speak...there's plenty of expertise on this forum alone....liability in the event of an accident is going to be a stumbling block regardless...
my wheel arches i bought have a captive nut in them surly they are up to speck and they are no different to the rest of the brackets ive welded on
"Thank you for your valued enquiry. Working on the assumption that your test will be in-situ and non-destructive, you could employ a Force Gauge for this application. Applied by hand, it is unlikely that you would be able to exert much more than 350N (35 kgs). However, if you could incorporate some form of lever or "jacking" then you could potentially go much higher. If you wanted to test the parts on a bench, then applying higher loads would be much easier with the option to test to destruction, if desired. I have attached our digital gauge brochure, which contains several options. Best regards and have a good weekend, Danny Burchett Mecmesin Ltd"
ive followed guide lines i found on the net from companies selling products to install my anchor points how fast do we rearly have to travel for them to rip out of solid metal
From what I was told by a bed company, To have a bed pull tested its £10k + you have to supply 2-3 beds for testing one they kept one destroyed and another was given back I think. That's pass or fail. Hence the reason a tested bed for a T4/5 is in excess of £1500 against a non tested bed of £350
Don't worry too much, if you crash you'll all be crushed as it folds up like a cardboard box. The main point I was making was as someone who'd be charging for the job I don't feel comfortable with it. I do happily reconstruct what's there though.
[]Don't worry too much, if you crash you'll all be crushed as it folds up like a cardboard box. i hadnt thought about that thankyou for making me feel safe again
To do a load only test similar to what @davidoft has achieved you will need at least a 100kn load frame. However, these are typically small and don't have much daylight, so you'd likely need a bigger frame with bigger actuators/grips/load cells. As an example we test specimens from jet engine grade materials which are only 10mm diameter x 70mm long which achieve loads of around 8 tonnes. Each test frame costs around £120 to £200k. It costs a fortune to do this stuff right. You might find the odd engineering company who has spent an age making chains or forklift truck forks who have an old skool Denison frame or such like with a high load capability. They could physically do it on the cheap. However, that's a static load test on a component. What is being suggested here is a test regime on a retrofit section of structure. The only way to do this test is on the structure itself, or use modelling which actually costs more. To test the structure you needs physically bigger frame, we use 2 types, high load 2 or 4 column frames which can go up to 2.5mn (250 tonnes) or actuators on a strong floor, you use multiple actuators with high load cells and can achieve up to 6 Mn (600 tonnes) which will pull the structure in the directions experienced in real life scenarios. That will cost thousands.
I appreciate this is your field of expertise, and it's interesting to know the short-comings and implications for proper load testing. I was thinking more on the lines of a Porta power or jigging service.....whether this would generate any meaningful results I simply don't know....I'm no expert. But it appears that you have the background necessary to make an informed judgement...so looking at it from a practical perspective, could a donor bay be set up on a car jig and have seat belt anchors tested appropriately? Don't dismiss it out of hand....have a think and if you reckon it wouldn't be feasible, I'll take your word on it, given you have the expertise in this area...good to hear your views
