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Description
Why do it yourself?
by Kay Falk
Independent test labs serve engine maker's development needs.
The question engine (and other component) manufacturers ask isn't "to test or not to test?" as they develop new models. Instead, it's "Who should do the testing?"
Engineers have long verified their designs by creating prototypes and testing them thoroughly. The trouble is, testing equipment is expensive. The equipment necessary to accurately measure engine emissions for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and European environmental counterparts is especially costly. So in this age of more stringent emissions regulations, engine OEMs often contract with independent labs to do the testing for them.
"Engine and component manufacturers appreciate the quick response and independent/unbiased data a third-party test lab like ours provides," Dean Schoppe, senior project engineer at Intertek Automotive Research, says. "This is especially true if the OEM lacks internal testing capacity."
Credibility is key
For the Scuderi Group, a small entrepreneurial research firm that proliferates intellectual property through licensing, "It's extremely important to work with a third-party test lab because it means credibility," Stephen Scuderi, vice president, explains. "It's the only way for us to be able to approach a large OEM. We don't intend to manufacture engines. All we do is develop proof-of-concept prototypes and go to large OEMs that will hopefully license our technology and develop actual production prototypes."
This is the group's first engine project, so it looked for a test lab that could provide all the independent data that a large OEM would want. "Without it, everything we would give them would be viewed as suspect," he says.
"The independent... |
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