Automotive Component
Fatigue Testing

High-Cycle Testing for Real-World Reliability
In the automotive manufacturing industry, even small components must undergo rigorous testing to ensure safety, reliability, and durability. Since they’re produced at large scale, used every day, and expected to work consistently for years, fatigue and cyclic testing for these components must be completed conducted. This project completed on validating the durability and long-term usability of vehicle hardware, with an emphasis on door-handle mechanisms that see high-cycle, repetitive loading over a vehicle’s life. To support quality assurance and meet global expectations, the work centered on rigorous material and fatigue testing designed to replicate real-world use and capture early signs of wear or failure. A key part of the effort was ensuring test results remained accurate and repeatable across extreme temperatures, where both component behavior and measurement signals can drift if the sensing and test setup aren’t engineered for the environment.

Challenge

  1. Extreme environmental conditions: Instrumentation must be capable of operating reliably in harsh winter conditions, including temperatures as low as -40°C.
  2. High-cycle durability requirements: Test systems must reliably cycle the handle mechanism hundreds of thousands of times while maintaining precise control, stability, and repeatability.
  3. Measurement integrity at low temperature: Prior instrumentation lacked thermal stability, leading to zero-drift and measurement errors that undermined confidence in the fatigue results. 

Solution

  1. Maintained Winter Environment: The test stand was equipped with sensing hardware rated for reliable operation in extreme cold. The 101NSGS S-Beam Load Cell was selected specifically for stable performance down to -40°C to support controlled, cold-soak testing without compromising the force signal. 
  2. Measurement repeatability under cyclic loading:  The 101NSGS S-Beam supports accurate tension and compression measurements, making it well-suited for the repetitive “pull” and “release” loading of door-handle usage over hundreds of thousands of repetitions. 
  3. Real time readings and measurements: The load cell was paired with the AN310 Panel Mount Indicator for real-time monitoring and high-speed data capture, improving repeatability and reducing the drift and measurement error that can occur when equipment lacks thermal stability. 

Conclusion

The ANYLOAD 101NSGS load cell and AN310 indicator provides a high-precision solution for measurement in extreme environmental conditions. This setup maintains accuracy at −40 °C and eliminates the data drift that often occurs during cold-weather trials. As a result, automotive engineers can bypass repetitive re-testing and accelerate their development cycles. For any application involving extreme thermal variances, selecting rugged, temperature-rated sensors is key to achieving reliable fatigue data. 

101NSGS-Car-Hinge-WEB
101NSGS-Load-Cell-WEB

Keywords: Extreme temperature, Lower temperature (-40°C), S-Beam Load Cell, Fatigue Testing 

Featured Products

Model 101NSGS is a versatile stainless steel IP67 water and corrosion-resistant S-beam with a wide range of rated capacities, built to perform reliably under rugged conditions. The 101NSGS is OIML C3/C4.5 and NTEP certified and is interchangeable with Artech SS20210, Vishay Revere 9363, Coti Global CGSB-SS, Rice Lake RL20000, and more (see: Interchangeable tab). This adaptable design is popular in a wide range of applications, including tank, process weighing, hoppers, and countless other force measurement and tension weighing needs.

AN310
Panel Mount Indicator
See standard version.

The ANYLOAD AN310 is a precision panel mount indicator designed for advanced industrial weighing. Featuring a vivid 3.46″ IPS touch screen and ultra-fast 5 kHz ADC, it ensures accurate and responsive data capture—ideal for dynamic applications and automation systems.

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