Slamming a gate 10,000 times would drive most people to madness, but at D&D Technologies it’s the sound of rigorous quality control.
In fact, we have a rule that we won’t sell a product if we haven’t tried to break it first. This means running a series of rigorous, real-world tests at every stage of the new product development process, from prototype stage all the way through to final off-tool samples, to test for strength and durability.
Recently we overhauled our product testing area at our Sydney headquarters. After decommissioning and scrapping the old test cycle gates, we fabricated and installed a newly designed test system.
Big thanks to Anthony Butler (top left) Product Testing Manager and Oliver Lowe newly appointed Mechanical Testing Engineer, who joined the Product Testing team in May ‘24 as the Mechanical Testing Engineer. Oliver's role is to conduct and report the wide range of tests we offer internally, based on the internal Test Request Form. Both staff members are pivotal to the day-to-day operation of the testing function, delivering accurate and informative test data to the various decision-making teams.
We almost doubled our cycle capacity from six to twleve gates, which allows us to test more products more often, easing lead-time bottlenecks. Five of the gates are undercover and open to a maximum angle of 90°, while the other six are in an outdoor setting and are spaced to open to a maximum angle of 180°. We pride ourselves on the outside testing capability as it allows us to put our products through the realistic weather conditions they would likely experience in the field. This includes harsh sun, low temperatures, and severe rain.
Like the old system, the new testing gates are automated with pneumatics. The big improvement we’ve made is nylon bearing roller in the push arm for a stronger and smoother gate open movement. We’ve also had angled mounting brackets made with tapped holes to suit our wide range of hinges and latches. This avoids the ‘Swiss cheese’ effect from our old gates where new holes had to be drilled and screwed for each new test setup. It also reduces setup time as the mounting holes no longer need to be marked, pre-drilled and screwed, as they’re already there.
Every piece from this new design has been powder coated in silver grey to help protect the steel from corrosion.
D&D’s Product Testing function plays a vital role in ensuring our products achieve and maintain the highest possible durability and strength for our customers. Our new test lab gives us a huge boost in ability to run our products through their paces and manage our annual test plans.
