IMV Europe Ltd. recently delivered an ECO-Shaker to a southern German company. The eight-ton vibration test system works with far less power than systems without ECO mode. It operates with a vector force of 54 kN and a stroke of more than 100 mm. The shaker came from Japan by boat taking six weeks before the system was delivered ashore in Italy. The shaker was then brought by lorry to Esslingen near Stuttgart to Marlok Automotiv GmbH.

The delivery wasn’t easy. Every movement had to function exactly. The shaker, wrapped in multiple layers of foil, was lifted by crane (with an extension of about five square meters and more than three meters in length) from the loading dock and then fixed with tear-resistant slings to the crane . The machine was loaded by remote control onto a waiting trolley with heavy duty castors. Precision work.  Not easy. Especially as the cargo weighs the same as eight small cars.

Martin Engelke, Sales and Marketing Manager Europe IMV, and Mark Hirzel , Laboratory Manager, at Marlok Automotive GmbH , oversaw the delivery. It only took 20 minutes for the shaker to be unloaded and be put on the rollers to take it to its new space in the laboratory for environmental simulations. But precision was necessary : ” The Shaker is equipped with an air chamber,” says Martin Engelke . ” The bottom of the chamber must be able to lower over the shaker, without causing a collision.”

The location had to be carefully examined in advance. Because the hall floor had to be able to carry the heavy vibration test system, according to Mr Engelke.  The Marlok company had specially installed a damper between the floor and machine vibration to absorb the dynamic forces generated during the experiment, and also to ensure that they are not introduced into the soil and the building. “Otherwise, the walls shake,” said Martin Engelke.

After the installation there was a briefing for the operator and a full load test of the system. “In this test, the system is operated on all parameters to the maximum ,” said Engelke . ” Since then the walls really shook! ” That was actually the first time where employees from other departments came running to see what was going on. (9/11/2013 )