Hannover Messe 2023: Minimize wear – Rapid Part Evaluation develops measurement technology for fast and automated parameter determination

The founding team of Rapid Part Evaluation, based at the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, focuses on the service life of frequently used machine elements such as seals, gears or bearings. Using the specially developed measuring device and software, companies will be able to fast and automatically evaluate application-related parameters when testing components as early as the design phase. The project is currently being funded by an EXIST start-up grant from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection. At the Hannover Messe, Rapid Part Evaluation will present the measurement technology at the Rhineland-Palatinate research stand (Hall 2, Stand B46) from 17 to 21 April.

Understanding wear mechanisms of machine elements is beneficial in many ways. On the one hand, measures can be initiated to extend the service life. On the other hand, the use can be made more sustainable – considering the resources required and with regard to various environmental aspects. "With our measuring device, we can examine radial shaft seals, for example, such as those used in gearboxes to seal shafts that are guided to the outside," explains Olaf Grutza. "The failure of these seals can not only lead to machine damage, but also to environment pollution through escaping oil."

The Wear-Tester developed by Rapid Part Evaluation is particularly interesting for research and development departments. For example, when components are being tested on a test bench under operating conditions that are as real as possible in order to evaluate new designs or new materials in terms of wear. For this evaluation, it is essential to record the relevant parameters in the form of pre- and post-measurements. "We can illustrate the great advantage of the time savings offered by our device with an example from research work at the Chair of Machine Elements, Gears and Tribology (MEGT) at RPTU: Previously, two different measuring methods – optical microscopy and stripe light projection – were used for wear measurements on radial shaft seals; now only the Wear-Tester comes into play. In addition, our solution – consisting of measuring device and evaluation software – allows the desired parameters to be determined within 10 to 20 seconds, not after several minutes, with up to 40,000 profile measurements being recorded over the sample circumference. In other words, in the scenario described, our measuring instrument reaches the goal 50 times faster with a greater depth of data at the same time."

Thanks to a flexible sample mount, other components, gears or bearings, can also be tested for wear. As far as sample size is concerned, an inner diameter of at least 30 mm and a maximum outer diameter of 200 mm are possible with the wear tester.

The effort for the measurements is low: Simply insert the sample and configure the setup. Then any number of samples can be measured in sequence. The acquired measurement data is then evaluated with the specially developed software to determine the desired parameters.

At the Hannover Messe, Rapid Part Evaluation will demonstrate the fast and automated wear measurement to interested companies.

About the founding project

Since July 2022, the core team consisting of Olaf Grutza, Roman Reimche and Christof Härtel - all three graduates of the University in Kaiserslautern - has been supported by the EXIST start-up grant from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and the European Social Fund. At the same time, the start-up office of the RPTU and Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences advises the young founders on their way to independence. The team is also supported by the Chair of Machine Elements, Gears and Tribology (MEGT) at RPTU, which provides premises and other resources and supports the team also from a technical point of view – especially in the person of Jun. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Thielen as a mentor. Also involved in the project are Tim Schollmayer and Christoph Burkhart, who laid the foundation for the project in the course of their work as research assistants at the MEGT.

Questions can be directed to:
Olaf Grutza, M.Sc.
RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
Tel: +49 (0)160 97334987
E-Mail: grutza(at)rptu.de

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Klaus Dosch, Department of Technology, Innovation and Sustainability, is organizing the presentation of the researchers of the University Kaiserslautern-Landau at the fair. He is the contact partner for companies and, among other things, establishes contacts to science.
Contact: Klaus Dosch, E-mail: klaus.dosch(at)rptu.de, Phone: +49 631 205-3001