Automotive Industry Testing

Over the past decade, there have been many high-profile recalls in the automotive industry.  Recalls often come after part failures in the field, which not only can endanger lives, but are costly and can damage your good reputation.

IMR offers a wide range of analytical services to help manufacturers supplying the transportation industry ensure a high-quality finished product that meets the intended specification.

We offer routine production checks, support for R&D efforts, comparative analyses of different lots/materials/suppliers and should problems arise, we can also investigate failed metallic and nonmetallic parts.  

We have a strict quality system in place to ensure that our data is reliable and accurate. We also provide fast turnarounds (most routine work in 3 days or less) and carry approvals from many major manufacturers.

MR Test Labs- Louisville recently earned the "Class A Laboratory" designation from Daimler Corporation. For any automotive manufacturers or Tier 1 suppliers, this designation represents a high standard of excellence in testing and analytical processes of automotive materials.  Read more here. 

Learn more about our analytical services for the automotive industry below, or request a quote today!

Weld testing for the automotive industry
Failure analysis of automotive components
Cleanliness testing of automotive components

Analytical Services for the Automotive Industry

ACCELERATED WEATHERING

CASS Testing
Chip Resistance (Gravelometer)
Condensing
Cyclic Corrosion
Humidity
Salt Spray Testing
Temperature & Humidity
UV Exposure / QUV

MECHANICAL TESTING

Bond Strength / Coating Adhesion
Charpy Impact Testing
Fatigue Testing
Flexural
Hardness
Tensile Testing
Weld Inspection

FAILURE ANALYSIS

Coating Failures 
Contaminant Identification 
Corrosion Failure 
Litigation/Expert Witness Services 
Nonmetallic Failure Analysis 
Structural Failures 
Warranty Returns

METALLURGICAL EVALUATIONS

Case Depth 
Contamination/FOD Identification
Defect Analysis
Fusion Weld Inspections
Hydrogen Embrittlement
Microhardness (Knoop, Vickers, Macro Vickers)
Microstructure
Plating Thickness
PPAP 
Resistance Weld Inspections
Weld Testing

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Alloy Chemistry 
Cleanliness Testing 
Coating Weight  
ELV Testing 
Hazardous Substances Testing  
Hexavalent Chromium 
Material Verification 
RoHS Testing 
Trace Element Analysis

NONMETALLICS TESTING

Adhesion Testing
Ash Content
Chemical Resistance of Coatings
Chemical Exposure of Plastics 
Composites Analysis 
Compressive Properties
Contaminant Analysis
Failure Analysis
Flammability (UL94, FMVSS 302, ISO 3795, SAE J369, ASTM D5132)
Flexural Properties
Fluid Aging
Gardener Impact
Gloss (ASTM D523, D4039)
Hazardous Substance Testing
Heat Aging
Material ID/Verification
Oil Testing
Paint Analysis
Tensile Testing

Accelerated Weathering & Corrosion Testing

IMR's Ithaca, NY and Louisville, KY labs have extensive corrosion testing capabilities. One of our particular areas of expertise is automotive corrosion specifications.

We have a variety of chambers and environments to fit your needs. From standard B117 salt spray exposure and cyclic corrosion, to domestic and European OEM requirements, we have performed many hours of accelerated weathering testing for automotive clients.

In addition to ASTM, MIL, SAE and ISO methods, some of the OEM specifications we have tested to include GM/GMW, DBL, DIN, Ford, GS, HES, TL, VDA and VCS. Send us your specification today and we'd be happy to review it.

Have monthly panel testing? Contact us for special volume pricing.

Cleanliness Testing

Whether one-time, or routine, we have performed cleanliness testing to a number of manufacturer specifications that cover internal cleanliness of closed systems, surface cleanliness and ionic contamination. We can work with water, or a multitude of solvents.  

Whether you manufacture tractors or trucks, send us your specification and we'll see how we can help you. 

Failure Analysis

IMR's experts have extensive failure analysis and litigation support experience with the automotive industry.  As one of IMR's key markets from the beginning, our automotive clients have trusted us to provide thorough, concise and accurate root cause investigations of failed parts for over a decade.  

With state of the art equipment and the support of our other departments, the failure group can get you the answers you need to solve your toughest challenges on nonmetallics, metals and contaminants.

Weld & Braze Qualification

With weld qualification experts at all of our labs, IMR can provide the welder & procedure qualification testing you need. From testing raw materials, to qualifying new welders, or analyzing a failed weld, we have the staff, experience and equipment you need. Chemical analysis, mechanical testing, metallurgical analysis and qualification packages are available at all of our labs in the US and Asia.

We can analyze welds to a multitude of specifications including ABS, AMS, API, ASME, AWS, EN, ISO, SAE and more.  We'd be happy to review your specification and see how our weld testing group can help you.