Mechanical testing vibrations are extremely important to ensure that the items we use are safe and work as they’re supposed to. What are these tests, how do they work and why do they matter, anyway?
Vibration testing is about how things move and rattle when theyre being used. Consider a toy car driving down an uneven road. It moves up and down and side to side like things might move in life. These experiments allow us to understand how things are able to move in a variety of circumstances and how strong they need to be work effectively.
So, how do we do these tests? It’s kind of like a science experiment! We strap the item that we want to test into a special machine, which makes the item jiggle and shake in a variety of ways. We measure how much it moves, and we measure how fast it moves, using sensors. This helps us to see whether it is too wobbly or flimsy or whether it can withstand being used a lot.
And when we do invent new things, testing them for vibration is super important. “When we create a new toy or a new phone, for instance, we want to be sure it will work properly when people play with or talk into it. By conducting vibration testing, we can confirm that our toys shouldn’t break too quickly, or that our phones won’t stop functioning if they are jostled. It enables us to build better and safer products for everyone.
By running vibration tests, we can be certain that that which we fabricate is reliable. That means it will function as it should all the time, no matter how much it’s used. What if your very favorite toy broke the very first time you played with it—would that be fun for you? Which is why we perform vibration tests, to be absolutely certain our products are strong and reliable.
After we run vibration tests, we look at them and see if there are any issues. If we identify something that moves around too much or breaks too quickly, we can revise and iterate. Perhaps we need stronger materials, or we should thicken things up a bit.” By scrutinizing the data from vibration tests, we can continue to make our products better, safer for all.