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NHTSA Announces New FMVSS 216a - Roof Crush Regulation Rule |
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Welcome to MGA Research Corporation
Greetings!
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the final rule for FMVSS 216a - Roof Crush Resistance. This Announcement has been many years in the making. Similar to other new rule announcements, MGA is ready to respond to the challenges posed by this new rule. This special edition newsletter highlights many aspects of the new rule, including MGA's experience with the standard, current capabilities, the rule's phase-in schedule, the challenges posed by the new rule, and the new system recently installed at our Troy, MI laboratory. |
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Who To Contact For More Information ...
If you are interested in learning more about NHTSA's New FMVSS 216a Roof Crush Regulation Rule please contact Brad Reaume at (248) 577-5001 or Jason Gilham at (716) 542-5672
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| MGA's Long History in Roof Crush Testing
Over MGA's history, roof crush testing has been one of our core competencies. The original FMVSS 216, which has been part of the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) since 1973, is a static crush test intended to evaluate the strength of vehicle roofs. MGA has been conducting FMVSS 216 testing since the early 80's, initially at our New York laboratory, and for the last 15 years at our Michigan laboratory. MGA's experience with roof crush includes various types of projects ranging from R & D activities, compliance testing, and equipment design/commissioning.
During the early 80's, MGA put its first roof crush facility on-line at the original laboratory located in Cheektowaga, NY. With this system, roof crush testing was conducted for both the NHTSA and a number of OEMs. It was during this time that R & D projects related to FMVSS 216 were undertaken. These projects, conducted for the NHTSA, addressed issues such as the role that the glazing plays in the structural strength of the roof, crushing the roof well beyond the deflection requirement, etc.
This photo is from one of the first FMVSS 216 tests conducted for the NHTSA in the early 80's
In the 90's, a roof crush system was one of the first machines brought on line at the Michigan laboratory. The original system included not only roof crush, but side crush (FMVSS 214) and anchorage (FMVSS 207/210) capabilities. This system was an integral tool to the Detroit-based automotive industry as the development of SUVs and trucks was ramped up around this time. On the equipment sales side, numerous systems were sold to a number of MGA customers. Many, if not all, of these systems are still in service today.
The photo above shows the original roof crush system set-up at the MGA-Michigan lab in 1992
In the present decade, much of the focus has been on the activities related to the rule-making related to the upgrade of FMVSS 216. When the initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was issued, MGA had already upgraded the system in Troy to handle much higher loads. A series of tests were done for a number of OEMs which helped establish the baseline performance of the current fleet of vehicles. On the equipment side, a system capable of meeting the new requirements is on-line at the MGA-Troy facility.
The photo above shows one of the systems sold to Korea in the 90's
Brad Reaume, who has led roof crush testing projects at MGA for many years, comments, "We will continue to meet the needs of the automotive industry and this new system at Troy is indicative of our commitment to our customers. I am highly confident that our experience and expertise, combined with this state-of-the-art system, will help our customers with this challenging new rule."
Testing conducted per the NPRM at the Troy-MI laboratory in 2006
If you would like to learn more about MGA's roof crush capabilities, or have a test request, please contact Brad Reaume at (248) 577-5001 . |
MGA's New Generation FMVSS 216 Roof Crush Test System
MGA's experience in manufacturing test equipment is as extensive as our testing experience. This is no different when considering the new FMVSS 216a Roof Crush System. Our research, design, and manufacturing experience involved with this machine dates back to the early 1980's. Since then we have developed many generations of this machine that can be found in highly credible automotive test facilities all over the world. This list includes, MGA, Nissan, Hyundai, GM Daewoo, Kia, SsangYong, and the Korea Automobile Testing and Research Institute (KATRI).
MGA Associate, Maurice Brown works on the system installed at our Troy, MI laboratory
In anticipation of the NHTSA announcing the final rule for FMVSS 216a Roof Crush Resistance, MGA employed a pro-active approach in preparing a machine to meet the specifications of this challenging new rule. In response to the Notice of Proposal Rulemaking (NPRM) and other industry sources regarding the implementation of a final rule, engineers at MGA's Fabrication Center had initially started considering design changes to the machine as early as 2005. The efforts of MGA engineers over the last few years resulted in the new system that is online and fully operational at MGA's Troy, MI test laboratory. In addition, similar systems capable of meeting the requirements of the final rule have already been sold.
MGA's Roof Crush Test System is provided as a turn-key system that includes all necessary components to run the test. The new generation FMVSS 216a test system will allow for much higher forces to be reached for roof crush testing due to new specifications in the revised rule. New features that will allow for this include a reinforced frame and platen assembly, higher capacity load cells, four hydraulic cylinders with increased load capacity, and a high pressure hydraulic braking system (for safety related issues). A new generation MGA hydraulic controller with closed loop PID control and up to 200 Hz sampling rates will allow for precise cylinder control and higher data collection rates. To complete our efforts in providing a turn-key system, we have developed control/data acquisition and processing software that has been customized to the FMVSS 216a standard as well as the specifications included in the final ruling.
If you are interested in adding a new roof crush system to your laboratory, please contact Jason Gilham at (716) 542-5672. | |
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Differences Between the New 216a Rule and 216 Current Requirements
The NHTSA's new final rule for FMVSS 216a poses quite a challenge to the automotive industry. As a result of this standard, vehicles in the future will have substantially stronger roof structures. For heavier vehicles, meeting the new requirements may result in the use of higher strength steel or larger pillar structures. Previously, vehicles over 6,000 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) were not covered in FMVSS 216. In the new rule, vehicles over 6,000 lbs (but less than 10,000 lbs) are now part of the requirements. The actual Final Rule is available on the NHTSA website. In comparing the current test with the new test, certain items remain consistent, while other aspects of the test are markedly different. Click on the table below to view the comparisons of some of the major aspects of the new rule against the current requirement.
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MGA Websites:
For more information on our capabilities please visit one of our following
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What is the Phase-In Schedule for this Rule?
As is the case with all new rules, the NHTSA has implemented a "Phase-In" schedule for compliance with this requirement. An incremental phased-in fleet compliance schedule allows OEMs to gradually work the new rule into new programs without having to re-design the entire fleet immediately. For FMVSS 216a, the phase-in schedule is as follows:
Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses with a GVWR of 6000 lbs or less:
- 25% of the vehicles manufactured during the period from September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013
- 50% of the vehicles manufactured during the period from September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014
- 75% of the vehicles manufactured during the period from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015
- 100% of the vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2015
Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses with a GVWR greater than 6000 lbs and less than or equal to 1000 lbs:
- 100% of the vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2016
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