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Featured Article...
MGA's Pedestrian Open House Draws a Crowd!
Helen Kaleto, Troy, MI (helen.kaleto@mgaresearch.com)
A big "thank you" goes out to everyone who attended the Pedestrian Protection Open House on Thursday, June 25, 2009. The event was held at MGA's Dynamic Impact Test Laboratory located on Elliott Drive in Troy. A total of roughly 80 people were in attendance. Highlights of the event consisted of a comprehensive presentation on Pedestrian Protection testing given by DJ Whiteside, MGA's Dynamic Impact Group Leader, a Pedestrian Lower Legform impact demonstration test, facility tours, and lunch.
"I think the event was extremely helpful to the industry as it faces the challenges of building vehicles that can be sold in world-wide markets," stated Mike Miller, MGA Vice-President. "As the event title would suggest, there were a lot of discussions and sharing of experiences in regard to these requirements. Although Pedestrian Impact testing is of greater importance to the European nations, many domestic OEM's are considering the requirements in new vehicle designs. One key role that MGA fulfills is to provide the industry with expertise and state-of-the-art equipment in regard to challenging new requirements, and we have definitely done that with regard to Pedestrian Impact testing."
To learn more about MGA's offerings relative to Pedestrian Impact testing or if you have a testing need, please contact DJ Whiteside (dj.whiteside@mgaresearch.com) at 248-259-7622.
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Mission Critical
 Pyro-shock, or pyrotechnic shock, is the transient motion of structural elements, assemblies, subsystems, or systems due to explosive loadings. Pyro-shock is characterized by its high peak acceleration, high frequency content, and short duration that a product may experience as the result of an explosive event such as the separation of the booster rockets on the space shuttle or an impact on a military tank structure. Standards we have tested to include MIL-STD-202, MIL-STD-810, and customer-specified requirements.
For over 25 years, we have been providing shock testing and analysis to assist manufacturers with evaluating their product's ability to operate correctly when subjected to shock conditions.
To simulate Pyro-shock conditions, we have used our experience and expertise to develop a unique, accurate and repeatable test system, which consists of a tunable resonant fixture, a pneumatic impact device, and a computerized data acquisition and analysis system. The tunable resonant fixture is used to generate the desired Pyro-shock test pulse.
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Baja SAEŽ Wisconsin 2009 Competition
Megan Buxton - Burlington, WI
(megan.buxton@mgaresearch.com)
Congratulations to all of the participants and volunteers who took part in the 2009 Baja SAEŽ Wisconsin Competition. The event was held at MGA's Burlington Proving Grounds on June 11 - 14, 2009. 100 of the 120 participating teams were present and scored at least one point in each category of the competition. The Baja SAEŽ Wisconsin Competition is part of the SAE Collegiate Design Series, in which students are challenged to conceive, design, and build extreme off-road vehicles powered by a 10 hp spec. engine.
The students first competed in design, cost, and technical judging events. Next, they put their vehicles to the test in acceleration, chain pull, maneuverability, suspension and traction, and mud bog events. The scores from these events were used to place the cars for a 4-hour endurance race.
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The Helicopter Dilemma;
Sine-on-Random Vibration
Vibrations can be experienced while a part is in use, during transport, and even in storage. Sinusoidal vibrations are commonly used to search for resonances and evaluate parts over long periods of time. Random vibrations are used to simulate engine noises, rough roads, and even earthquakes. Some vibrations can be more difficult to simulate than others.
Helicopters pose this unique dilemma. A helicopter engine produces a base random vibration like any other vehicle. The problem comes from the rotating blades. The blades rotate at an extremely regular frequency, and will produce thin bands of sinusoidal vibration with high G-levels. To simulate the vibration and frequency, a Sine-on-Random profile is required.
The Sine-on-Random vibration allows us to input a specific random vibration profile similar to a random vibration test. It then allows up to four sine levels to be placed on top of the random profile. The additional sine levels must have a higher g-level than the baseline random vibration at that frequency. They also require a small range of frequencies to sweep between in order to achieve the sine levels. This small range is usually chosen by a percentage of the frequency. So for a 5% sine range, a frequency of 10 Hz would sweep from 9.5 Hz to 10.5 Hz while a frequency of 500 Hz would allow for a range of 475 Hz to 525 Hz. |
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MGA to Exhibit at the 2009 IDGA Military Vehicles Exhibition and Conference in
Detroit, MI
For the first time MGA will be exhibiting at the IDGA Military Vehicles Exhibition and Conference at COBO Hall in Detroit, MI on August 11-12, 2009.
This is the largest stand-alone military ground vehicles expo in the U.S. On display will be the latest vehicles (wheeled and tracked), components, and after-market products in the light, medium, and heavy categories.
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Up Close & Personnel
Meet Tony Zerillo
 From locating seats to fixtures, instrument panels to vehicles bucks, Tony Zerillo is MGA's shipping and receiving expert. He has been a part of the MGA family for over 3 years, and the head of shipping for the past 2 ˝ years. Tony has both a good work ethic and a good attitude.
Keeping customers and fellow MGA associates satisfied is always at the top of Tony's list of things to do. He is always one of the first associates to show up for work and one of the last to leave. Tony always goes the extra mile to make sure all of his tasks are completed before leaving for the day. He is very proud of the work he performs. Beyond the shipping department, Tony can be found on the MGA-MI grounds where he mows the lawn every week.
Being a devoted Detroit sports fan, Tony enjoys attending sporting events to root for the Red Wings and the Tigers. He spends a lot of his time taking care of his mother. Tony also loves going to the movies, and spending time with his girlfriend. | |
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Touching Base
with Dr. Patrick Miller - Akron, NY
Preparing
for the Economic
Expansion
As we all know, the country and world are in a severe economic recession. The economic contraction is most noticeable in the automotive industry where sales, at least in the United States, are down about 40% from their more traditional levels. As a result, several business leaders seem to indicate that they were somewhat "blindsided" by these events.
Not withstanding the severity of these conditions on both individuals and companies, I do not see how leaders of businesses can not be prepared for recessions. The economic history of the country has always been driven by periods of economic expansions followed by periods of economic contractions. During a period of economic expansion, we can all be confident that somewhere beyond the horizon lies an economic recession. The only thing we do not know is when the contraction will occur and how severe it will be.
History tells us that recessions occur and can indeed, be very severe. During the 32 year history of MGA, there have been four recessions. This recent history suggests that recessions will occur every decade, give or take a couple of years, and they can be mild or severe.
During a period of economic expansion, prudent business leaders should anticipate that a recession will take place in the not-to-distant future. This means that the operations should always run lean, and company employees should know why this principle is fundamental to the organization's viability. Furthermore, debt levels should always be held to the lowest level consistent with a prudent growth strategy. When taking on debt, it has always been MGA's position to pay off debt in a shorter period than that specified in the contract. This really is not too difficult to do during periods of economic expansion, and it results in the organization having a much stronger financial position when the next recession takes place.
As sure as one can predict that a recession will take place in the future, one can also predict that a recession will be followed by a period of economic expansion. Although it is not possible to predict exactly when the economic expansion will take place, we certainly can prepare for it.powered vehicles were performed at the Proving Grounds.
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