Test Fixture Design and Evaluation

Comprehensive knowledge of the workings of CAD/PAD or ECS also lends to efficient designs of test apparatuses or fixtures.  A good test fixture is not necessarily the one that replicates the actual system; but a simple fixture that provides all the major facets of performance so that the validation the CAD/CAD in the test fixture translates to the absolute confidence that it will perform satisfactorily in the actual system.  CED routinely designs test fixtures as a part of its design/validation approach.  Additionally, Scot also designs and simplifies test fixtures for existing products in order to make the validation or the acceptance process more cost-productive.  One example is the lot acceptance test fixture for F-15 canopy remover actuator cartridges.  The original test fixture duplicated the F-15 canopy and the removal system.  This system required a new actuator for each cartridge.  Scot redesigned the fixture that translated the rotational motion to a linear motion and also allowed the usage of a workhorse actuator that can be rebuilt and reused. 

Delta IV Launch Vehicle

Another example is the functional test fixture for the stage separation system for Delta IV launch vehicle.  The fixture represents the ½ scale of the 1st and the 2nd stage masses; and the pneumatic separation system that incorporates two sets of a Nitrogen reservoir, a normally-closed pyrovalve manifold, interconnect tubing, and eight actuators.  The fixture was use to verify that the separation system delivers the required energy at the worst case extremes