Eckel Advances Global Product Research in Canada

Anechoic chamber enables high-level acoustic testing

Published: Thursday, July 7, 2016 - 14:29

(Eckel: Cambridge, MA) -- Fanshawe College’s new Canadian Centre for Product Validation (CCPV) is a one-of-a-kind facility in Canada (one of only three in the world). The expansive 25,000 square-foot, two-story center houses ultramodern validation technologies for product prototyping and testing. Among those is an Eckel Noise Control Technologies anechoic chamber that enables the highest quality of noise-performance testing available. The CCPV opened its doors for business on June 1, 2016, and is fully operational, offering multimodal product testing to new and established companies of any size worldwide.

“Eckel has set a benchmark with us in terms of customer satisfaction,” says John Makaran, director of the CCPV. “They were proactive in addressing concerns and quick to respond to any issues that arose through the quotation, build, and commissioning process. It was easy to incorporate additional features to arrive at a customized solution within a very short period of time. We are confident that the Eckel chamber will be one of the reasons why CCPV will be a destination of choice for many companies.”

The Eckel hemi-anechoic chamber is being used to assess the acoustic noise performance of products ranging from small medical devices to entire vehicles, as well as product components. It’s the second largest chamber of its type in the Province of Ontario and is rivaled in performance only by chambers located at automotive OEMs in Michigan. Its dedicated air-handling unit and vehicle-exhaust extraction system allow vehicles to idle during noise tests. The isolated floor was designed to support vehicles weighing up to 21 tons, but the CCPV actually tested it to 32.5 tons—reporting that the room, doors, and floor remained perfectly balanced. 

“The Eckel chamber will also be used to develop new product-focused validation protocols and methodologies,” adds Makaran. “We are hopeful that our activities will advance the manner in which products are evaluated, including the progress of noise-performance testing.”

“The CCPV represents the absolute cutting edge of product testing and validation,” says Jeff Morse, the vice president at Eckel. “The fact that it chose one of our anechoic chambers to handle its noise-performance testing is a huge honor. It signifies that our chambers offer the ultimate in custom engineered acoustic testing and research structures.”

Externally, the Eckel chamber measures 36 ft. 4 in. long by 31 ft. 4 in. wide by 17 ft. 2 in. high. Inside the chamber, the walls, ceiling, and doors are covered with Eckel’s proprietary perforated metallic anechoic wedges, painted white. The internal dimensions are 30 ft. long by 25 ft. wide by 14 ft. high. To accommodate the largest testing objects (i.e., entire vehicles), the chamber has a double door that measures 11 ft. wide by 9 ft. high. A personnel access door measures 3 ft. 6 in. wide by 7 ft. 6 in. high. The chamber has a 100 Hertz cutoff, and the maximum background noise level within the chamber is 14–20 dB. It has been qualified to ISO 3744 using broadband noise and ISO 3745 using broadband noise and pure tones.

The CCPV will perform testing for new or improved products primarily in the thermal, mechanical, electrical, and environmental areas of the aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, medical, military, and renewable energy sectors. It can provide services on a fee-for-service basis, or access government funding to help a company develop new products. The CCPV is equipped not only to test products to known specifications, but also to determine a product’s functional limits, analyze the product relative to a variety of protocols outside the standard test specifications, and more. In addition, the CCPV can perform tasks such as pre-development market studies as well as post-development commercialization activities.

“The types of product testing we provide, combined with the business bookend activities we offer, position the CCPV as a leading and pioneering venture essential to product innovation and development,” says Makaran. “And with our value-add capabilities, our clients benefit from the creation of customized test equipment and methodologies designed just for them.”

The CCPV is a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of Fanshawe College and is located off-campus in London, Ontario, Canada. Fanshawe students will gain meaningful and relevant learning experiences through co-op placements and internships at the CCPV, as well as through applied research projects for industry clients involving both faculty and students.

Seen from exterior, a vehicle within the Eckel anechoic chamber at the Canadian Centre for Product Validation as observers learn about the chamber’s capabilities.

About The Author

Eckel Industries

Eckel Industries has been at the forefront of acoustical development since 1952. Engineers and scientists use Eckel anechoic chambers and noise-control products to improve the technology that affects our lives and the environment. Industries such as automotive, aircraft/aerospace, instrumentation, and computer manufacturers as well as research organizations, universities, colleges, government, and educational and industrial laboratories have relied on Eckel for the design, fabrication, and installation of anechoic chambers, reverberation rooms, modular panel enclosures, audiometric booths, and architectural noise control systems.