Seat - The many challenges facing car seats
- 6 years ago
It is no coincidence that our car seats remain comfortable and sturdy after driving thousands of kilometres or withstanding extreme temperature contrasts. Engineers at the SEAT Technical Centre perform several tests long before manufacturing begins on vehicles. The following are the five most strenuous tests that are carried out in the three year development period of each car seat:
-Getting in and out 700 times a day: A diverse group of men and women of all sizes and builds are the team of professional testers that reproduce the action of getting in and out of a car 6,000 times in a week. “Each tester repeats this action 700 times a day to simulate what a car seat endures over a period of five years”, explains Javier García, the engineer in charge of SEAT’s car seat testing. “Some of them wear jeans with rivets and buttons on the back pockets or reinforced seams”, in order to ensure the resistance of the foam and fabric of the future car seat, which in addition has to adapt to any driver who sits on it.
-Rub resistant: Another test consists in reproducing multiple rubbing motions on a car seat. It is carried out in the lab and simulates the weight of a 75 kg torso. “For 3 weeks, a machine performs 22,000 friction cycles 24 hours a day, simulating daily movements made by a user weighing more than 100 kg”, says Javier. Following the test it is essential to assess the performance of the car seat and verify whether it still looks the same and has the same initial properties.
-Getting in and out 700 times a day: A diverse group of men and women of all sizes and builds are the team of professional testers that reproduce the action of getting in and out of a car 6,000 times in a week. “Each tester repeats this action 700 times a day to simulate what a car seat endures over a period of five years”, explains Javier García, the engineer in charge of SEAT’s car seat testing. “Some of them wear jeans with rivets and buttons on the back pockets or reinforced seams”, in order to ensure the resistance of the foam and fabric of the future car seat, which in addition has to adapt to any driver who sits on it.
-Rub resistant: Another test consists in reproducing multiple rubbing motions on a car seat. It is carried out in the lab and simulates the weight of a 75 kg torso. “For 3 weeks, a machine performs 22,000 friction cycles 24 hours a day, simulating daily movements made by a user weighing more than 100 kg”, says Javier. Following the test it is essential to assess the performance of the car seat and verify whether it still looks the same and has the same initial properties.