Case Study: Thermal Aging of Quad Lock Phone Products Using Thermoline Ovens

Client: Quad Lock Australia, designer and developer of premium phone mounts for vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles, marine, golf and more.

Objective: To conduct thermal aging tests on Quad Lock’s phone cases and mounts using Thermoline ovens, simulating long-term environmental exposure in high-temperature conditions. The tests aimed to ensure that these products could endure extreme heat without performance degradation.

Background

Quad Lock's products are often subjected to harsh conditions, particularly in vehicles where temperatures can soar. Ensuring their durability under such conditions is crucial. To achieve this, Quad Lock purchased two lab ovens from Thermoline, each equipped with advanced features:

1. TD-250F – A 250L laboratory oven for smaller-scale tests.
2. TD-500F – A 500L oven with a custom 400x400mm viewing window, allowing real-time observation during testing.

Both ovens featured the Omron-MSP controller, a multi-setpoint programmable controller that allowed for precise ramp and dwell temperature control, ensuring accurate simulation of real-world conditions. This enabled Quad Lock to create temperature cycles where the heat increased and decreased gradually over set periods, replicating conditions such as daytime heat buildup in cars.

Additional 50mm port holes were incorporated into the side walls to accommodate external sensors and power cables entering the oven space.

Methodology

1. Omron-MSP Controller Integration:

• Programmable Ramps and Dwells: Quad Lock utilised the Omron-MSP controller, which allowed them to set multiple temperature stages. This enabled control over how quickly the oven reached peak temperatures and how long it stayed there before cooling back down, simulating temperature fluctuations that occurred throughout the day.

2. Thermal Aging Tests:

• Testing in the TD-250F: This smaller oven was used for initial tests on phone cases, exposing them to temperatures up to 120°C over cycles simulating daily heat exposure in a controlled environment.

• Real-Time Monitoring in the TD-500F: The larger oven, featuring the custom window, allowed engineers to observe how the phone mounts responded to prolonged heat exposure. The Omron-MSP controller managed complex temperature profiles to replicate the heat cycle a phone mount might experience in a vehicle.

Results

Phone Cases: After multiple thermal aging cycles, the cases maintained their integrity, showing only minor cosmetic changes, such as discolouration, while retaining full functionality.

Phone Mounts: The mounts proved extremely resilient, even after extended heat cycles. Thanks to the ramp and dwell control provided by the Omron-MSP, Quad Lock was able to simulate real-world heating patterns, verifying that their mounts can endure extreme temperatures without losing grip or strength.

Conclusion

Thermal aging tests conducted with Thermoline's TD-250F and TD-500F ovens validated the long-term durability of Quad Lock’s phone mounts and cases. The tests successfully demonstrated that these products can withstand significant environmental stress, particularly the high heat they would encounter inside vehicles.

Key Benefits:

• Real-Time Testing: The custom window on the TD-500F oven allowed for direct observation during testing, improving the process's precision and control.
• Omron-MSP Controller: The programmable temperature ramps and dwell times provided by the Omron-MSP controller ensured accurate replication of real-world conditions, giving Quad Lock confidence in the durability of their products under various thermal stress scenarios.