Germany: Multi-Contact Opens New Testing Laboratory for Railway Technology Components

Image courtesy of Multi-Contact AG

Multi-Contact Opens New Testing Laboratory for Railway Technology Components

Connector manufacturer Multi-Contact have opened a new testing laboratory at the its center for railway technology in Hsingue, France.

The 800m² faculity features a bench for testing shock and vibration in combination with thermal stress. It is also equipped with a salt spray chamber, which enables realistic simulation of the environmental impacts on exposed connectors in railway rolling stock systems.

This new testing equipment enables Multi-Contact to perform in-house tests with applied current of up to 3000 A or for partial discharges of up to 100 kV.

Michel Schmitt, head of the Railway Technology Market at Multi-Contact said:

This investment allows us to subject our products to a wide range of tests, many that even exceed the requirements laid out in testing standards. The goal of all of this testing is to develop products that are even more compact, more powerful, and more durable.
In carriages and locomotives, we need solutions to reduce the time required for maintenance and repair work. Interfaces must be able to be connected and disconnected extremely quickly in order to prevent extended downtimes or train cancellation, for example.

With more than four decades of experience in the railway technology sector, Multi-Contact has positioned itself as a development partner in the industry with a focus on modular connector systems. Its expertise in other sectors enables the company to develop interface solutions tailored to specific applications.

The MULTILAM, part of the Multi-Contact MPC series, deliver efficient energy transfer coupled with low performance loss to ensure a long product service life. They allow engineers to create connections easily and safely for intercar couplings, traction converters, inverters, or batteries on the roof and under carriages, as well as to traction motors, making them ideal for use in the railway industry.