Damage and wear analysis
Recognize causes. Understanding wear and tear. Improve processes.
Whether after a failure, in the event of recurring quality problems or as part of maintenance and service life tests: the analysis of damage and signs of wear is a central component of quality assurance – particularly in the automotive industry, but also in mechanical engineering, toolmaking and medical technology.
We support you with precise 3D scans for the digital recording, documentation and evaluation of affected components. Fast, contactless and with high resolution – even directly on site.
Areas of application
Our optical 3D measurement technology is ideal for analyzing:
- Wear surfaces (e.g. friction, sealing and contact zones)
- Breaks, cracks or material deformation
- Ablation or erosion phenomena
- Deformation after load tests
- Surface damage due to corrosion, cavitation or overheating
- Comparison of new vs. used condition
By digitally recording the components, geometric changes can be precisely measured, documented and tracked in the long term – e.g. during development, in the event of complaints or in service life analyses.
Our technical approach
We use high-resolution optical measuring systems – stationary or mobile on request. The non-contact measurement technology makes it possible to gently measure even sensitive or damaged surfaces.
Our services:
- Full-surface 3D digitization of affected components
- Target/actual comparisons with CAD or new part
- Representation of geometric changes in color comparison maps
- Analysis of material removal, distortion, cracking and geometric deviations
- Export of measurement results for further processing or preparation of expert reports
Your advantages
- Objective database for technical decisions, audits or complaints
- Documentable traceability - ideal for test reports and quality assurance
- Wear patterns visually visible - also understandable for interdisciplinary teams
- Implementation, even in the event of unplanned events or on-site requirements
Optional: Series comparison and time series analysis
We can also carry out multi-stage wear analyses for components with defined usage cycles. Repeated scanning over several life cycles provides a reliable picture of the change – e.g. for endurance test benches or validation tests in the automotive sector.
Do you have a component with unexplained wear or would you like to analyze a case of damage?
Talk to us – we will help you to make the causes visible.
🧪 Case study: Wear analysis on a plain bearing bush
Initial situation:
A manufacturer of chassis components suspected increased wear on a plastic plain bearing bush after long-term loading (> 50,000 cycles on the test bench). The aim was to objectively quantify the material removal and compare it with a new part.
Procedure:
- Full-surface digitization of the tested and a new reference bushing using a stripe light scanner
- Alignment of both models via defined reference systems
- Generation of a color comparison image to visualize the material removal
- Extraction of the affected zones and measurement of the maximum deviation
Result:
- Maximum removal in the area of the axial sealing surface: 0.18 mm
- Concentrated wear zones along the main sliding line (visible in the color gradient)
- Recommendation for optimizing lubrication and material pairing
Benefits for the customer:
- Comprehensible, objective database for root cause analysis
- Documentation for QA and development department
- Basis for deriving technical improvement measures