Test bench for hair straightener

THE SOLUTION PROVIDED BY LF TECHNOLOGIES

Our client is a major French cosmetics group with an international reputation and market leadership in many countries.

Main functions

Objective

The customer wanted to check that the felt pad on a smoothing iron in its range was working properly, by checking the quality and quantity of the product (steam) deposited on the paper.

PROBLEMATIC ISSUES

The bench must allow the test results obtained to be extrapolated to real use of the hair straightener (control of steam deposit).

SOLUTION AND RESULT

We set up a test bench to simulate the operation of the straightening iron on a scrolling test strip.

The simulation bench consists of a frame housing a number of components, including a geared motor that winds up a strip of paper, according to control information entered into a software program and carried out via a control PC.

Application speed and lengths are programmed from the software. A potentiometric sensor guarantees linear speed, whatever the winding diameter.

The straightening iron is fixed to a specific support by means of a shaped base and a suitable clamp. This support contains a pneumatic actuator that closes the straightening iron with an adjustable force. A spring-applied brake slows the unwinder reel to prevent the paper from slackening. A safety bonnet surrounds the test area to prevent any risk of burns to the operator.

To carry out a test, the operator must install the straightening iron on its stand, place a roll of paper in position and unroll it, then insert the cartridge using the loading clamp provided for this purpose. The test is launched from the software.

The specific software, developed in LabVIEW, includes various functions:

• test parameters: feed speed; length of applications; length of interruptions ;
• recording of test parameters and weight values entered via the PC keyboard;
• review of test results ;
• export results in other formats (spreadsheet, etc.).