Testing services at OneLab

In the Technology Center (TC), the Calibration department is the one section that engages with all the areas that use test equipment. This includes all (measuring) devices, test rigs, equipment and software that are used at Schüco and that are employed to monitor the quality requirements of the products.

The sound reduction requirements for external noise can only be ensured by means of laboratory measurements, especially when it comes to complex façades. Similarly, reliable sound reduction between rooms can only work if sound transmission through the external façade is prevented. Schüco can not only check this precisely on original components, but also identify the causes of any defects in order to subsequently optimise the component.

As a result of ever-increasing requirements on the structural properties of buildings due to growing sizes and the rise in unit weights, the requirements on building component testing are also constantly increasing. It is often not possible to provide certificates of structural integrity or to calculate loads. If this is the case, component tests are then the only option to combine theory and practice.

When both the external appearance and the “internal” values of windows and façades throughout the entire lifecycle of the product are being examined, material and surface finish tests such as hardness, colour, gloss and stability measurements are used. From soft to very hard, including toughened and coated profiles, OneLab offers its customers the right test procedure for every material combination – from Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell through to Shore A and D. Whether the profiles are aluminium, steel or PVC, we work with our customers to find the right assessments for every material combination.

Schüco OneLab has the largest indoor façade test rig in Europe. Connected façade units up to 21 metres wide and 13 metres tall can be tested in the 18 metre-high hall. Schüco can therefore test large and complex three-dimensional constructions under realistic conditions, in order to meet the increasing requirements of customers in the long term.

All Schüco products that are fitted with their own electronic components or third-party products have to prove their electromagnetic compatibility. This requires standard-compliant tests to be carried out to ascertain the interference immunity and interference emission of components. This ensures that malfunctions and operational failures do not occur and harmful electromagnetic waves are not emitted.

Whenever reliable statements on climate issues need to be made about anything to do with the building envelope, environmental tests are essential. This also applies to findings regarding the ageing behaviour of materials, surface finishes and products under the influence of heat, cold, moisture, UV radiation and corrosive media. The Schüco Technology Center provides a wide range of options for this.

Whether or not the tests carried out in a laboratory correspond to what actually happens in reality is a question that arises time and again. In order to answer this question for our customers and ourselves, natural weathering tests are carried out under the climate conditions in Bielefeld. During these tests, meteorological data is calculated, temperature changes in and around the test units are recorded, the weathertightness and potential formation of condensation on the test units are documented and deformations and the impact of, for example, dirt and signs of ageing on the visual appearance of the installed materials are assessed.

We want our products to be able to withstand different mechanical loads without resulting in damage. That is why it is necessary to investigate the mechanics of a system in detail. Load tests, such as vertical load, torsion and reveal tests, drop tests, pendulum impact tests and excessive loading of individual components are all carried out by us in-house.

Here, windows and doors, sliding systems, sun blinds and electric drives are subjected to endurance testing. Windows achieve 20,000 opening and closing cycles and doors up to one million. Modern test benches are available for this purpose, which can achieve opening widths of up to 180°.

For window, door and façade systems from Schüco, this motto means two test types: burglar resistance and pendulum impact. Falling from a great height from a Schüco unit is thankfully inconceivable, as safety barriers – primarily safety barrier glazing – are fully tested in-house. Whether it's a hard or soft body impact, falling out must be prevented at all costs. Different impact bodies are used for this and are dropped onto our systems from different heights depending on the requirement.