SDS Systemtechnik Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

One of the leading manufacturers of systems for non-destructive tyre testing based on Interferometric Shearography, SDS Systemtechnik of Calw, Germany is celebrating 10 years in business this year. Since its foundation in 1998, the company has grown steadily. Starting with a staff of 10, Stefan Dengler’s original tyre-testing mechanism – built in the early 1990s – was used as the basis for serial-built machines of greater complexity. At the end of 2007, the number of installations had increased to over 300 with 20 employees, representatives across the globe and a new production hall in Calw.

In addition to the 10-year growth of the company, SDS has taken great pains to remain at the technological forefront of the industry. The organisation has optimised existing installations, bringing the latest technology to tyre testing machinery, providing up-to-date conditions in which tyres can be put through their paces. The company has developed its computer and laser technology, successfully applying for a range of patents and pushing forwards the quality and performance of its machinery.

The history of tyre testing began with the Nobel Prize winner Dennis Gábor in 1971, when he was able to show the first double-pulse hologram of a tyre. The US company IHI began the development of an industrial holographic tyre tester in 1973, and since then technology has allowed tyre testing to become faster and more reliable. Manufacturers have been able increasingly to integrate testing into the fabrication process. Recently, the cost of inspection procedures has fallen, as SDS and other such companies have found more and more economically viable ways to put testing into the workflow of the tyre industry.

For example, SDS’ Interferometric Tire Tester (ITT) series contains a mobile testing machine, usable at any time (the ITTcompact), a system for offline inspection (ITT-1) and the industrial ITT-2, which is designed to operate constantly alongside production. The individual test chamber (ITT-OTR) allows the inspection of any tyre size, including the current record of a tyre with a 4-metre diameter. All of the company’s machines are customisable and adjustable for particular applications. The range also has its own software, namely ITTMes and ITTView, which is able to provide special training for users, as well as recognise, view, document and archive tyre defects. The Dmark Laser Marking System allows companies to mark sidewalls.

But SDS is not content to rest on its laurels with the ITT range; the Pressure Tyre System (PTS) is designed to inspect sidewall anomalies and defects in a tyre’s structure. The company continue to look forward, bringing innovative and economical tyre testing solutions to manufacturers.