Automotive Pressure Testing
for Reliable and Safe Components
Automotive testing is a critical step in ensuring that vehicles, components, and systems meet the highest standards for safety, reliability, and performance. Therefore, manufacturers validate their products through a combination of virtual and software simulations and real-world testing before they can access global automotive markets and comply with international regulations.
From early development to series production, testing ensures that components perform consistently under demanding operating conditions and throughout their entire service life.
Pressure Testing of Automotive Fluid Systems
A key part of automotive testing is the validation of fluid-carrying components under pressure. Systems such as fuel lines, brake systems, cooling circuits, hydrogen components, liquid cooled and hydraulic assemblies must withstand dynamic loads, pressure peaks, and long-term fatigue.
Poppe + Potthoff Maschinenbau provides advanced pressure testing solutions to simulate these conditions with high precision. Pressure cycle tests expose components to millions of load changes, while burst and leak tests verify structural integrity and tightness under extreme conditions. As a result, this type of testing enables manufacturers to detect weaknesses early and ensure reliable performance in real operation.
From Component Validation to System-Level Testing
Automotive testing covers a wide range of applications, from individual components such as valves, ADAS controller cold plates, battery cooling plates, pipes, fittings, and injectors to complete subsystems and assemblies. In addition to pressure testing, functional testing plays a crucial role in evaluating performance, efficiency, and interaction between components under realistic operating scenarios.
By combining different testing methods, manufacturers gain a comprehensive understanding of how their products behave under varying loads, temperatures, and environmental conditions.
Supporting Innovation in Modern Mobility
With the shift toward electrification, hydrogen technologies, and new mobility concepts, testing requirements in the automotive industry are becoming increasingly complex. Therefore, components must operate under higher pressures, new media, and more dynamic load profiles.
Poppe + Potthoff Maschinenbau supports automotive manufacturers and suppliers with customized test systems tailored to these evolving challenges. From high-pressure test rigs and autofrettage systems to fully automated function test benches, our solutions help ensure quality, safety, and scalability from R&D through to series production.
Autofrettage- & Pressure Proof for COPVs
Our test benches are specifically developed for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) and other high-pressure containers. Using filtered water as the test medium, they enable precise autofrettage and pressure hold procedures to validate strength, increase durability, and extend vessel life. With pressure ranges up to 1050 bar, the systems are adaptable to different COPV sizes and volumes. A robust steel safety chamber ensures maximum protection in case of rupture, while the automated pre-filling process minimizes air entrapment for reproducible and safe testing. The integrated tilting device simplifies the handling of large and heavy vessels. Siemens PLC control, combined with an intuitive HMI, provides recipe management, complete data traceability, and reliable acquisition of key parameters, including pressure curves, hold times, expansion…
Autofrettage for R&D and Prototypes
The autofrettage system is ideal for research and development and prototype manufacturing. The rig enables manufacturers to mount different components with a flexible fixture system. Therefore a high variety of components, designs and prototypes can be autofretted on the system.
Autofrettage for (Diesel) Injection Lines
High-pressure lines such as diesel injection lines (common rails) are autofrettaged for continuous use with pulsating pressure in series production. By applying the autofrettage process component service life can be increased by up to 30%.
Common Rail Serial Production Autofrettage
This state-of-the-art autofrettage system is the perfect solution for the serial production of common rails. Our flagship system is utilized by manufacturers around to world. It enables improvement of the fatigue strength of common rails, injection lines and other components.
Multipurpose Autofrettage
Our multipurpose autofrettage system is ideal for research and development. In addition, is also well equipped for smaller serial production lines up to 13000 bar.
Common Rail Autofrettage up to 12000 bar
A flexible and expandable autofrettage system for common rails, and for performing autofrettage on various components up to 12000 bar. The system can be expanded by adding additional chambers and pressure intensifiers as production demands grow. The ideal solution for ambitious manufacturing goals. Designed for high-pressure applications, it ensures consistent process quality, improved component strength, and efficient scalability in series production.
Future in Sight
Highlights
We are your partner for technical innovation. We are enthusiastic about new ideas, approaches and most of all technology. Therefore we contribute our expertise and turn the imaginable into the feasible. E-mobility components are subject to new test standards and must withstand various pressure tests. As an innovative and solution-oriented market leader, we support you with test benches for research and development as well as production. Our test benches are individually tailored to your requirements and can be equipped with a climate chamber for environmental simulation and media temperature control. Typical for e-mobility are tests with a water-glycol mixture of up to 12 bar while controlling a fluid flow and simulating both ambient and fluid temperatures between -40°C and 140°C.
Electromobility
Pressure Testing
EV Components
To demonstrate the quality of media-carrying vehicle components, drive units (electric motors), valves, cooling and heating systems, hose lines, pipes, pressure vessels, and other components are subjected to pressure. Whether it’s for dynamic pressure cycle testing, static pressure holding tests, flow measurements, or classic burst pressure tests, Poppe + Potthoff Maschinenbau offers you a solution tailored to your requirements.
Hydrogen
Sustainability in industry.
P+P test benches are used in research and development as well as for continuous benchmarking of the production process and the quality of H2 components. To ensure the safety of media-carrying components throughout their entire lifespan, components must undergo durability testing under extreme loads and changing temperature conditions. P+P offers flexible solutions tailored to the customer’s needs and can easily integrate climate chambers and media tempering if needed. Our testing systems enable leak tests up to 1050 bar with gas and other media depending on the specifications.
Automotive
Testing Pressure Vessels
Poppe + Potthoff supports the automotive industry with state-of-the-art pressure test rigs. Automotive components are diverse and range from high-pressure components such as common rails with an operating pressure of 3000 bar to plastic components for air conditioning applications up to 20 bar. Our pressure test rigs can support your requirements in any pressure range.
News
about Automotive
Pressure Proof, Leak Testing, and Autofrettage of COPVs: Ensuring Safety and Structural Integrity
Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) are at the heart of modern hydrogen and space applications. From automotive fuel tanks to…
High-Performance Burst Pressure Test for Airbag Inflators
Precision Under Pressure – Testing Safety at 4,000 Bar In the world of automotive safety, airbag inflators are mission-critical components.…
How to Validate Oil and Hydraulic Filters with Pressure Cycle & Burst Testing
Oil and hydraulic filters are subjected to significant stress during operation. From repeated pressure pulses to sudden spikes in flow,…
Contact Us
Our experienced technical sales team will help you implement your project and find a solution tailored to your specifications and requirements. We are represented internationally and can support you and your company worldwide. Our team has completed hundreds of projects many of which involved supporting test facilities with identical equipment. P+P Maschinenbau is your internationally trusted partner.