Why EZ Pneumatics is the Ideal Solution for Cycle Testing (and Far Better Than Developing a Custom Rig)
In the world of R&D and quality assurance, cycle testing—also known as life cycle testing—is a critical process to ensure products meet durability and performance standards. Whether you’re testing switches, valves, connectors, or other mechanical components, precise and repetitive motion is essential. Engineers and technicians are often faced with a choice: build a custom rig for their cycle testing needs, or invest in a ready-to-use automation system.
While building your own rig may seem like a cost-saving solution on paper, the labor, time, and resources required to develop a custom system far outweigh the perceived benefits. Enter EZ Pneumatics, a pre-integrated pneumatic controller that makes automating cycle testing easier, faster, and more cost-effective.
EZ Pneumatics Simplifies and Accelerates Cycle Testing
EZ Pneumatics is purpose-built for creating sophisticated, automated motion sequences. It eliminates the most challenging aspects of building a custom testing rig by offering a pre-integrated solution that’s ready to use straight out of the box. Here’s why EZ Pneumatics is perfectly suited for cycle testing:
- Easily Programmable Cyclic Motion:
The system uses a no-code drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to design complex cyclic motion in minutes. With EZ Pneumatics, pneumatic actuators can be programmed to perform repetitive motion sequences—such as opening and closing, pushing and pulling, or extending and retracting—without needing specialized programming skills. - Time Savings through Automation:
Automation is key to increasing efficiency in life cycle testing. Rather than assigning technicians to manually cycle a product for hours or days, EZ Pneumatics can automate the entire process, running continuous test cycles around the clock. This frees up technicians to focus on higher-value tasks like data analysis, troubleshooting, or product improvement. - Ready-to-Use Solution:
Unlike custom rigs, where engineers need to spend weeks or months designing, sourcing, building, and debugging a system, EZ Pneumatics is a plug-and-play solution. The pre-integrated hardware and easy-to-use software allow engineers to get up and running in minutes instead of weeks. This drastically reduces the time-to-deployment for cycle testing projects. - High Precision and Repeatability:
Pneumatic actuators controlled by EZ Pneumatics offer high precision and repeatability, two key factors for accurate cycle testing. Whether you’re running thousands or millions of cycles, the system ensures that each test is performed consistently, minimizing variability and maximizing reliability in your results.
The Pitfalls of Building a Custom Cycle Testing Rig
Building a custom cycle testing rig from scratch comes with a hidden set of costs and challenges that often go unnoticed until the project is underway. Here’s why developing a custom rig is rarely a better solution than using EZ Pneumatics:
- Significant Labor and Design Complexity:
A custom cycle testing rig requires extensive design, component sourcing, wiring, programming, and troubleshooting. Engineers spend 60+ hours on low-value tasks like building and wiring the system. This is time better spent on high-value work, such as refining test methodologies or improving product designs. - Programming is Labor-Intensive:
Developing the software to run a custom cycle test is not only time-consuming but often requires specialized skills in motion control and programming. Custom coding introduces risks of errors and bugs that require additional troubleshooting time, while EZ Pneumatics’ no-code interface eliminates this complexity. - Troubleshooting and Maintenance are Ongoing Burdens:
Custom rigs often suffer from reliability issues, as components from different vendors may not integrate perfectly. These problems can lead to extensive troubleshooting and unplanned downtime, consuming valuable engineering time. With EZ Pneumatics, all components are pre-integrated and tested, reducing the need for maintenance and troubleshooting. - Total Cost is Much Higher than Expected:
While the initial material costs of a custom rig might seem lower than the price of a pre-built system, the labor costs quickly add up. If an engineer is spending hundreds of hours developing a custom rig at $100/hour, that’s an additional tens of thousands of dollars of costs alone—before even considering the time required for testing, debugging, and maintenance.
Maximizing ROI and Freeing Up Resources
One of the biggest advantages of using EZ Pneumatics for cycle testing is the opportunity cost saved. When engineers and technicians are tied up building custom rigs, they aren’t working on more critical tasks like analyzing test data, refining processes, or developing new products. EZ Pneumatics automates the repetitive, time-consuming tasks associated with life cycle testing, allowing your team to focus on higher-value efforts that drive real innovation.
This shift from low-value to high-value work doesn’t just improve productivity—it has a direct impact on ROI. EZ Pneumatics reduces cycle testing time, lowers labor costs, and increases the throughput of your testing process, all of which help speed up product development cycles and time to market.
Conclusion: EZ Pneumatics is the Smart Choice for Cycle Testing
When it comes to cycle testing and life cycle testing, EZ Pneumatics offers a far better use of time and money than building a custom rig. It simplifies the process, reduces development time, and automates repetitive tasks, freeing up your engineers and technicians to focus on what matters most—creating better products.
By investing in EZ Pneumatics, you’ll eliminate the headaches of building and maintaining a custom testing system and ensure that your cycle testing is performed with precision, reliability, and efficiency.
Ready to streamline your cycle testing? Contact us today to learn more about how EZ Pneumatics can optimize your testing process.
