Documenting Fully Assembled Automobiles for Engine Global Structural Modes During a Pilot Build

Pilot programs are essential in the autonotive industry to assure that production vehicles will be built correctly by identifying potential or existing problem areas on the production line. One method of identifying these problem areas, along with documenting the structural condition of these bodies, is through the use of modal analysis techniques. This paper describes the use of these techniques to document the structural behavior of a group of pilot vehicles, and presents the results and conclusions drawn from this testing.