In recent years, with the rapid development of China’s auto market, consumers have higher and higher requirements for the vehicle itself, especially in terms of air quality inside the car. According to the China New Car Quality Research SM (IQS) report in recent years, “car odor” is the most concerned and reflected issue by consumers. In addition, in the case of complaints about auto products by the National Consumers Association, the odor inside the car has also become the content of concentrated complaints from users.
It is reported that the “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Air Quality in Passenger Cars” (Revised GB/T27630-2011) mandatory standard consultation draft is still in the second revision and is expected to be officially released and implemented in 2020. The standard stipulates 8 types of common vehicles Volatile organic compounds (VOC) and limit values in specific environments, such as benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, etc. In addition, China VI Standard 5.4 stipulates that all M1 vehicles should meet the requirements of the “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Air Quality in Passenger Cars” (GB/T27630-2011) and subsequent revisions, which means that with the The promotion and implementation of VI has led to the early entry of the air quality in the car into the strict standardization control. It is believed that with the announcement and implementation of subsequent mandatory standards for air quality in passenger cars, the control efforts of domestic car companies will be greatly promoted.
Approaching the “Odor Laboratory” of car companies to control odor pollution from the source
In order to meet the needs of consumers and improve product competitiveness, domestic car companies have continuously strengthened quality inspection standards and control efforts in terms of air quality in cars. However, due to the variety and complexity of the air in cars, car companies Special countermeasures have been taken to improve the interior odor. The more widely adopted method is to set up a car factory “smell laboratory” and recruit a professional team to evaluate the interior odor of the car. The relatively well-known odor detection team of traditional passenger car brands such as FAW-Volkswagen and Ford. In terms of new car-making forces, the author knows most of the car companies with mass production capabilities, such as Mahayana Motors.
User word-of-mouth is inseparable from the support of product quality, and product quality relies on the high-quality quality inspection system of car companies. Only through strict quality inspection, a large number of advanced equipment and the investment of a professional quality inspection team, the quality of a single model product can be effectively guaranteed and rapidly improved. Taking Mahayana as an example, the detection of odor control has been incorporated into the process of product design and development. By using environmentally friendly materials that meet the requirements, odor pollution can be effectively controlled from the source.
From raw materials to vehicle testing, Dacheng Motor has successively revised 7 corporate standards to control odor, formaldehyde, condensate components, total carbon, VOC, etc., and established vehicle odor & VOC quality management methods to ensure that the development reaches the quantity The air quality management work in the production stage is carried out in an orderly manner. In addition, the establishment of the odor laboratory provides a professional testing environment for odor detection to ensure the consistency of the evaluation results, and all aspects of odor quality control are carried out in the inspection of interior materials, parts and vehicles. In the quality inspection process of quantifying the control standards of car odor and node review links, car companies represented by Mahayana are optimizing the process system and improving the quality control system to ensure high standards and consistency of product quality. Responsible for the health and safety of users.
Smelling auto parts to reveal the mysterious “Golden Nose” team
According to industry insiders, even if car companies have a large number of professional and internationally advanced testing instruments, they can only detect the concentration of a single gas, and cannot judge the comprehensive odor test. In this regard, the human nose is more sensitive and more practical than the instrument. In the industry, the odor in the car is mainly controlled through the evaluation of the odor evaluator’s olfactory supervisor. Therefore, after being recruited by one-of-a-kind experts, Dacheng Motor spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a “golden nose” team to conduct odor tests on the materials and components used in its models, and be responsible for the quality control perceived by users. They cannot smoke, drink too much, do not wear heavy makeup, do not use perfume, do not have the habit of chewing gum, and do not have chronic rhinitis, because these will affect their judgment and evaluation of the smell in the car, and even a cold may cause Cannot do this work later.
According to the quality inspection team of Dacheng Automobile, Dacheng Automobile has a “golden nose” team of more than 10 people, and the average number of evaluations per person per year can reach 300 times. “This data is higher than the evaluation frequency and standards of the same industry.” To become the “Golden Nose” team of Dacheng Automobile, one must pass strict assessment standards, including theoretical training, olfactory ability test, smell intensity training, smell recognition training and comprehensive assessment, and an intensity-level olfactory memory assessment is also required every quarter. right.
So, how do scent experts work?
First, they will divide the non-metallic parts in the car into three types: A, B, and C for sampling. Place in an oven and heat at 70°C and 105°C to simulate a high-temperature environment to accelerate the release of sample odor. Typical parts include small parts such as switch buttons and connectors (grade A), armrests, air outlets, sun visors, etc. class).
During the evaluation process, a laboratory that does not have a specific odor is selected, the samples are removed from the oven, and the odor of the parts is rated. According to the odor expert of Mahayana, Mahayana smell appraisers adopt a six-level evaluation standard and divide the odor intensity into six levels: no odor; slight odor; easy to recognize, but no discomfort; obvious odor, with discomfort; strong Odor, offensive and intolerable.
When the odor concentration is between different levels, the semi-level system evaluation is adopted. Each evaluation requires more than 5 people. In addition to grading, they also need to clarify and distinguish the type of odor when the odor is greater than 3 levels. When there are animals When there are unqualified odor properties such as smell and dustbin smell, the corresponding materials are not allowed to be used even if there is a slight presence. When a certain material is assessed to be greater than 3.5, Mahayana will immediately communicate with the supplier, readjust the material of the parts or the production process, and seek a solution. At present, the vehicle odor of Mahayana is less than 3.5, and the air quality inside the vehicle is at the leading level in the same industry.
Subjective and objective combination of precision instruments to support detection is more comprehensive
After the “Golden Nose” team excludes highly emitting materials, they will also use advanced precision instruments to conduct systematic and objective standardized testing of relevant component materials and harmful substances released by the vehicle.
When consumers pay attention to the comfort of the air quality in the car, they are also concerned about their health. Odor and VOC are the two corresponding evaluation dimensions. Vehicle VOC is a health indicator to evaluate the air quality in the vehicle, and VOC has corresponding national standard requirements. Before the VOC detection process of the whole vehicle, the engineer will first open all the doors and stand still for 6 hours, then close the doors for 16 hours, collect air samples in the car, and test the harmful substances in them. During the test, the vehicle will be placed statically in a special test laboratory, the ambient temperature will be kept constant at 25°C, and the humidity will be kept constant at 50% to simulate the normal environment of the vehicle as much as possible. With constant temperature, humidity and other environmental parameters, volatile samples are collected and sent to the laboratory for qualitative and quantitative analysis with professional equipment. After the VOC sampling of the whole vehicle is finished, the odor engineer will also confirm the odor rating of the whole vehicle according to the requirements of the enterprise standard, and verify whether the odor performance of the whole vehicle meets the target.
At present, domestic automobile brands have incorporated the evaluation of the smell inside the car into the quality inspection link, and penetrated into multiple links of vehicle research and development and production to strictly monitor and control the air quality inside the car. As a member of the new domestic car-making team, Dacheng Automobile actively invests in automobile air quality inspections, and based on standardized quality inspection links, it has established a professional air quality inspection system, thus creating high standards that truly meet the needs of consumers. , High-quality products.
