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Technical Centre

The Helical Technical Centre was built in 1991 as a European Research and Development Centre, providing engineering support to the exhaust industry. Helical has further invested in the facility, which is now used by automotive manufacturers, motorsport teams and component suppliers for vehicle, powertrain, and increasingly, emissions testing.

The Helical Technical Centre offers a range of facilities including 15 test and NVH cells and a calibrated test track, for vehicles and components, including low and ultra-low emission vehicle technologies such as hybrid and electric.

We offer:

Durability testing
Validation programmes
Evaluation work
Emissions testing (Horiba MEXA)
R&D programmes
NVH data acquisition and development
Consultancy
Prototype development

For:

Powertrains with a range of fuels eg. gasoline, diesel, gas and dual-fuel (Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG))
Exhaust systems
Hybrid and electric components
Gearboxes

Services

Acoustic acquisition & analysis (LMS TestLab hardware & software)
Engine calibration (INCA, ATI & CANalyser hardware & software)
Structural diagnostics & evaluation
Heavy duty & passenger vehicle emissions measurements
Mechanical & thermal fatigue analysis & durability testing
Climatic & environmental testing
Materials analysis

Customers include automotive OEMs such as:

Bentley
Jaguar Land Rover
McLaren
Ford
Cummins
Other global manufacturers

We also work in other non-automotive sectors such as:

Rail
Aerospace
Power Generation

Facilities

Engine test cells x 12
Semi-anechoic engine dyno test cells x 2
Semi-anechoic vehicle chassis dyno test cells x 1
Vibration shakers x 5
Hydraulic actuators
Climatic chambers x 1
Vibration climatic chamber x 1
-70 °C to +190 °C rapid cooling
Natural gas burners x 5
Oven chambers x 11
Drive-by noise test track
Cold flow rig tester
Manufacture and modification
Vehicle workshops
Pre & post inspection
Serviced offices and warehouse

In addition to offering excellent and cost-effective ‘one stop shop’ facilities supported by expert staff, we can provide a dedicated customer ‘hot desk office’.