LINK Welcomes Jim Cuttino as Director of Tire Research & Development

Apr 4, 2018

Link Engineering Company is happy to announce the addition of Jim Cuttino to the team. In January 2018, Jim was brought on as Director of Tire Research and Development. He will be responsible for the development of tire testing equipment and services at LINK.

With his extensive knowledge of the tire testing industry, LINK is confident that Jim will be a vital member of the team. In Jim’s engineering career he has worked in Research and Development at Michelin and taught as a professor at the University of Alabama and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Most recently, Jim was the founder and CEO of Camber Ridge Company, where he took the lead in creating a full-speed, tire testing facility on an indoor, ½ mile asphalt surface. Despite the many technical challenges, the project was successfully launched and provided accurate, realistic testing conditions to the industry.

We are excited to welcome Jim to the LINK team!

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Brakes

Type of Test	Test Highlights	Equipment Used	Example Procedures
Chemical Testing	Measurement of copper, asbestos and other elements in brake friction materials	ICP-OES / PLM	J2975
Materials Testing	Physical properties including quality control for friction, wear, compressive strain, shear strength, corrosion resistance, swell and growth	Chase Machine / Compressibility Machine/ Shear Machine / Corrosion Chamber / Environmental Chamber / Oven	J661, ISO 6310, ISO 6311, ISO 6312, ABNT NBR 9301, ABNT NBR 5505, ABNT NBR 5537, ASTM B117
Frequency Response	Component Frequency Response	Laser Vibrometer Test Stand	SAE J2933, J3001, J2598, L-4375
Structural Fatigue and Durability	Breaking strength, cyclic fatigue	Servo Hydraulics, Torque Flex	J2995, C419, C441, GMW18022
Caliper Fingerprinting	Caliper characteristics such as knockback, rollback, fluid displacement, deflection...	Caliper Test Bench / Brake Dynamometer	L-4177, PF.90257
Brake Drag and DTV	Residual drag, disc thickness variation, brake feel and vehicle fuel mileage	Off Brake Drag Stand / Brake Dynamometer	J2923, GMW14926, GMW14351, PF.90257, L-13080
Performance	Hydraulic, air and electric brakes, friction levels, stopping distance, corrosion, cleanability, brake torque variation, rotor cracking, regulation, stability control, coastdown	Brake Dynamometer, Model 4000 DAS	J2784, J2928 IS026867, GMW14985, PF.90210, PF.90244, L-405, FMVSS 121, FMVSS 122, FMVSS 105, FMVSS 135, FMVSS 126, FMVSS 136, ECE R13H, AMS
Wear	Rotor wear, drum wear, lining wear, DTV, durability, city traffic, suburban traffic	Brake Dynamometer, Model 4000 DAS	J2707, USCT, L-423, PF.90244, Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix, Birmingham, Marquette
NVH	Brake squeal during drag and decel events at different temperatures, pressure and torque levels	NVH Brake Dynamometer	J2521, L420, 1430, GMW17427, PF. 90244
Brake Emissions	Brake dust particle size, count, concentration and mass	Brake Dynamometer	WLTP, CARB, Duty cycle

Tires

Type of Test	Test Highlights	Equipment Used	Example Procedures
Parking Forces	Allows proper sizing of power steering components	Force and Motion	LINK Parking Forces
Tire Footprint	Determines the contact patch geometry	Force and Motion	Tire Footprint
Tire Modeling	Determine tire inertia which is then used Ftire and other models and simulations	Inertia Machine	LINK Tire Inertial Properties
	On-center parking effort test for Ftire input	Force and Motion	SWP
	Determine static stiffness (X, Y, Z, Alpha) for Ftire input	Static Stiffness Machine	SAE Static Stiffness
	Determine how the tire envelopes an obstacle	Cleat Machine	J2731
	Measure the forces and moments generated at a high frequency response spindle when the tire impacts a cleat	Cleat Machine	J2730
Braking and Cornering Performance	Determine the straight line braking performance of a tire	Force and Motion	J2673
	Determine the free rolling cornering properties of a tire	Force and Motion	SAE TIME, J1987, SWP
	Measure the combined cornering and braking performance of a tire	Force and Motion	J2675
Tire Stiffness	Measure rolling vertical stiffness of a tire at speed		Rolling Vertical Stiffness
Rolling Resistance	Measure tire rolling resistance using a drum	Force and Motion, Rolling Resistance	J1269, J2452
Tire Wear	Assess tire wear in the lab	Force and Motion	LINK Wear Test
Tire NVH	Test tire sizzle, cornering noise, pass-by noise, steering wheel dither, freeze crack impacts, high speed uniformity and imbalance sensitivity	Force and Motion, Dynamometer, Model 4000 DAS	Noise, Vibration, Harshness

Wheels

Type of Test	Test Highlights	Equipment Used	Example Procedures
Chemical	Evaluates filiform corrosion on painted aluminum wheels and painted aluminum trim	ICP-OES	ASTM E3061
Wheel Corrosion and Coatings	Evaluates filiform corrosion, tape adhesion, degree of rusting on painted aluminum wheels and painted aluminum trim	Corrosion Chamber	SAE J2635, ASTM B368, ISO 9227, ISO 2409, ASTM D3599, ABNT NBR 11003, ASTM D610, ASTM D1654
Wheel Fatigue	Load simulation test of aluminum alloy wheels	Biaxial	BMW QV36026, SAE J2562, FORD L-307, GMW14340
	Dynamic Cornering Fatigue and Dynamic Radial Fatigue - Steel wheels	Eccentric Mass and Radial	ABNT NBR 6750
	Rotational fatigue, Radial load fatigue and biaxial load fatigue of steel and aluminum wheels	Eccentric Mass, Radial and Biaxial	ABNT NBR 6751
	Dynamic Cornering Fatigue and Dynamic Radial Fatigue and Impact resistance of temporary use and normal highway use aluminum wheels	Eccentric Mass, Radial and Drop Test	ABNT NBR 6752
	Wheel Radial Fatigue	Radial	GMW14909
Wheel Impact	Wheel Inboard Rim Flange Vertical Impact	Drop Test	GMW15321
	Wheel radial impact	Drop Test	CETP 04.04-L300
	Wheel Lateral Impact	Drop Test	GMW14910, SAE J175
Wheel Stiffness	Frequency Response Function (FRF)	Frequency Response	GMW14876
Wheel Stiffness	Deformation of the wheel	Servo Hydraulics	J2315
Center cap heat resistance	Center Cap deformation under elevated temperature conditions	Bench Test	Brake Heat Center Cap

Hubs/Bearings

Type of Test	Test Highlights	Equipment Used	Example Procedures
Wheel Bearing	Water intrusion and durability when exposed to mud and salt	Bearing Test Stand	LINK Hub and Bearing, GMW16306, GMW16310
	Passenger car, sport/performance and open bed vehicle wheel bearing spalling	Bearing Test Stand	GMW16311, GMW16308, GMW16309
	Brinelling resistance validates long-term reliability/durability	Bearing Test Stand	GMW16305
	Rotary fatigue life	Rotary Fatigue Machine	GMW16325
Wheel Hub	Rotary bending fatigue life characteristics	Rotary Fatigue Machine	GMW14249
Hub/Bearing	Evaluate hub and bearing performance, durability, seals and NVH when exposed to extreme environmental effects such as temperature and mud/salt solution	Bearing Test Stand/Rotary Fatigue	TIP-000037A, LINK Hub and Bearing, SAE J1095, LINK Impact
Hub Fatigue	Hub fatigue using biaxial loading	Biaxial Test Stand	SAE J2562