About Us
Guiding Principles
Team Corporation will work closely with you to understand your requirements and preferences. We will propose a system that meets those requirements and fits within your constraints. We will be clear about the advantages and disadvantages of the vibration test system we propose, giving you the information necessary to make informed decisions. By sharing our experience with the test engineers who specify and use your system, we can help maximize performance, reduce costs, and accelerate the delivery of your system.
From the first hydraulic shakers to the recent introduction of the first 6-degree-of-freedom systems, Team Corporation has introduced a long list of innovations. We have developed solutions for vibration testing of armaments and missiles, automobile components and vehicles, communication satellites, instrumentation of all types, military and civilian aircraft components, and shipping containers.
Customer Satisfaction
Our primary goal is to satisfy you, our customer. We will deliver only the highest quality product, back it with a solid warranty, and provide excellent service. Our products will meet your needs and expectations, and will give you years of trouble-free service.
Performance
We will never compromise our integrity. Our commitment is to deliver the system we quote, with the performance we quote, at the price we quote. We will honor our warranty, and support our equipment throughout its useful life.
Leadership
We are and will continue to be, the leaders in vibration test equipment engineering and manufacturing. We have earned this position by consistently delivering the highest performance, most reliable hardware available. We will vigorously continue with product improvement and new product development.
Service
Our field service engineers and technicians are highly skilled, and each of them has served a long apprenticeship at the factory. Armed with keen interpersonal skills and years of experience in the field they are at your service day and night anywhere in the world to keep your system in top condition.
Our History
In 1954, Team Corporation was founded by Vern Tauscher who began by manufacturing hydraulically driven rivet guns for the aircraft manufacturing industry. Demand for spacecraft development allowed Team to design and manufacture specialized equipment for use in early spacecraft testing. Team Corporation’s vibration simulation equipment has been used for quality and durability testing on everything from small printed circuit boards to satellites, launch vehicles, military transport vehicles, armaments, rail cars, automotive components, and more. The following chronology will offer some insight into Team Corporation’s history, and illustrate Team’s noteworthy accomplishments.
Team Corporation over the years...
1958
Northrop approached Team to develop and build the first hydraulic shaker. This multi-shaker system (4 shakers) drove a wooden table and tested aircraft subassemblies.
Wyle Laboratories became interested in this work and saw “hydrashakers” as the new wave of vibration testing. Wyle purchased the rights to the product from Northrop. Team Corporation continued manufacturing hydrashakers for Wyle.
Hydrashakers became famous for their application in vibration testing of the Apollo and Saturn Series of spacecraft. One of the largest setups is still in use at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. This system consists of eight 50,000 lb heads configured in a circle.
1959
In the initial stages of America’s space program the need for an improved slip table system for vibration testing became apparent. Under contract to NASA, Team Corporation invented the Model 1830 T and V bearings. These innovative bearings are friction free, can carry both tension and compression and are incredibly stiff. Literally thousands of these bearings are in use all over the world restraining large structures during vibration testing.
The Model 1830 T and V bearings solve a major problem for customers who are trying to test packages with high centers of gravity. By using T’s and V’s test packages can be restrained to move in one axis only. No more pitching, yawing, or slip plate slapping.
Mid to late 60’s
Team Corporation, under the leadership of President Bob Tauscher, continued to design and manufacture special hydrostatic bearings for the vibration testing industry. Team developed zero friction hydrostatic spherical couplings, pad bearings, journal bearings and rotary tables. The accuracy and dependability that these unique bearings have brought to vibration testing have not been equaled.
Late 60’s
Team Corporation became an OEM supplier of rotary actuators and servo valves to MTS. This relationship continued until 1979. Many of the MTS systems in service today use Team Corporation actuators and/or valves.
Throughout the 70’s
Team Corporation built many custom test systems. These systems all relied on Team’s proven products such as bearings, hydraulic actuators, and servo valves. Team Corporation also provided engineering and hardware for two simultaneous, three axis test systems at CEA Bourdeaux, France (the French nuclear regulatory agency) and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Other highlights from the 70’s include:
1971
Team Corporation conceived of using journal bearings in an oil film table to improve its cross axis motion and overturning moment capacity. Team Corporation and Kimball Industries developed the system and Team Corporation supplied journal bearings to Kimball Industries.
1974
Lockheed Corporation contracted Team Corporation to construct a fatigue testing system for the space shuttle airframe. Three 1 million lb. servo hydraulic actuators were used to simulate the motor loads on the space shuttle frame. The actuators could be vectored through a 28 degree angle on Team Corporation Hydrostatic Spherical bearings to simulate the thrust vectoring of the engines.
1975
The Rail Dynamics Laboratory in Pueblo, Colorado contracted Team Corporation (through Wyle Laboratories) to supply 8 actuators to simulate rail vibrations on rail cars and locomotives. The actuators are each 60,000 lb force, six inch stroke units. One actuator drives each wheel of the rail car. The system is powered by a 5000 hp hydraulic power supply.
1978
Team Corporation was purchased by Derritron of England, an electrodynamic shaker manufacturer. The decision was made to market complete hydraulic vibration systems. This was a new direction for Team Corporation, which had previously been a supplier of components and special engineering services.
1979
White Sands Missile Range contracted Team Corporation to design and build a six degree of freedom vibration test table. The table is used to test tanks and other tracked vehicles. The table is 8 ft. by 16 ft. and can support a full size tank.
The table is driven vertically by four, 40,000 lb. actuators. It is driven in the two horizontal directions by three, 40,000 lb. actuators. Each actuator drives the table through a special hydrostatic spherical coupling developed by Team Corporation.
Six independent degrees of motion (vertical, forward, and lateral linear motions: pitch, roll, and yaw rotational motions) are realized by the relative phasing of the actuators. The system uses a digital computer to control the motions. The system uses a 2000 hp hydraulic power supply to provide power for the vibration testing.
During the 80’s
Team Corporation became well established in the Vibration Test Field. Sales improved dramatically, as hydraulic vibration testing became a viable and accepted alternative to electrodynamic shakers. Many new uses for hydraulic shakers were found and many technical milestones were achieved.
- Standards for pure, linear motion are set with Long Stroke Linear systems at Draper Laboratories and Honeywell.
- Hewlett Packard, Magnavox and Hill Air Force Base purchase large vertical tables capable of carrying tremendous off center loads.
- Oil well exploration is improved with dual shakers that help debug the logging instrumentation.
- Crank shaft induced rotary vibration problems with fans, alternators, belts, harmonic balancers and transmissions are solved with continuously rotating rotary actuators.
- Huge electrodynamically driven slip tables and bearing systems are delivered to Sundstrand and to Dahlgren.
- Pad Bearings are used to provide tables for Earthquake simulations of piping systems. The pipes attached to the tables are 10 to 20 ft. tall and “wag” like a dogs tail during testing. No other bearing system could withstand the overturning moments created by these pipes.
Air Bearings are sold to several customers to be used in the development of “Star Wars” space defense system equipment.
A special Nuclear Power Plant qualifications test system is developed and delivered to TVA for qualifying components of nuclear generators.
Other highlights from the 80’s include:
1981
Team Corporation delivered a number of high force Hydrashakers for vibration testing. National Technical Systems in Saugus, California uses a Team 90,000 lb. actuator for testing the MX missile structure. Wyle Laboratories in Norco, California uses several 100,000 lb. Hydrashakers for general vibration testing. Wyle Laboratories in El Segundo, California uses a 250,000 lb. Hydrashaker for general vibration testing.
1986
Team management purchases Team Corporation from Derritron Holdings Ltd. A greater enthusiasm ensues.
1990
Team Corporation introduces the T-Film Table. A unique slip table design featuring T-shaped elements to virtually eliminate cross-axis motion and provide extraordinary overturning moment capacity. The T-Film table set new standards for slip table performance and is quickly becoming the benchmark for other table designs.
1991
Team Corporation develops the first PC-based Classical Shock Controller specifically designed for hydraulic shakers. This development further increased the flexibility of Hydrashaker systems.
1992
Team Corporation introduces the TFS-3000 T-Film Shaker, the first and only hydraulic shaker capable of 2,000 Hz performance. Based on the proven T-Film Slip Table, the TFS-3000 redefined the capabilities of hydraulic shakers. The TFS-3000’s unique packaging provides the performance of an electrodynamic shaker in half the floor space.
Team Corporation delivers “Pitch Table” test systems to Johnson Controls, Ford Motor Company, and Lear Seating. The Pitch Table performs production tests of automobile seat assemblies and is an industry standard.
Team Corporation provides a unique, self-contained, 6 Degree of Freedom Test System to Johnson Controls for automobile seat development. The system features a built reaction mass and a new Team product, the Hydraball. The Hydraball is a large angle, hydrostatic ball and socket joint for multi-axis applications.
1995
Team Corporation introduces the CUBE™ – a compact, modular 6 degree of freedom test system. This compact system is making multi-axis vibration testing easier and more affordable.
Team opens a factory service center in Walled Lake, Michigan to support our automotive industry clients. NASA selects Team Corporation’s TUBE, a variation of the CUBE™ design, to conduct multi-axis testing on satellite systems.
1996
Entela Engineering and Testing Laboratories of Livonia, Michigan selected the CUBE™ as the centerpiece of their expansion into multi-axis vibration testing.
Labeco of Mooresville, Indiana selects the CUBE™ as the key component in a multi-axis loading system for a major supplier of automobile tires.
Lear Corporation of Southfield, Michigan selects a man-rated CUBE™ as part of their laboratory expansion. The system will be used to evaluate the ride comfort of Lear’s seating systems.
IMV Corporation of Japan selects the CUBE™ as a featured system in their facility.
2000’s
Team continues to improve the CUBE™ design and in response to customer test requirements, develops the Model 2 and Model 3 versions which offer enhanced frequency range to 250Hz and larger vertical displacement to 4-inches.
Team also opened its first foreign subsidiary office located in the UK.
2007
Team developed and sold the first high frequency compact, six degree of freedom, self contained shaker system called the Tensor TE6-900. This system is able to achieve 5 kHz controlled frequency using twelve uniquely designed integrated electrodynamic shakers.
2008
Team awarded contract to design, fabricate and install the largest multi-axis mechanical vibration system of its kind for NASA’s next generation Orion project. Team was also asked to supply its unique air modulators for integration into the largest reverberant acoustic test facility of its kind at NASA’s Plumbrook facility.
2009
Team awarded contract to supply China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) with a unique mix of specially designed test and development equipment to be completed in early 2012.
2010
Team developed and sold the next generation Tensor TE6-18000 which boasts six degree of freedom capability up to 2kHz. This system is near completion and will be delivered mid-2012.
2011
Team completes installation of the NASA equipment set and validation testing and installs the majority of the China Lake NAWC equipment. Team also delivered its first dual axis seismic simulation system to Shenzhen, China. Team developed the Model 4 CUBE™ with bare table frequency response to near 500Hz
2012
Team engineers and develops components for a unique multi axis test system to be installed at the US Army Redstone facility. Team also designs and manufactures specialty actuators and components for integration into a satellite system in Europe.
As a leading vibration testing equipment supplier, Team Corporation continues to develop new products and applications for Hydrashakers. With the help of a superb world-wide network of manufacturer’s representatives and agents, Team Corporation is capturing new markets and setting new standards for performance and service.
2013
Lansmont acquires Team to form combined world-class Shock and Vibration product offering and technology solutions
NASA Selects Team Corporation and Data Physics to build Vibration Test Systems at NASA Goddard for the new James Webb Space Telescope
Team breaks ground for 15,000 sq-ft building expansion
2014
Team awarded ADD DAVS project
Team awarded Beijing Satellite Institute 511 Project
2015
Battery Ventures acquires Team and Lansmont to form NVT Group including Data Physics
Team Building expansion completed
Team awarded NTS NEBS seismic system project
Team awarded Eli Lilly CUBE MDOF project
Team awarded US Army Aberdeen Tensor Project
2016
Test Systems for James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) installation and commissioning completed. Testing commenced in December 2016. Watch the video.
Major aspects of the vibration test system are a guided head expander and a guided slip table, both capable of resisting large overturning moments, supplied by Team Corporation along with three 50,000 lbf electrodynamic shaker systems and vibration controllers supplied by Data Physics Corporation. Shaking the OTIS in the vertical direction will require a specially designed guided head expander weighing approximately 25,000 lbs and standing approximately 8 feet tall. The entire moving mass comprising the payload and the head expander will require two shakers working in tandem to generate the required forces.
The JWST is NASA’s highest priority science mission in development. As you might imagine, the safety of the test item is of paramount importance. Consequently, one of the safety requirements is that any shutdown condition, such as excessive vibration level, or any of the shaker/amplifier limit conditions like over-travel, over-temperature or over-current, must not cause a sudden shutdown that could impart transient excitation to the payload. Under all shutdown conditions, the system must safely bring the vibration levels down to zero over several hundred milliseconds. This requirement also extends to include sudden loss of power to the amplifier. Ensuring simultaneous safe shutdown of two 360KVA amplifiers driving two 50,000 lbf shakers is also no small challenge.
QinetiQ North America (QNA) is the prime contractor for the project and collaborated with NASA to select Team Corporation as the supplier for the entire vibration test capability. Team Corporation is supplying a guided head expander system for vertical testing and a slip table system for horizontal testing. Data Physics is a subcontractor, supplying two SignalForce 50,000 lbf shaker systems controlled by a SignalStar Matrix dual shaker controller, powering the vertical test system and a SignalForce 50,000 lbf shaker controlled by a SignalStar Vector controller, driving the horizontal test system.
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Eli Lilly CUBE MDOF vibration installation and commissioning completed.
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MDoF Vibration and Acoustic Spacecraft Testing Systems for NASA
NASA’s Plum Brook Station (Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility), located in Sandusky, Ohio: NASA called on the engineering prowess of Team Corporation to design and deliver the world’s most powerful MDOF (Multi-Degree of Freedom) mechanical vibration test system, which was used for extreme vibration testing of the Orion spacecraft. NASA required their massive vibration test system be precisely controlled. With their expertise and experience in multi-shaker vibration control, Data Physics was called upon to provide the control system.
After years of development, the testing of Orion’s mission hardware was a major milestone in the project, as well as in the history of Data Physics and Team Corporation.
Read NASA’s article:Vibration Testing for the ORION mission.
2017
MET Labs – Team manufactured and installed MET’s second seismic test system specifically designed to reproduce GR-63 NEBS test profiles for office, transportation, building and seismic vibration.
TruMotion – Working in concert with packaging experts at the Lansmont Corporation in Monterey, CA, Team designed, manufactured and installed the first simultaneous multi-axis (3-DoF) vibration system specifically engineered for simulation of the cargo transportation vibration hazards. The first system was installed at Atlantic Packaging, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The TruMotion system is sold exclusively through Lansmont Corporation.
2019
Team Corporation and Data Physics to supply test systems for UK’s state-of-the-art satellite test facility.
Contracts worth £19 million have been awarded for the first of the major facilities for the National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF) which is to be built and operated by the Science & Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) RAL Space on behalf of the UK government.
The contracts are the first steps in meeting the UK space industry’s need for a set of co-located world-class facilities for environmental testing of space payloads and satellites.
2024
Breakthrough testing on the NASA MVF:
Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser
The First-Ever Winged Commercial Space plane, Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser, sits atop its cargo module, Shooting Star. The two vehicles are stacked in launch configuration before undergoing rigorous environmental testing in the Mechanical Vibration Facility (MVF). The tests simulate the extreme conditions of launch vibrations.
Read NASA’s article: Sierra Space Dream Chaser testing.
Read Sierra Space’s article: The Importance of Dream Chaser® (DC-100) Vibe Testing in Future Space Travel.
RAL Space
Data Physics and Team Corporation, both members of The NVT Group, have partnered to build the state-of-the-art vibration facility – capable of testing satellites up to 7 tons using two electro-dynamic shakers. Team designed both the horizontal and vertical systems. Team worked closely with Data Physics in incorporating the shakers and supporting equipment into these 2 systems. The National Satellite Test Facility will build on and expand the capabilities of the existing RAL Space R100 facility to establish facilities to cover the spectrum of satellites from nanosats / cubesats through to large scale spacecraft and the simultaneous testing of constellations of small satellites.