SQWUREL Testing, Certifications and Quality Control This document outlines thoughts on testing, certification, quality control and defines BG Gear test methods. This document also contains a section describing the forces within the Sqwurel when rigged properly, showing that the Sqwurel does not see a tensile load when rigged and used properly. If you would like to read about the results of testing and quality control measures taken, please take a look at the SQWUREL Testing Diary document. Testing Versus Certification In the United States, a belay device such as the Sqwurel requires no physical testing or certifications. However both testing and certification are important ways to ensure a piece of equipment is up to the task it was designed for and to convey credibility and safety to the end user. Testing a piece of equipment to ensure it is strong and safe is the first and most important part of the equation. There are many ways a piece of equipment can be tested. There are a few internationally recognized organizations which have put significant effort into figuring out specific test methods which if passed will help minimize accidents caused by equipment failure. The test methods described in some of these internationally recognized standards is a good starting point for testing a piece of equipment. Other test methods, while not specified in any of these standards, may also assist in providing data to help determine the strength / safety of a piece of equipment. Certifications are simply credentials that can be displayed with the product indicating the piece of equipment has passed the tests outlined in the respective standard for that certification. Displaying this certification with the product is done to convey credibility and safety to the end user. However simply passing the tests in the standard, does not allow a manufacturer to display the respective certification with their product. To claim the certification, a manufacturer will usually also be required to pay a recurring fee to the organization who offers the certification. Some small companies test their equipment to pass the standards outlined by these organizations but cannot justify the cost of paying recurring fees to display the certification. BG Gear is one of those small companies that cannot justify the added cost of paying a recurring fee to display a certification. Many organizations have developed testing standards to test the strength, reliability and safety of many products. Here are a few of the organizations which develop standards. CE (Conformité Européenne or European Conformity) certification is a certification that some products need in order to be legally sold in one of the countries in the European Union. The CE provides standards for quality and testing of a large variety of products, including climbing and mountaineering equipment to ensure the safety of the product. NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) is a worldwide organization which strives to reduce the burden of fire and other hazards to quality of life. They provide scientifically based codes and test standards to help accomplish their goal. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) is a United States based organization which works to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. business and quality of life by promoting voluntary consensus standards. ANSI does not develop standards themselves. UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) the international governing body of climbing and mountaineering. The UIAA provides standards for quality and testing of climbing and mountaineering equipment to ensure the safety of the product. ISO 9001 is a quality management system for manufacturing facilities to ensure the entire facility is run with good quality business sense. The SQWUREL is manufactured in an ISO 9001 compliant facility, which helps ensure the manufacturer produces exactly what was specified to be made. ISO 9001 certification is not related to how strong or safe a specific piece of equipment is. Consumers may see the ISO 9001 certification and mistakenly assume the device is tested and passes certain tests to ensure the strength / safety of the device. The ISO 9001 certification simply means the device was produced in a facility that is run with standardized quality control and standardized business practices. Testing and Quality Control BG Gear recognizes the importance of testing equipment to ensure the quality, strength and safety of the Sqwurel. To keep informed check out the Testing Diary section below, which will be updated over time as testing is performed. BG Gear Sqwurels are made from 7075 T6 Aluminum, which is the same aluminum alloy other competing rappel / belay devices are made from. To ensure 7075 T6 aluminum is used, BG Gear obtains and keeps on file a metal certification test report from the manufacture for each batch of Sqwurels. BG Gear will also do a hardness test on a number of Sqwurels from each batch manufactured to ensure the proper aluminum alloy is used.
Forces Within the Sqwurel Something worth noting before moving into testing, is to identify the forces exerted on the Sqwurel during normal use. When rigged and used properly (with the rope clipped into the carabiner), the Sqwurel experiences very little tensional force. In other words the Sqwurel does not experience a tensional pulling force from the weight of your body. The forces exerted on the Sqwurel when rigged and used properly, will be torsional, compressive, flexing and prying forces applied to it by the rope. This is true of similar devices like the Petzl Pirana and Sterling Rope ATS as well since these devices are also rigged with the rope clipped into the carabiner. The illustration below notes the places where force is exerted on the Sqwurel when properly rigged and used. Following the rope from anchor to break strand, lets note the places where force is exerted on the Sqwurel. Location A, where the rope passes through the Throat of the Sqwurel, is the first place force is exerted on the Sqwurel. At location A, the rope is bent as it passes through the Throat. When the Sqwurel is loaded / weighted, the rope will exert a prying force between the top and bottom of the Throat as it tries to straighten out. Location B1, where the rope passes down under the carabiner then back up to the Throat of the Sqwurel again, is the next place force is exerted on the Sqwurel. At location B1, the portion of the Sqwurel between the Carabiner Hole and the Throat is compressed / squeezed (just like the forces in an ATC rappel device). When the Sqwurel is loaded / weighted, the bight of rope will pull the carabiner up toward the throat and force the carabiner to the top of the Carabiner Hole. The force at location B1, will compress the portion of the Sqwurel between the Carabiner Hole. When the Sqwurel is weighted and in use the carabiner is pulled up in the carabiner hole pulling it up away from the bottom of the carabiner hole. Location B2, is on the ATC in the above illustration. Since the ATC is a common device that a lot of people are familiar with, the ATC is a good example to help conceptualize how the forces at location B1 on the Sqwurel happen. The image of the ATC on the left, shows the device not weighted. The image of the ATC on the right, shows the device when it is weighted. Note how the cable on the ATC is doing no work. The Cable is simply there to prevent loss of the device when there is no rope in the ATC. While the ATC is loaded the carabiner is forced up to the bottom of the ATC. Just like the Sqwurel the portion of the device just above the carabiner is compressed between the rope and the carabiner. Note that the weight of the person on rappel pulls on the carabiner them on the rope and does not pull directly on the device. Location C, where the rope runs around the Throat to wrap around to the Tail section, is the next place force is applied to the Sqwurel. At location C, there can be two forces applied to the Sqwurel. The first force is a compressive force pulling the rope down toward the carabiner as discussed for location B1. If the rope is placed into the first Tail Hole then an additional prying force will be applied to it (see description for location D for an explanation of the prying force). Location D, where the rope runs through the Tail Holes, is the last place force is exerted on the Sqwurel. At location D, the rope is bent as it passes through each Tail Hole. When the Sqwurel is loaded / weighted, the rope will exert a prying force between each side of the Tail Holes as it tries to straighten out. The carabiner connecting the Sqwurel to your harness does experience a tensional load. The Sqwurel on the other hand does not experience a tensional load unless it is used incorrectly or something out of the ordinary happen.
Physical Testing Methods and Considerations BG Gear feels the UIAA standard 129 for manual braking devices is a good starting point for Sqwurel testing. In addition to the UIAA standard, other tests will be performed along the way and the data shared. On the following pages is a list of physical tests that may help determine the strength and or safety of the SQWUREL. New information may be learned from testing which may indicate a change of approach for future testing. Factors / variables to consider when conducting physical testing: Device utilized and condition Example - SQWUREL V1 Batch 1, new or used / wear state or history of use. Device settings utilized Example Friction Level Simple-3. Example Friction Level Behemoth-1. Example Hard Lock-off 2. Carabiner utilized and condition Example Petzl Attache, new or used / wear state or history of use. Rope utilized and condition Example 8mm BlueWater Zion Pro static, single strand, new or used / wear state or history of use. Example - 8mm Mammut Phoenix dynamic half rope, double strand, new or used / wear state or history of use. Test(s) for Certification Testing to the UIAA Standard 129 for manual braking devices will be done to provide testing to an internationally recognized standard. The UIAA pull test is done with a load of 7kN using dynamic rope and does not test to failure. Since the UIAA 129 test does not overly stress the device, testing only one device per batch manufactured will be done. Testing to failure in alternate tests will more completely test the strength of the Sqwurel. UIAA 129 requires the device to be tested using dynamic rope that has a diameter equal to the lowest diameter of rope recommended in the instructions for the device. The Sqwurel is rated down to 8mm rope making it difficult to find an 8mm dynamic rope that is rated for single rope use. When searching for rope, all 8mm dynamic ropes found were rated as half or twin ropes not rated for single rope use. Canyoneering in the United States, unlike climbing, uses static rope. The UIAA test(s) will be ran with 8mm dynamic half / twin rope used as a single rope. For those interested in looking at the UIAA standards they can be found on the UIAA website at http://www.theuiaa.org/. Here is a direct link to the UIAA 129 standard, http://www.theuiaa.org/upload_area/safety/standards/safety-standards/uiaa_129_braking_device_march2013.pdf. Test BG-301A Physical Portion of UIAA 129 Test The BG-301 physical test is rigged and performed as outlined in the UIAA 129 Standard. The physical testing portion of the UIAA 129 Standard is designed to test devices with dynamic rope of the minimum diameter acceptable according to the manufacturer s instructions. Canyoneering in the United States primarily uses static rope (other regions primarily use dynamic rope for canyoneering). The BG-301A test will be run with dynamic rope to pass the UIAA test requirements. UIAA 129 Standard information: Input / output angle 30 deg (±5). Pull rate is 100mm/min (±30mm) OR 3.93 inches/min (±1.18 inches) Pull to a force of 7kN (+0.5-0.0) OR 1573.66 lbf (+112-0.0) using one strand rated for single rope use. 5kN (+0.5-0.0) OR 1124.04 lbf (+112-0.0) using one strand rated for half rope use. 7kN (+0.5-0.0) OR 1573.66 lbf (+112-0.0) using two strands rated for twin rope use. The pull force is to be maintained on the device for 60 seconds (± 10). Inspect for damage or deformation of rope, carabiner and device. If no damage is noted the device passes the test. Basic Setup Image - Friction Level Simple-3 shown.
Test to Failure - Standard Configuration(s) Testing to failure in configurations simulating the Sqwurel rigged and used properly may provide insights into how strong / safe the Sqwurel is under normal use. The BG-301A test above is run with dynamic rope to conform to the UIAA 129 standard. However canyoneering in the United States primarily uses static rope with much higher tensile breaking strengths. Tests to failure will use static rope designed for use in canyoneering, unless otherwise specified. Generally the minimum diameter rope acceptable according to the manufacturer s instructions will be used, unless otherwise stated. Test BG-302A Standard Rigging Rappel Configuration The BG-302A physical test is set up the same as the BG-301A test but instead uses static rope and is pulled to failure. Basic Setup Image - Friction Level Simple-3 shown. Test BG-303A Standard Rigging - Hard Lock-off 1 The BG-303A physical test is setup with the Hard Lock-off 1 method using static rope then pulled to failure. Basic Setup Image Hard Lock-off 1 shown
Test BG-303B Standard Rigging - Soft Lock-off The BG-303B physical test is setup with the Soft Lock-off method using static rope then pulled to failure. Basic Setup Image Soft Lock-off shown. Test BG-303C Standard Rigging - Hard Lock-off 2 The BG-303C physical test is setup with the Hard Lock-off 2 method using static rope then pulled to failure. Basic Setup Image Hard Lock-off 2 shown.
Test to Failure - Non-Standard Configuration(s) Testing to failure in non-standard configurations simulating the Sqwurel subjected to out of the ordinary situations may provide insights into how strong / safe the Sqwurel is when something unexpected happens. Test BG-304A Non-Standard Rigging - Device on Spine of Carabiner The BG-304 physical test is setup with the device ready for rappel and locked off with the device set on the spine of the carabiner. This test is not designed to stress the tail so a lock off method that will not overly stress the tail can be used. Simply winding the rope up and down the tail seems to do the trick. This test is to examine what happens when a user accidentally rigs with this configuration then begins rappel. Basic Setup Image Device on spine of carabiner shown. Test BG-304B Non-Standard Rigging - Tail Snag The BG-305 physical test is setup with the device ready for rappel then both ends of the rope (anchor strand and brake strand) will be secured above the device then the carabiner pulled to failure. This will attempt to simulate the brake strand of rope snagged above the device. Setup images will be added if / when first testing is done. Test of Tail Flex Test BG-306A Tail Deflection Test The BG-306 physical test is designed to determine at what force the tail of the Sqwurel first begins to experience flex to experience temporary flex / deflection and also determine at what force the tail will be flexed enough to cause permanent deflection of the tail. Basic Setup Image Friction Level Simple-3 shown. Set the SQWUREL with Friction Level Simple-3. Pull until first sign of deflection (note this force). Release load and measure for permanent tail deflection. If tail retains flatness, pull to higher force and release to recheck. Continue to progressively higher forces until tail shows permanent deformation (note this force).
Tensile Test(s) Tensile testing will provide minimal insight about the strength or safety of the Sqwurel. Test BG-307A Tensile Load from Throat to Carabiner Hole The BG-307 physical test is designed to test the tensile strength of the device and will provide minimal insight about strength or safety. This test is mostly for fun as the Sqwurel should never experience this in the real world. However it may be interesting to know how strong it is. With the BG-307 physical test the Sqwurel is pulled from throat to carabiner hole.