TSL, a UK-based manufacturer of test equipment for the turbocharger reman industry, has launched new versions of its VNT Flow Bench and IRPS (Intelligent Re-Programming System) system. Bob French, TSL sales and marketing director, says: “IRPS takes the hassle out of reprogramming by eliminating the possibility of operator error, speeding up the calibration process and at the same time it can increase reclaim percentage.” It has long been possible to re-programme certain Hella actuators using third party tools, although the laborious process has to be done manually, separately to the flow bench itself. The company suggests that some remanufacturers do not reprogramme at all – instead they modify flow calibration by re-orienting the compressor housing, which can lead to fitting issues on the vehicle. TSL believes IRPS is the only system on the market which automatically re-programmes these actuators directly on the test bench, based on actual flow results, without the need to connect third party tools or operator interaction. Once the turbo is connected to the test bench the operator simply has to start the test and everything else happens automatically, it says. Because IRPS reprogrammes the entire actuator and not just the working angles, it is possible to swap actuators from one vehicle type to another, the company adds. This means that if, for example, the remanufacturer has a Mercedes turbocharger to remanufacture, but only has a working BMW actuator available, IRPS will reprogramme the BMW actuator as if it were a Mercedes unit. This allows the remanufacturer to better utilise the reclaimed core and means there is no need to purchase a new actuator for that turbo.
