Maia Davies` Blogging World

Initial attempts using mercury switches did not work well. Before MEMS, the primary system used to deploy Airbags was called a “rolamite”. A rolamite is a mechanical device, consisting of a roller suspended within a tensioned band. As a result of the particular geometry and material properties used, the roller is free to translate with little friction or hysteresis. This device was developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The rolamite, and similar macro-mechanical devices were used in airbags until the mid-1990s when they were universally replaced with MEMS.Nearly all airbags are designed to automatically deploy in the event of a vehicle fire when temperatures reach 150-200 °C (300-400 °F). This safety feature, often termed auto-ignition, helps to ensure that such temperatures do not cause an explosion of the entire airbag module.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 5:11 am and is filed under Autos.