How to Test the Flame Retardancy of Automobiles? Modular Solutions and Industrial Applications of LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester

1. Introduction
With the rapid development of the automotive industry and consumption upgrading, consumers’ attention to vehicle safety performance continues to rise, among which automotive flame retardancy has become a core safety indicator. Automotive interior materials (such as seat fabrics, door panel plastic parts, instrument panel housings, carpets, etc.) are mostly polymer synthetic materials. In the event of vehicle faults such as circuit short circuits and component overheating, they are easily ignited by small flames, and toxic gases may be released during combustion, seriously endangering the life safety of occupants. Therefore, “how to test the flame retardancy of automobiles”, especially that of interior materials, has become a key issue for quality control of automobile manufacturers, safety inspections of regulatory authorities and technological research and development of research institutes.
Traditional automotive interior flame retardancy testing equipment has pain points such as low parameter control accuracy, cumbersome operation processes, non-standard data recording and limited sample adaptability, which are difficult to meet the requirements of standardization, efficiency and precision for testing in the modern automotive industry. With years of experience in the testing equipment field, LISUN has developed the Automotive Interior Combustion Tester targeting the special scenarios and stringent requirements of automotive interior flame retardancy testing. Relying on technical advantages such as modular design, precise control and user-friendly operation, it has become a core equipment to solve the problem of “how to test the flame retardancy of automobiles”. The equipment can accurately simulate automotive interior fire scenarios, scientifically evaluate the flame resistance of interior materials and related components, and provide authoritative data support for the safety compliance of automotive products.

2. Core Requirements and Standard Basis for Automotive Flame Retardancy Testing
2.1 Core Testing Objectives
The core goal of “how to test the flame retardancy of automobiles” in the field of automotive interiors is to quantitatively evaluate the combustion characteristics of interior materials and components under flame ignition conditions through standardized test scenarios. The test focuses on three key dimensions: first, burning rate, i.e., the spread speed of flame on the material surface, which directly determines the speed of fire diffusion; second, afterflame time, i.e., the duration of material combustion after the flame is removed, reflecting the sustainability of material flame resistance; third, safety of combustion products, judging whether the material releases toxic and harmful gases or a large amount of smoke during combustion. The test objects cover various core interior components such as automotive seat fabrics, door interior panels, instrument panel housings, automotive carpets and ceiling materials.
2.2 Key Reference Standards
Automotive flame retardancy testing must strictly follow authoritative international and domestic standards to ensure the versatility and authority of test results. LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester is fully compatible with the following core standards, providing clear technical basis for “how to test the flame retardancy of automobiles”:
International standards: ISO 3795:2019 “Road vehicles – Flammability of automotive interior materials”, IEC 60695-11-5:2016 “Fire hazard testing – Part 11-5: Test flames – Needle-flame test method”, UL 94:2024 “Test for Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances”;
Domestic standards: GB 8410-2006 “Flammability of Automotive Interior Materials”, GB/T 5169.5-2020 “Fire hazard testing for electrical and electronic products – Part 5: Test flames – Needle-flame test method – Apparatus, confirmatory test method and guidance”, GB/T 2408-2021 “Plastics – Determination of burning behavior – Horizontal and vertical test”.
These standards clearly stipulate test flame parameters, test processes, sample preparation and result judgment, which are the core guidelines for automotive interior flame retardancy testing.

3. Technical Design and Core Functions of LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester
3.1 Modular Design: Achieving Precise Function Splitting and Efficient Integration
Based on a modular architecture, LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester decomposes the functions required for the entire testing process into independent modules, which not only ensures the stability and accuracy of each module’s operation, but also facilitates later maintenance and function upgrading, providing solid technical support for “how to test the flame retardancy of automobiles”.
Precision temperature control module: Equipped with a Φ0.5mm K-type high-precision thermocouple and intelligent PID temperature control algorithm, it real-time monitors the flame temperature and dynamically adjusts the gas supply. It ensures that the time taken for the flame to rise from 100℃±2℃ to 700℃±3℃ is strictly controlled within 23.5s±1s, and the flame height is stabilized at 12mm±1mm, fully meeting the stringent requirements of standards for flame parameters;
Automatic timing module: The flame application time can be freely set within the range of 0~999.9s (30s is recommended for regular automotive interior testing). The recording accuracy of afterflame time and combustion spread time reaches ±0.1s. The system automatically marks key nodes such as ignition, extinction and flame spread, completely eliminating subjective errors caused by manual timing;
Data recording module: It real-time collects and stores key data during the test, such as temperature change curves, flame application duration, afterflame duration, combustion spread distance and whether reignition occurs. It supports export in Excel and PDF formats and automatically generates standardized test reports, meeting the needs of quality traceability and certification audits;
Burner module: Equipped with a standard needle-shaped burner (inner diameter 0.5mm), the burner angle supports multi-level adjustment (45° inclined during testing and vertical during calibration), which can accurately align with the test part of the sample, simulating the flame action scenario in actual automotive interior fires.
3.2 Dual Operation Modes: Balancing Convenience and Operational Safety
In view of the large size difference of automotive interior samples and the risks of high temperature and smoke in combustion testing, LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester innovatively adopts a dual-operation mode of “touchscreen + remote control”, greatly optimizing the test experience and ensuring personnel safety.
Intuitive touchscreen operation: Equipped with a 7-inch self-developed high-definition LCD touchscreen, the interface adopts icon + text prompt design. Operations such as test parameter setting, equipment start/stop, data viewing and report generation can be completed visually. No professional training is required for quick start-up, reducing the testing threshold for enterprises;
Long-distance remote control operation: It supports wireless remote control of equipment operation within a range of 10 meters. Operators can complete the entire test process after sample placement in a well-ventilated safe area, effectively avoiding direct harm to the human body from high-temperature flames and combustion smoke, especially suitable for mass continuous testing scenarios.
3.3 Flexible Adaptability: Meeting Testing Needs of Diversified Interior Samples
Automotive interior samples vary greatly in size, shape and material (from thin seat fabrics <1mm thick to thick door interior panels >20mm thick, from sheet carpets to special-shaped instrument panel housings). Through optimized structural design, LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester achieves full-scenario adaptation:
Adjustable sample fixture: Adopting a combined telescopic and rotating fixture, it supports fixing samples with a thickness of 0.1mm~50mm and a maximum size of 400mm×250mm, suitable for various interior components such as seat fabrics, carpets, door panels and instrument panels;
Liftable sample stage: The height adjustment range of the sample stage is 0~300mm, and the horizontal distance adjustment accuracy reaches 0.1mm, ensuring that the contact position between the flame and the test part of the sample fully meets the standard requirements;
Multi-mode flame application settings: It supports two modes of single flame application and multiple consecutive flame applications (up to 10 times can be set), which can be flexibly switched according to different standard requirements and sample types, meeting the flame retardancy testing needs of the entire category of automotive interiors.

4. Core Technical Parameters and Test Adaptation Table of LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester
4.1 Core Technical Parameters Table (Table 1)

4.2 Test Adaptation Table for Main Automotive Interior Components (Table 2)

5. Industrial Application Scenarios of LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester
5.1 Automobile Manufacturers: Core Equipment for Interior Quality Control
Before leaving the factory, automobile manufacturers and interior component suppliers need to conduct flame retardancy tests to ensure that interior components meet safety standards. LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester can conduct batch sampling tests on key interior components such as seat fabrics, door panels and carpets, quickly screening unqualified products through standardized test processes, and avoiding safety hazards caused by substandard material flame retardancy. At the same time, the traceable test data and standardized reports generated by the equipment can be used as important basis for product quality control, helping enterprises pass vehicle safety certification.
5.2 Third-Party Testing Institutions: Authoritative Tool for Certification and Testing
When conducting flame retardancy certification of automotive interior products, third-party testing institutions need to provide fair and accurate test reports in accordance with international and domestic standards. The parameter settings of LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester are fully consistent with the requirements of core standards such as GB 8410-2006 and ISO 3795:2019. The test data is accurate and traceable, and supports multi-format report export, making it a core equipment for testing institutions to carry out automotive interior flame retardancy certification. Its wide standard adaptability and sample compatibility can meet the certification needs of different regions and automobile enterprises, helping enterprises’ products quickly pass market access audits.
5.3 Research Institutes: Efficient Platform for Flame Retardant Material R&D
When conducting research and development of automotive interior flame retardant materials, research institutes need to optimize material formulas through a large number of comparative tests. The modular design and precise data recording function of LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester can quickly compare key indicators such as burning rate and afterflame time of materials with different formulas, providing quantitative data support for the performance optimization of flame retardant materials. The customizable test mode supported by the equipment can also simulate extreme fire scenarios, meeting special test needs in the research process and greatly shortening the R&D cycle.

6. Conclusion
“How to test the flame retardancy of automobiles” is a core proposition for the safe development of the automotive industry. As a key link in fire risks, the scientificity and accuracy of interior flame retardancy testing are particularly important. Through modular design, precise function integration, user-friendly operation mode and wide sample adaptability, LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester provides a standardized, efficient and safe exclusive solution for this proposition. Its strict standard compliance, accurate test data output and humanized operation design make it the preferred equipment for automobile manufacturers, third-party testing institutions and research institutes.
With the rapid development of new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles, automotive interior materials are transforming towards lightweight and multi-functionalization, and the requirements for flame retardancy will continue to increase. LISUN Automotive Interior Combustion Tester will continue to iterate and upgrade, further optimizing the modular architecture, expanding extended functions such as smoke concentration detection and toxic gas analysis, and improving data collection accuracy and report generation efficiency. In the future, the equipment will play a greater role in emerging fields such as flame retardancy testing of new energy vehicle interiors and R&D of environmentally friendly flame retardant materials, promoting the development of automotive flame retardancy testing technology towards a more accurate, comprehensive and safe direction, and escorting the safety upgrade of the automotive industry.