NATC (www.natc-ht.com/) is a privately owned independent test and engineering facility that has been supporting both military and commercial customers since 1957. We are a HUB-zone small business. At our main proving ground in Nevada, we have facilities to support testing, including customer work spaces, vehicle and equipment storage, a fabrication shop, workshops, a wash bay, fuel pumps, an instrumentation shop, vehicle payload, and test facilities and courses. Additionally, we provide virtual design and test of components and vehicle systems, including CAD, FEA, and multi-body dynamics simulation. We have provided services for more than 1,000 vehicle systems and components for automotive, commercial, construction, military, and public utility applications, and we have logged more than 50 million test miles and advanced the state of the art in test procedures, data acquisition, and analysis. NATC provides a broad spectrum of testing including automotive performance and durability, environmental, weapons system, blast and transportability. Along with worldwide duty cycles, data acquisition, and advanced engineering analysis, we provide complete prototype fabrication capabilities for one-stop solutions from design to product verification.
NATC (www.natc-ht.com) is a full service test and engineering facility that has been supporting both military and commercial customers since 1957. At our main proving ground in Nevada, we have facilities to support testing, including customer work spaces, vehicle and equipment storage, a fabrication shop, workshops, a wash bay, fuel pumps, an instrumentation shop, vehicle payload, and test facilities and courses. Within a 60-mile radius of our main proving ground are major interstate highways, state highways, cross-country trails, deserts, and the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Sahara, sub-Sahara, Alpine, River Delta, Tundra, Coral, and Savannah test areas are found in this region. We have easy access to Death Valley, 14,000-foot Mt. Whitney, Pacific Ocean beaches, and wilderness areas of northern California, northern Nevada, southern Idaho, and southeastern Oregon.
NATC provides a host of both pre- and post-test engineering services (www.natc-ht.com/engineering). NATC provides complete CAD, 3-D scanning, and reverse engineering services using the latest hardware and software. We support the design, operation, and validation of commercial and military vehicle concepts. NATC offers a full range of computer aided engineering (CAE) capabilities, covering finite element analysis (FEA) of components up to simulation of full system multi-body dynamics. We offer extensive experience in design and development solutions to vehicle mobility challenges, from the component level to systems and whole vehicles. We develop unique mobility events to test vehicles in specific conditions, expose their limitations and identify potential areas of improvement. Determined to accelerate next generation automotive technologies, NATC has proven knowledge of and commitment to developing systems that support autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle operation. NATC conducts safety assessments for developmental and production vehicles across the automotive industry. In addition, we have been committed to the development of unique vehicle electronics systems for 40 years. NATC delivers a full systems approach to provide functional, affordable, and sustainable improvements to an existing platform or “clean sheet of paper” prototype.
NATC provides a broad spectrum of testing including automotive performance and durability, environmental, weapons system, blast and transportability (www.natc-ht.com/types-of-testing/). NATC’s proving ground is situated in the Great Basin offering access to a wide variety of the terrain types found around the world, enabling us to accurately replicate mobility features and challenges found in various real-world environments. We excel at maintaining representative and repeatable test courses, which is key to our history of success in vehicle testing and duty cycle correlation. NATC conducts independent, standardized testing of survivability and lethality solutions, referencing relevant protocols including TOP, ITOP, AEP, ASTM, STANAG, and SAE standards. We have water testing capabilities from fording to 60 inch depth to simulated ship launch and recovery. NATC develops User evaluations that provide an all-encompassing curriculum that prepares users not only for driving the vehicles, but also for understanding the vehicle-to-terrain interface and how to apply that understanding to performance specifications or requirements. NATC conducts standardized tests for commercial and military vehicles in accordance with regulatory and industry standards. We are well versed at evaluating and testing hybrid vehicle performance. Our winter facility offers optimal winter test conditions from December through March, with approximately two million square feet of groomed test surfaces, expanded facilities and infrastructure. We also conduct fuel economy and human factors evaluations as well as assessments of situational awareness and electronics systems. NATC is a leader in developmental and production tire testing for use on commercial and military vehicle platforms with a dedicated tire test department.
NATC also offers a variety of custom solutions (https://natc-ht.com/custom-solutions/custom-solution-4/). NATC has developed a quantifiable Vehicle-Trail Rating Classification System (V-TRCS) methodology, based on over 50 years of off-road mobility experience, to define the severity and conditions of the terrain that demand greater capability for vehicles ranging from off-road recreational vehicles to the largest logistics vehicle. We have developed and continuously maintain a duty cycle database of terrain, road roughness, and climatic conditions that range from subsets of the North American market to international markets. NATC develops driver training courses that range from basic driver and trail experiences up to advanced driver training, and specific training such as ROHVA UTV classes, tire-blowout training, and high speed driver training. We tailor our programs to our customers’ needs, goals, and skill levels. NATC engineers consult with our automotive customers from around the world on a comprehensive range of programs and multi-faceted issues related to vehicle design and development, procedures and standards, and specialized tests. NATC has a state-of-the-art fabrication facility at our Silver Springs, Nevada location. The shop space allows all aspects of fabrication and production concept integration to occur, from clean sheets of paper builds to frame off, body off, and new design integrations. Whether it is a simple weld fix on an existing test article, or a full design and build of a research prototype, we have the fabrication means to get the job done in a safe, timely, and cost-efficient manner.
Contact Nevada Automotive Test Center
Kelley Hodges
khodges@natc-ht.com
775-629-2000
PO Box 234 Carson City, NV 89702