The minimum force required to push the door slowly until the latch engages. This force will be a representation of the latch system as well as, often more significant, the seal compression. This is therefore closely related to the build quality of the seal assembly. This does include the body in white and door assembly, the seal geometry and stiffness.
How to Measure?
When the EnergyPod or ForcePod is installed in the door, the operator will gently push with incremental force. Once the door latch engages, the operator retracts his efforts. The system will register the highest force. As there is inherent some variation, the operation is often repeated a few times, and the lowest possible effort is retained and reported.
Application
While this function is perfectly applicable to capture seal compression. Other applications to evaluate the door check efforts or other force measurement can be completed. The configuration of the device will allow you to register the full force curve or simply report the final value. It can be considered a standard operation, but the savings doing all door system related test with one gauge is a significant efficiency gain.