How a state-of-the-art climate simulation chamber is helping one of South Africa’s flagship manufacturers test for the real world — before the real world tests its vehicles.
Every vehicle that rolls off a production line carries an unspoken promise: that it will perform on a frozen highveld morning, endure a humid coastal summer, and hold together through years of thermal cycling its owner will never think about. Keeping that promise is the quiet, demanding work of a quality laboratory — and that work depends entirely on the equipment behind it.
We are proud to share a significant milestone in our mission to support automotive excellence in South Africa. The Xtemp team has successfully completed the installation and commissioning of a Weiss Technik ClimeEvent C2 1500/70 climate simulation chamber at the Volkswagen Group Africa Quality Laboratory.
From the earliest planning conversations through to final commissioning and handover, it was genuinely rewarding to watch this advanced environmental test system come to life in its new home.
Built to recreate the world’s harshest climates
The ClimeEvent C2 1500/70 is engineered to put automotive components and complete assemblies through the full spectrum of climatic stress they will face in service. With a generous 1,500-litre test space, a temperature range reaching from roughly −70 °C deep cold up to +180 °C, and precise humidity control across a wide operating window, the chamber lets Volkswagen’s quality team simulate conditions from polar to tropical — and everything in between.
What sets this generation of ClimeEvent apart is the engineering beneath the surface:
- Absolute humidity control for exceptional accuracy and minimal transient overshoot during climate-change tests, delivering more reproducible, certification-grade results.
- Future-proof refrigeration using next-generation refrigerant technology, keeping the system compliant and serviceable well into the future.
- WEBSeason® connectivity and Simpati® software, giving the lab the ability to program, control and monitor tests remotely — a meaningful advantage for long-duration and overnight test profiles.
For a quality laboratory, that combination translates into something simple but vital: confidence in the data. When a component passes here, it passes for a reason — and that reason can be traced, documented and defended.
Pre-loaded for the standards that matter
Out of the box, the chamber arrived configured to run the test profiles this lab relies on every day. The programme library covers the core IEC 60068-2 environmental testing series. That includes Test A cold (60068-2-1), Test B dry heat (60068-2-2), Test N change-of-temperature cycling (60068-2-14), and the damp-heat regimes of Test Ca (60068-2-78) and Test Cx (60068-2-66).
Alongside these, the controller holds Volkswagen Group’s own test specifications, such as the well-known PV 1200 climate-change test and PR 308.2.
In practice, this removes ambiguity. Teams can evaluate parts against both internationally recognised IEC methods and Volkswagen’s in-house requirements on the same system. Every specimen runs to a defined, documented standard. And every result can be defended.
A project measured in precision, not just delivery
Installing and commissioning a chamber of this calibre is never a matter of simply rolling it into place. It demands careful site preparation, services coordination, controlled positioning of a substantial system, and a structured commissioning process to verify that every temperature and humidity parameter performs exactly to specification before the first test specimen is ever loaded.
Working closely alongside the Volkswagen Quality Laboratory team and Weiss Technik’s specialists, our engineers managed each phase methodically — and the result is a fully validated, ready-to-work test system that the lab can rely on from day one.
Backed by Xtemp, for the long term
As the official distributor for Weiss Technik in South Africa, Xtemp Environmental Test Systems is proud to have facilitated this project from end to end. But our role does not stop at handover.
We are here to support the entire Weiss Technik portfolio — delivering not only world-class environmental simulation equipment, but also the expert technical support, preventative maintenance, calibration and service that keep these systems performing accurately for years. For a compliance-driven laboratory, that ongoing partnership is every bit as important as the chamber itself.
Pre-loaded for the standards that matter.
Out of the box, the chamber is configured to run the test profiles a quality laboratory of this calibre relies on every day. The programme library spans the core IEC 60068-2 environmental testing series — Test A cold (60068-2-1), Test B dry heat (60068-2-2), Test N change-of-temperature cycling (60068-2-14), and the damp-heat steady-state regimes of Test Ca (60068-2-78) and Test Cx (60068-2-66) — alongside Volkswagen Group’s own test specifications, including the well-known PV 1200 climate-change test and PR 308.2. This means components and assemblies can be evaluated against both internationally recognised IEC methods and Volkswagen’s in-house requirements on the same system, with repeatable, traceable profiles ready to execute from the controller. For the lab, it removes ambiguity: every specimen is tested to a defined, documented standard, and every result can be defended.
Strengthening South African industry, together
This successful installation reflects the strength of our partnership with both Weiss Technik and forward-thinking organisations such as Volkswagen. Each project of this kind raises the bar for what local manufacturers can validate on home soil — reducing reliance on overseas testing and building real, lasting test capability within Southern Africa.
A sincere thank you to the Volkswagen Group Africa Quality Laboratory team and the Weiss Technik specialists for their close collaboration and professionalism throughout the process. It is partnerships like these that move the whole industry forward.
We look forward to supporting many more such advancements in environmental testing and quality assurance across the region.
Need more information on the Weiss Technik ClimeEvent range or how it could support your quality lab?
👉 Get in touch with the Xtemp team
ClimeEvent Test Chamber
The new Weiss ClimeEvent sets innovative standards in environmental simulation.
