BMW AA-0564 Leather: Taber abrasion

Our test laboratory performs testing according to BMW AA-0564 to determine the abrasion behaviour of leather using the Taber method. The procedure subjects the leather surface to repeated rotary abrasion with defined abrasive wheels and enables visible wear and damage to the finish and leather surface to be assessed.

The BMW method includes several test variants, allowing the leather to be examined in the as-delivered condition, with an additional defined subsurface wire and, where required, after treatment with alkaline artificial perspiration.

Applications

AA-0564 is intended particularly for automotive leather exposed to repeated mechanical wear during use. Typical applications include seat leather and other leather-covered vehicle interior surfaces.

The test can be used for material development, selection and optimisation of leather finishes, approval testing and quality assurance. The additional test variants increase the sensitivity of the method to local mechanical stress and to the combined effects of perspiration and abrasion.

Testing according to AA-0564

Circular leather specimens are conditioned and mounted flat and without tension on the specimen holder. Defined Calibrase abrasion wheels are used to subject the surface to rotary abrasion.

In the basic procedure, the leather is tested in the as-delivered condition. In a second variant, a thin wire is positioned beneath the specimen to create a localized raised area and therefore increased mechanical stress during abrasion.

A further variant combines the subsurface wire with pretreatment of the leather surface using an alkaline perspiration solution. This allows the abrasion behaviour to be evaluated after simultaneous chemical and mechanical preconditioning.

After the specified number of abrasion cycles, loose particles are removed and the leather surface is visually assessed for damage.

Related tests

For automotive upholstery leather, FILK offers the accredited DIN EN 14327 – Leather – Physical and mechanical tests – Determination of abrasion resistance of automotive leather.

Another related accredited method is VDA 230-211 – Abrasion test on leather, which evaluates the abrasion resistance of leather surfaces using the Martindale principle.

For plastic and coated surfaces, FILK also offers standardized Taber-type abrasion methods such as DIN ISO 9352 – Plastics – Determination of resistance to wear by abrasive wheels and DIN EN ISO 5470-1 – Rubber- or plastics-coated fabrics – Determination of abrasion resistance – Taber abrader.

Further BMW-specific test methods can be found in our overview of testing according to BMW specifications; for access to our complete range of testing services and to search for specific standards, specifications and test methods, visit the FILK accredited test laboratory – testing services and standards search. For material and technology-related problems in automotive interiors, FILK provides failure analysis and defect diagnostics to systematically identify possible causes.