Engineers at the Ford Motor Automatic Transmission Testing Center in Livonia regularly test torque converters in a cell setting. Torque converters are evaluated both as subsystems and also as part of the complete transmission. These tests are designed to compare the performance of alternate designs in regards to performance, noise, oil flow and other critical characteristics. An input dynamometer spins the torque converter and an output dynamometer is outfitted with sensors to measure torque, speed, pressure, temperature and other parameters.

Typically six samples of a particular design are tested in order to account for any variations in prototype build or dressing. In the past, Ford engineers used Microsoft Excel to analyze data acquired in these tests. A series of plots were created that combined the data for all six samples in one test, speed ratio vs. efficiency, for example. This type of plot is useful because it allows engineers to determine, at a glance, if there is a significant variation in results between the individual samples.