The Testing Times

This a ttachment , the S0991 is designed to test how card and paper folds, a small sample section is taken and placed under a retaining bar, this is then forced to fold using the fold bar at the back. A rotary digital encoder measures the rotation angle and compares it to the force measured on the loadcell . To ensure self-alignment cord is used to rotate the pulleys that move the folding bar. Used in the packaging industry this compares how easy is is to open your box of cereal in the morning and to see how strong the folds are...

At first sight, one of less intricate but useful tests is compression tests. This is basically applying a force (measured in Newton’s) to the sample and measuring the effect the force has. There are a wide range of tools for doing this but in general platens are used to hold the sample and apply the force. Platens are large flat surfaces that can be used to compress a sample… The S0404 platens are big, very big. They fit on the 100 kN U-series Systems (they can apply a force of 100 kN to an object) Tinius Olsen produce… These behemoth platens are 350mm x 350mm and 35mm thick plough ground plate. I’m a big chap and I can’t lift one on my own… A brute force approach, but the feedback received through the Loadcell and Compressometer is very precise and can show how much force a sample can take and spring back or fail. The results gleaned from these tests can tell a great deal about the product under test, the 'intelligence' comes in the form of the Software, which can be use...