The Testing Times

These are variations of our popular H5KS and H5KT machines. They have been specially designed for testing packaging and furniture . The machines are securely bolted to the work bench (up to 30mm thick). The bottom M16 fitting is removed to allow an extension rod to be fed through a bearing. Attachments can be added for box crushing, seat and mattress testing, anything that will fit below your bench. Replace the lower fitting and it's back to business as usual.

This is a special for testing thin cardboard and foam samples. The problem is that the sample goes from zero load to solid in 1 - 2mm. The platen is designed to remain stable up to 3 kN then compress allowing the machine to stop before exceeding 5 kN and destroying the loadcell .

Harry Yohn, the plastics testing expert here at Tinius Olsen has a blog of his own. Why not contact Harry direct with any plastics testing questions you may have on mechanical tests such as Tensile strength, Tensile Modulus, Flexural testing, Melt Flow Indexers, Impact testing, Heat Deflection Temperature (DTUL) testing, Vicat testing and more. Harry has a wealth of knowledge in the field of mechanical and physical testing of plastics and is here to help with all your polymer needs. Visit Harry's blog here ;

Used for testing reinforcing bars or reinforcement bar ( Rebar ) for the construction industry. The way that mass produced R ebar is made requires test for consistency throughout a products manufacture life cycle. The sample is placed on the lower support rollers, then bent to a certain angle (depending upon test). It is then treated (heated to a specific temprature) and then rebent, back to straight and an observations are taken.

This attachment is used to test the strength of the welds that hold mesh together. The mesh is often used as a reinforcement for concrete structures. as this is a structural component it is essential to test the consistency of the weld in any given section. A joint is cut from the mesh and placed in this attachment. A grip, the HW 14 is then placed on the end of the rod. a force of up to 50 kN is then applied and the shear strength of the weld measured. There is some adjustment in the design with a sliding plate that allows for different gauges of wire. The applicable standards are: BS4483, ASTM A185, ASTM A497 and ASTM A974. The testing application note for this grip is available from the resource area of our School of testing microsite or by clicking here .

I'm afraid that I've brought a bit of a bug to Tinius Olsen... Everyone seems to be developing blogs. (I think you can get a cream for it from a good pharmacist). If you want to learn about testing plastics, try this. http://www.testingplastics.com/ If you'd like to learn about testing metals, try this. http://www.testingmetal.com/ If you are a student looking for testing advice or examples try this. http://www.schooloftesting.com/ And of course testing textiles can be found here... http://www.testingtextiles.com/ Harry, Earl, David and Sylvia are all specialists in their specific areas and are happy to help... The question and answers section is very informative.

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...