Robotic tensile testing

• Published in: Advanced materials & processes Vol. 154; no. 2; pp. 33 - 34
• Main Author: SHERLOCK, J. M
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Materials Park, OH ASM International 01.08.1998
• Subjects: Automatic testing equipment; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Innovations; Measurement and testing methods; Measurement methods and techniques in continuum mechanics of solids; Physics; Solid mechanics; Structural and continuum mechanics; Measurement method; Automatic measurement; Tension test; Robotics
• ISSN: 0882-7958; 2161-9425

Fully automated systems enable faster, more efficient tensile tests, with far greater reproducibility than possible with traditional manual methods. Automated systems can frequently slash test turnaround time from several days to a matter of hours. As a result, producers who require extensive tensile data are turning to fully automated machines to provide vital stress, strain, and related information on a wide range of metals and plastic sheet materials. Because of competitive pressures for increased productivity, this trend is expected to accelerate. Advances in robotics and net-working, the availability of more powerful and versatile software, and nnovations in mechanical design, are enabling mechanical testing systems to meet these market demands. This article describes some of these improvements, and includes a case history that compares manual and automated tensile test systems. (Example: aluminum.)