Instron® Introduces
New 3400 and 6800 Series Universal Testing Systems
Building on a 74 year legacy of excellence in mechanical testing, Instron is proud to announce the latest generation of universal testing systems. The all-new 3400 and 6800 Series are successors to Instron’s popular 3300 and 5900 Series systems and are available in single and dual column models, with capacities ranging from 500 N to 50 kN. The 3400 and 6800 Series come with a host of new features and improved specifications designed to make mechanical testing simpler, smarter, and safer than ever before.
Instron’s new Smart-Close Air Kit is offered on both 3400 and 6800 Series systems and provides a new dimension of safety when testing with pneumatic grips. The Smart-Close Air Kit helps reduce finger pinch hazards by restricting pneumatic grip pressure to a safe level during test setup.
The Smart-Close Air Kit is integrated into the base of the system frame with an internal regulator, and can be activated by a footswitch or an integrated toggle valve located on the pneumatic grips. Grip pressures for test setup and active testing are pre-defined in Bluehill® Universal, eliminating the need to manually adjust regulators to accommodate different specimen types. Grips automatically adjust to a higher, method-defined pressure as soon as testing begins.
Both the 3400 and 6800 Series systems are equipped with an all-new Collision Mitigation feature to help reduce accidental equipment and specimen damage. Collision Mitigation enables the systems to continually monitor force during jog and return, and will automatically stop the crosshead movement if unexpected force is detected. Collision Mitigation can protect the system’s matching capacity load cell from colliding with rigid surfaces at speeds up to 600 mm/min.
The 3400 and 6800 Series systems are built on Instron’s new patent-pending Operator Protect system architecture. Operator Protect limits the machine’s movement during test setup, when accidents are most likely to occur. When the system is in setup mode, crosshead movement is restricted to 600 mm/min and the Smart-Close Air Kit restricts gripping pressure to the pre-defined safe level. Once the operator is ready to begin testing, a Virtual Interlock allows them to instantly enable the system’s full crosshead speed and pressure capabilities. System movement on the 3400 Series is controlled from a newly redesigned Operator Panel, while the 6800 Series introduces a brand new handset that allows users to operate the system from a distance.
Expanding on Instron’s incredibly popular Bluehill Universal software, the 3400 and 6800 Series systems provide built-in Safety Coaching which informs users whether the system is in a safe setup mode, a fully-enabled caution mode, or active testing mode. LED system lights correspond to a color-coded software border to ensure that operators and bystanders always understand whether or not it is safe to approach the test space. Warning messages provide unobtrusive guidance to help operators practice safe testing.
All 6800 Series systems are equipped with an Auto Positioning feature, which remembers the correct fixture separation and starting location for each test method. Auto Positioning ensures that all tests are run with identical setup parameters regardless of who is operating the system. When using a method with Auto Positioning configured, operators are shown a picture of the fixtures to be used, reminded to set travel limits, and notified when and where the crosshead will move to get ready for testing.
The 3400 and 6800 Series systems introduce several performance improvements over their predecessors. Both series are equipped with maintenance-free brushless AC servomotors for increased cyclic and creep performance. The 3400 Series provides a data acquisition rate of up to 1000 Hz and the 6800 Series provides data acquisition up to 5000 Hz, ensuring that a test event is never missed. Both systems are equipped with advanced diagnostics to make troubleshooting through Instron Connect easier than ever before.
