Mechanical Testing of Medical Device Plastics Webinar

Vital Signs: Evaluating the Plastics Behind Medical Devices

Mechanical testing plays a critical role in demonstrating that plastics used in biomedical packaging, components, and device assemblies are suitable for their intended use. In this webinar, we focus on the aspects of mechanical testing that are unique to the biomedical industry, particularly the processes, controls, and documentation practices needed to support compliant testing in regulated environments.

What You'll Learn

How mechanical testing is applied to single-use packaging, components, and connectors commonly found in biomedical applications
Practical considerations for testing complex devices and assemblies, where traditional test approaches may not directly apply
How to maintain compliance through proper documentation, validation strategies, and testing practices aligned with FDA-regulated environments

Presenter
Sam Havel, Biomedical Product Specialist at Instron^®

Transcript

[00:00] Like Nick said, my name is Sam, and thank you for taking the time to join us this morning. If you're coming from one of our other plastics webinars, welcome back. And if this is your first one in the series, welcome.

[00:19] I want to start with a brief overview of what I plan to cover. We'll begin with how plastics are used in the biomedical space and why they're significant. Then we'll discuss the considerations that make testing plastics in this industry unique, before spending some time on the regulatory space, compliance, and traceability in your testing. Then, as Nick mentioned, we'll wrap up with a Q&A.

[00:52] It's hard to think about our world, especially medicine and the biomedical industry, without plastics. Usually, when we talk about plastics in the materials testing world, we think of them as a raw material, tested in the uniform dog bone shape that many of you are familiar with, to determine their properties. In the biomedical space, we see these plastics later in the life cycle, either as a component or as a finished product, and they are all around us.

[01:22] In the pharmaceutical segment, these are usually products used to deliver or store a drug for therapeutic purposes. Examples include auto-injectors, syringes, medicine bottles, and IV bags. Even in this small subsegment, you can easily see the difference between an IV bag, which is a flexible, thinner plastic, and a medicine bottle, which is much more rigid and probably has a childproof cap. Plastics in this industry vary widely.

[02:03] Next, we have medical devices. These are products used for investigative or therapeutic procedures, and they usually need to be tested at body temperature. Examples include catheters, tubing, and Luer lock connectors that usually interface with plastics in the pharmaceutical area.

[02:24] Then we have biotechnology. These products usually fall between pharmaceutical and medical device. On the screen, you see an IUD. It has a plastic frame, but the copper wire is what delivers the therapy to the body.

[02:41] Finally, we have packaging and PPE. These are the consumable products that protect workers and patients and transport organic matter. Examples include face shields, lab goggles, and, probably most importantly, single-use sterile packaging. This has become critical as our understanding of germs, bacteria, and viruses advances. When we clean our materials, we need to sterilize them and store them for long periods without risk of infection to patients later on.

[03:19] Although most plastics testing in this industry is in the form of components or finished products, there are significant considerations for the raw material plastics that are chosen. Does my product need to be sterilized, and can it handle those temperatures? Can this plastic withstand body temperature for long periods? Is there a time threshold where there's a risk to the patient or discomfort? If this component is used in many different assemblies, how quickly and effectively can it be produced? And increasingly, even if it's safe for the patient, what are the environmental impacts?

[04:02] Starting with manufacturability: as with any plastic, the ability to manufacture is very important. In biomedical applications, injection molding is one of the most common manufacturing methods. The picture here shows an assembly line. Producing these products quickly, especially in times of need, is very important.

[04:28] Then we have durability. Whether it's a component or a full device, it usually needs to last longer than intended and in more extreme conditions. Think about the rubber gloves shown here. We want them to be flexible and cover the full hand without restricting movement of the fingers. They need to withstand the warmth of your hands and any moisture, because if a glove rips or fails, that is a risk to you as the provider or to the patient.

[05:05] Then there's biocompatibility. ISO 10993 is the standard for evaluating biocompatibility and classifying a plastic as medical grade. It looks at cytotoxicity, irritation to the patient, and systemic toxicity, meaning whether the device poses any risk to the larger systems and organs of the body.

[05:36] Finally, and increasingly, we have sustainability. Many medical devices are single use for sterility purposes, which puts a focus on the environment. Think about auto-injectors, especially with the rise of GLP-1 medications. They are single use, so after the medication is delivered, they go into a sharps bin and are disposed of. Many manufacturers are now starting initiatives for patients to send back their used auto-injectors so the sharps can be removed and the recyclable parts can be recycled.

[06:18] Now that we have some background on plastics in this space, let's discuss the unique considerations for testing biomedical components.

[06:28] As we've mentioned, plastics in the biomedical space are rarely in dog bone form, so they can't be tested to some of the most common plastics test standards, such as ASTM D638. And as with most applications, plastics in the biomedical industry do not exist in a vacuum. Standards give a great outline for how a device should be tested, but they may not capture all the specifics relevant to your device, such as who is using it and where. Where possible, human factors should be included and test procedures adapted to mimic the intended application.

[07:14] Here are some examples. First, criticality of administration: is the device for emergency use or regular day-to-day use? Going back to auto-injectors, epinephrine auto-injectors are used in emergencies to treat anaphylaxis. If the plastic cap cannot be removed in time, there is a severe risk of injury and harm to the patient. With a GLP-1 auto-injector, it's not as critical if the cap can't be removed, and the risk is much lower.

[07:53] Then there's the use environment. Especially since the pandemic, many therapies have moved to at-home use for patient comfort. Is a clinician or healthcare worker delivering the treatment, or is the patient doing it at home? What is their background and knowledge of the device?

[08:17] There's also the patient population. Depending on the treatment, it could be young children, elderly patients, or anyone in between. If the product is intended for a specific population, consider their skill level, the size of their hands, their fine motor skills, and any restrictions they might have.

[08:41] Then there's the target route and frequency. If it's an injection going into the same place in the body every time, is that causing adverse reactions or risk over time? Will that cause issues with how the product is administered?

[09:00] These are just a small subset of intended use factors to consider when deciding what additional testing might fall outside the standard. Other examples include transport, storage, and other environmental factors. Even if these aren't part of the intended use, the conditions a product goes through on the way to a patient or clinician could affect its performance when it is used.

[09:35] Now that we have a better understanding of intended use, there are some other component-specific factors to take into account. First, in any mechanical testing, you have your hardware, and you're trying to replicate the true intended use of the product. Then there are temperature considerations. If the device will be used in the body, you should probably test at body temperature. But you also have to consider whether the temperature fluctuates during storage or transport.

[10:16] Many of these plastics come in complex geometries, which can make them tricky to fixture. Think about a medicine bottle. How are you gripping it, and how can you replicate that with hardware? As you see in the image, we often use component test plates and other unique fixtures, sometimes customer-built, to replicate real-world use as closely as possible.

[10:44] Then there's software. Is the test sequence representative of real-world use, and how complex can it be? In the photo, you see a syringe being unwrapped from its packaging. Think about how you open a package, whether it's a bandage or a bag of chips. Do you open it at a constant speed, or slower and then faster? Can your software handle those different use cases?

[11:08] Can your software support non-mechanical properties? Force and displacement are important to capture, but what about other measurements? In this picture, video is being captured, and we'll go deeper into that in a few slides. Finally, is your data traceable? There is increasing focus and scrutiny on data security. When you submit data to a governing body, you need to be sure it is secure and that nothing has been changed or manipulated.

[11:54] We've talked about testing at body temperature, but what does that look like? Human body temperature is 37°C (98.6°F), and how you test at that temperature depends on your product.

[12:11] For in vitro testing at body temperature, we offer a BioBath^™ that allows testing at temperature in a fluid such as water or saline. This is important for understanding mechanical properties in the true application, whether that's catheters or even contact lenses. As someone who wears contact lenses, I can say for sure that they behave very differently when they dry out. When manufacturers make my contacts and run quality control, I want them tested the way they'll be used, not dried out, where something unexpected could occur.

[12:55] For testing that doesn't need to be done in fluid, we also offer the BioBox, an enclosure held at body temperature. It allows more flexibility, especially for larger components or complex fixturing that might not fit in a water or saline bath. Beyond body temperature, extreme hot and cold conditions should also be explored if there are concerns about how the product will be stored or transported before it reaches the patient.

[13:40] As promised, let's look at characterization beyond mechanical properties. Software that supports non-mechanical measurements is becoming increasingly important as medical devices become more complex.

[13:55] One example is visual analysis, like we saw in the photo a few slides ago. Images and video of failures can be very helpful for identifying failure modes and for root cause analysis. If I'm a rubber glove manufacturer, do I see the glove rip in the same place every time? Do I see differences that might indicate a problem in the manufacturing process? Having video linked to my data helps me trace back and determine whether there's a problem to solve.

[14:34] Then there's optical measurement. Not every parameter can be characterized by force or displacement. During the injection step of an auto-injector, the needle extends from the body of the device, and it's important to know how far it extends. If it doesn't reach the correct therapeutic range, the medication won't be as effective. Integrating optical cameras and measurements into your test system means you can test fewer devices and still capture those critical results.

[15:16] Then there's device connectivity. Medical devices are becoming more complex, and I expect that trend to continue. On-body devices such as insulin pumps can connect to your phone, send your data securely, and link to your doctor's notes. As these devices get easier to use, we want to make sure they perform the way they should and deliver your data where it needs to go. This applies mainly to finished products, not components, but that may change.

[15:57] Finally, there are acoustic emissions. Going back to auto-injectors, most click at the start and end of injection to tell the patient when the dose has started and when delivery is complete. We can also apply this to packaging. Does my package make a ripping sound when opened? Should it? Does that sound affect whether a patient or clinician believes the package is sterile? Acoustic measurement can help characterize your device beyond force and displacement.

[16:41] Your software should also adapt to changing procedures and standards. We'll talk more about this in the compliance section, but every scientific process has breakthroughs and changes. Software that adapts with them is important for keeping your data and testing repeatable. One way to do that is through a workflow.

[17:04] We all have standard operating procedures, but even small reminders built into your test steps can be very helpful to operators, especially when processes have recently changed or the setup is complicated. In the workflow, managers or admins can add images and specific text so the proper procedure is followed and mistakes are reduced.

[17:38] In this example, we have a setup for ISO 7886-1, for sterile single-use hypodermic syringes for manual use. There is quite a bit of setup before testing, so this is a great place for an image of the correct setup. In my before-test or before-analysis steps, I might also record who the operator was and lab conditions such as humidity and temperature. That way, whether tests are days, weeks, or months apart, the same procedure is followed as closely as possible.

[18:17] Next is the Pass/Fail module. Whether you're testing packages or a full assembly, you'll have critical results. If something goes wrong in manufacturing, you want to identify it as soon as possible. In a large results table, it can be hard to spot a value that doesn't look right, and you need to catch it so it can be escalated and the root cause determined.

[18:44] The Pass/Fail module checks all your results against the acceptance limits for each specimen and for the whole batch. It then shows the operator, with large, bold indicators, whether everything passed. In the same syringe example, once setup is done and the test is running, you can see the live plot measuring glide force. If debris in the syringe caused a spike mid-test, the software would quickly show me as the operator that something wasn't right, and that these are results I need to investigate.

[19:42] The last thing I want to highlight here is pneumatic grip control. In component testing of plastics, how tightly you clamp your specimen can affect your results. If I clamp manually, I might not use the same force from one day to the next, and it varies between operators too. Pneumatic grips take that variable out of the equation. I know the correct air pressure is reaching my grips and that my clamping pressure is consistent throughout the test.

[20:15] In this example, rubber gloves cut into dog bones are being tested by an automated system. It takes each dog bone, measures the thickness of the gauge length, and places it in the pneumatic grips. Whether it's one test, 10, or 100, every time the grips close, they apply the same clamping pressure to every specimen. We've all clamped a little too hard, or squeezed a rubber glove or elastic band, and seen small nicks and tears that could affect test results. Pneumatic grips are a great way to control that parameter.

[21:07] Now that we've covered application-specific considerations, I want to touch on compliance and traceability, since it's such a big topic in the biomedical industry.

[21:18] Depending on where you are in the world and where your plastic component or device ends up, there are several governing standards and bodies your product must comply with. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as each governing body using one set of standards. On the left, we have the FDA for the US, the EU Medical Device Regulation, and the NMPA in China. Some of the most common standards organizations are ASTM, ISO, and USP, the United States Pharmacopeia.

[21:57] Instead of a one-to-one relationship where each governing body uses one type of standard, it actually looks more like this. The governing bodies work together, standards may overlap, and as science advances, there will be revisions to improve the process for better patient outcomes. For you, in the middle, this means your plastics testing should look at individual component performance, how the component operates within the full assembly, how it relates to intended use, and any human factors considerations.

[22:46] It can be hard to picture what this looks like in practice, so I'll use a plastic syringe to show the different standards that could apply to one seemingly simple product.

[23:02] Here I have a syringe in its packaging. To remove it from the package, ASTM F88 for seal strength is a common standard I might test to. Whether it's for at-home use or a surgical suite, you want the package to open easily while maintaining the sterile barrier. A few slides ago, we saw the syringe tested inside its packaging, but we also commonly see different parts of the packaging cut to evaluate the top, bottom, and sides. This confirms the package isn't too difficult to open but remains sealed.

[23:50] Once the syringe is out of the packaging, USP <382> looks at rubber stoppers and other elastomeric components. Take the black piece at the end of the plunger that forces the fluid out. If it's penetrated by a needle, does it self-seal? If I push too hard, does fluid get past that seal?

[24:14] Another test is ISO 80369 for Luer lock connections. At the end of the syringe are threads that connect to a needle hub or IV tubing. Regardless of manufacturer, these threads need to be easily torqued on and off, and they must not leak when connected.

[24:42] Finally, we have ISO 11040, specifically the annex for break loose and glide force. We've looked at several individual components of the syringe, but this test evaluates them together. Break loose force is the force needed to overcome static friction and start the plunger moving. Glide force is the force needed to sustain plunger movement. This can be tested on an empty syringe, a filled syringe, or a capped syringe for burst force or closure integrity. A seemingly simple device can go through many different tests, and this doesn't even include instructions and other human factors that could affect how a patient uses it.

[25:30] Now that we've applied the governing bodies and standards to the testing itself, what does this mean for data storage and data integrity? Most of you probably have a password on your smartphone or laptop. The same applies to your testing. Locking down your test methods so they can't be changed, intentionally or accidentally, is important for compliance.

[25:59] Admins and managers, perhaps in your R&D group, will create methods. In production, you want to make sure specimens and data aren't accidentally deleted. A bad test could point to a quality problem in manufacturing, so we don't want to lose that data. Setting security permissions so specific users and operators can't accidentally change a method is important for complying with these governing bodies.

[26:36] Bluehill^® Universal also includes revision history as standard. We no longer need to write down in a notebook who made a change and what it was. Everything is tracked and recorded automatically. For compliance, this running list is very helpful, especially when you document which method revision was used on reports stored on an internal network drive. As methods change over time, being able to look back at the history helps you understand why procedures might look different. For more data integrity tips specific to Bluehill Universal, I recommend our recent webinar on data integrity presented by our software product manager.

[27:46] Going further, there's the Traceability module, which is designed to support FDA 21 CFR Part 11. This regulation applies to any pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturer submitting product documentation to the FDA for approval for sale in the US or as part of post-market surveillance. The requirements mainly apply to the processes around creating, retaining, and submitting electronic records. They address software validation, electronic signatures, and a searchable, timestamped audit trail, which you see here. This goes beyond the method or data level to what is happening on the frame: who logs in and out, and which files are created or altered. You have it all at your fingertips on your system, instead of paper records you have to track.

[28:54] As we've discussed, methods sometimes have to change because materials change or new guidance comes from governing bodies or standards. Electronic signatures let you track those changes. Someone makes a change to a method, it is approved and timestamped with a signature, and then it is pushed to production. Governing bodies need this tracked and easy to present.

[29:36] Screenshots don't quite show how this works in a lab, so here's a quick example for a lab with both a production team and an R&D team. Right now, my team is testing our product with the same version of the method. Then we have a breakthrough. Maybe we're using a different raw plastic and need to see how it holds up, or a standard has changed. My R&D team alters the method to see what makes the most sense. When they're satisfied, a manager reviews the changes and confirms they comply with the standard. The manager signs off, and the method officially moves to version two.

[30:28] The full history of changes, including documentation of why the team chose one approach over another, is stored in the method revision history. Once we're happy with the new version, we can push version two to the production team as well.

[30:49] To conclude, plastics are a critical part of our lives, particularly in the biomedical industry, where they contribute to positive patient outcomes. Understanding the plastic you choose as a raw material, how it performs as an individual component, and how it performs in a finished product are all significant for patient outcomes, compliance, and product success anywhere in the world. Choosing a testing partner whose hardware and software can keep up with these changing trends will help your testing represent real-world use, for the benefit of your group and the patients who rely on these products. With that, we're ready to turn it over to Q&A.

[31:44] We do have some questions. For everyone in the audience, please continue to submit your questions, and we'll see what we can get to. The first question: is it worth having traceability in my testing software even if I'm at the very early stages of device development?

[32:09] That's a really good question, and I would say yes. Given the time it takes to validate your test methods and procedures, being able to validate on the same software and immediately push it to your production team is very helpful. Traceability within your R&D team gives you a history of what changed, how, and why. That sets you up well for the regulatory compliance you're probably seeking. When you move to production, the infrastructure is already in place, and you don't have to revalidate.

[32:49] Great. The next question: if my medical device will be used in the body, does all of my testing have to be done at that temperature?

[33:04] I would say no. If the device will be used primarily in the body, most of your testing should be at body temperature. But you should also consider extreme cases, such as high and low temperatures during transport and storage. Room temperature, or a closet or cabinet, is usually much cooler than the body. You should test and evaluate how those conditions affect your product over time, especially over extended periods like months or years.

[33:44] This looks like it might be our last question: what do you recommend for testing very unique plastic geometries? I'm assuming non-standard dog bones.

[34:03] Of course. It depends on the shape and size of the component. A set of grips with interchangeable jaw faces is a great start. For a truly unique geometry, a component test plate or the ability to make your own fixtures can help. 3D printers have become very common, and even prototyping your own fixtures can be a helpful first step in finding the best way to secure and test your device.

[34:38] That's all of the questions I'm seeing, so we'll move on to the wrap-up. Thanks for that presentation, Sam.

[34:52] I have a few quick notes, and then you can be on your way. If any questions come in before the end, I'll send them to Sam, and she can answer them by email. This session was recorded. If you want to rewatch or share it, we'll post it to our YouTube channel and our website, and you'll receive a link in a follow-up email.

[35:18] As I mentioned earlier, this is part of our 2026 plastics testing series. Our next topic is automation in plastics testing, and Sam's presentation included a great video of that in action on our AT3 system. That session takes place on November 17. You can find more information and register on our webinars page. Finally, you'll see a brief survey when this webinar ends. We'd appreciate your feedback. Thank you again to Sam for presenting, and thank you all for joining us today. Take care.

Talk to an Instron Expert

Our biomedical team can help you choose the fixtures, temperature-controlled enclosures, and Bluehill Universal modules you need for packaging, component, and device testing in regulated labs.

Jaw Face Selection

Quick Tips for Testing

Synopsis

Choosing the right jaw faces for tensile testing is essential for achieving accurate, repeatable results and preventing specimen slippage or damage. In this Quick Tips video, you'll learn how to select the best jaw face type for your material when using side-acting grips and manual wedge grips on testing systems up to 150 kN.

In this video, we'll cover:

Serrated jaw faces for metals, plastics, composites, and elastomers
Rubber-coated jaw faces for delicate materials, thin films, and textiles
Smooth jaw faces for paper and other thin specimens
Line-contact jaw faces for extremely delicate materials and thin films
Wave-profile jaw faces for engineered and coated textiles
Vee-serrated jaw faces for round specimens
How to choose between 16 TPI and 25 TPI wedge grip faces
Surfalloy jaw faces for fragile composite specimens
Best practices for reducing specimen slippage and grip-induced failures
Proper jaw face engagement for reliable tensile test results

Whether you're testing metals, plastics, composites, textiles, elastomers, paper, films, wire, or round specimens, understanding jaw face selection can help improve test accuracy, specimen retention, and overall confidence in your results.

Transcript

[00:10] A critical part of getting accurate tensile test results is making sure the grips don't influence the outcome. The jaw faces you choose play a major role in that.

[00:19] In this video, we'll break down the most common jaw face types used on side-acting and manual wedge grips up to 150 kN and help you choose the right option for your material.

[00:31] Let's start by discussing the jaw face options for side-acting pneumatic and manual grips.

[00:36] The pneumatic grips option offers a constant preset clamping force throughout the entirety of the test.

[00:42] Both the pneumatic and manual side-acting grips use the same type of jaw faces, which come in a wide range of styles and sizes. The right choice depends on both the material and the geometry of your specimen.

[00:55] For stiff, hard materials like metals, rigid plastics, and composites, or for material with thicknesses over 1 millimeter like elastomers, serrated jaw faces are typically the best choice. Their teeth provide a strong mechanical bite that helps prevent slippage while the material elongates.

[01:12] For softer or more delicate materials, including thin films, textiles, or other flexible materials, rubber-coated faces generally provide enough friction between surfaces while minimizing damage when the grips close.

[01:25] Smooth jaw faces are ideal for thin materials, such as paper or anything stronger than a typical film, where the flat, metallic gripping surface provides enough hold without damaging the specimen.

[01:36] Smooth and rubber faces can typically be used interchangeably, but rubber can be better for more fragile materials.

[01:43] If you're seeing signs of slippage during the test, or if you're working with extremely delicate materials such as thin films, you can pair a line-contact face with a rubber or smooth face.

[01:53] The rounded line-contact face reduces the amount of contact on the specimen. This helps to reduce the amount of extrusion.

[02:01] For engineered or coated textiles, wave profile faces are best to increase the surface area of contact. This added contact helps prevent the material from slipping during the test.

[02:12] And for round specimens, vee-serrated faces provide four points of contact for improved clamping and stability.

[02:19] You may need more than one jaw face size to properly grip specimen tabs with different diameters.

[02:24] When using manual wedge grips, there are fewer jaw face styles, but they're well suited for wires, plastics, metals, composites, and elastomers.

[02:33] Wedge grips naturally increase the clamping force as the test runs, which can help reduce slippage compared to the side-acting grips.

[02:40] The most common wedge grip faces are flat serrated, which are available with different tooth densities.

[02:46] Faces with 16 teeth per inch have larger teeth and provide a stronger bite, making them ideal for harder materials like steel.

[02:55] Faces with 25 teeth per inch use smaller teeth with a lighter bite, which is more suitable for softer materials such as plastics or soft metals like aluminum.

[03:04] When testing fragile specimens such as untabbed composites, surfalloy faces offer a high friction option without the tooth penetration.

[03:13] And finally, vee-serrated faces are used for round specimens, improving contact and clamping reliability.

[03:20] No matter what grip type you're using, it's important that your specimen tab engages at least 75% of the jaw face length. This helps prevent jaw face pivoting and minimizes the chance of slippage.

[03:32] This has been a quick look at jaw face selection for testing up to 150 kN. For additional support, contact your local Instron^® Sales Engineer or visit instron.com, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more testing tips. Thanks for watching!

Learn More

A Beginner’s Guide to TestProfiler Webinar

A Beginner's Guide to TestProfiler

Unlocking Complex Testing in Bluehill Universal Webinar

Q&A Responses to Questions from the Live Session

Can an operator define the cycle count from the Test screen?

Yes. The field that defines the number of cycles supports expressions, so it can be linked to a specimen-number, sample-number, or choice input. This allows the operator to specify the cycle count from the Test screen rather than requiring the value to be fixed only in the method-programming screen.

Can one cyclic test include both tension and compression?

Yes. TestProfiler can apply both tensile and compressive loads to a specimen within a single cyclic step or through subsequent ramp steps. The specimen geometry and fixturing must support load reversal.

Can the cycle count be displayed during a test?

Yes. The Test screen can show a live cycle count for the current cyclic step, as well as a total cycle count across all cyclic steps.

Can the Test screen show which step is currently running?

Yes. Add Active zone as a live display on the Test screen to show which step is currently being performed.

How can I create a cyclic test with displacement that increases every five cycles?

You can do this in either of two ways:

Option 1: Create separate ramps with looping

Create a ramp up to 5 mm and a ramp down by 5 mm, then loop that sequence five times. Next, create ramps up to 10 mm and down by 10 mm and loop those five times. Continue in the same way for each displacement increment.

This is straightforward, but it may become cumbersome when the test includes many increments.

Option 2: Use a single cyclic step with events and variables

Use one cyclic step with an action every five cycles to increment the displacement endpoints. This requires: (1) linking the maximum and minimum position inputs to specimen-number inputs; (2) creating 'Variable Events' for cycle counts 5, 10, 15, and so on; and (3) assigning 'Set a Variable' actions to those events so that each action increments the displacement set point linked to the relevant specimen input.

For a more advanced setup, you can reduce the number of variable events by linking another specimen-number input to the cycle count and building a function that automatically increments the cycle value and the associated displacement endpoint for each new group of five cycles.

How do test speed and test duration affect the cyclic durability limits of a 6800 system?

A 6800 Series system can run a cyclic test for up to 10 days at 25°C, at a maximum frequency of 1 Hz, while operating at either 100% of rated speed with up to 50% of rated force, or 100% of rated force with up to 50% of rated speed.

Data capture note: For long-duration tests, choose a data capture rate that records the required detail without generating excessive data. A high capture rate over many days can consume temporary storage and memory while the test is running.

How many independent loops can a TestProfiler profile contain?

Looping can be enabled for any event’s action, so a profile can contain multiple independently configured loops. A common setup is to add a loop when one step ends, directing the sequence back to an earlier step for a specified number of repetitions, or loops. This is different from a single cyclic step, where the number of cycles is defined within that step and the motion cycles between two points. When looping between multiple steps, the minimum duration for each step is 2 seconds, corresponding to a maximum loop frequency of 0.5 Hz.

Can TestProfiler produce a sinusoidal or near-sinusoidal waveform on an Instron 5900 Series load frame?

No. Sinusoidal waveform profiles are not supported through TestProfiler on 5900 or 6800 Series static testing systems. The drivetrain, controller, firmware, and software are not designed for sinusoidal cyclic control. Low-cycle triangle loading and unloading are supported. For sinusoidal and other waveform test control, use an Instron fatigue testing system designed for dynamic testing.

What is auto-balance, and when should it be used?

The auto-balance step type in TestProfiler is similar to the auto-balance function available in the Test Control pre-test menu. It is most commonly used alongside a preload: a relatively small force is applied to the specimen to remove slack. Once preload is reached, the strain source’s displacement channel is generally balanced, or zeroed. This helps each test begin with a consistent starting force and eliminates slack.

Not every TestProfiler workflow requires an auto-balance step, but it is available when the test procedure calls for one.

Will adding TestProfiler affect my existing methods?

No. Existing standard methods, (i.e., tension, compression, flex) can continue to be used without impact. Purchasing the TestProfiler option adds access to additional test types for creating new methods.

Synopsis

Running tests with holds, cycles, or multiple steps? Standard test methods can only take you so far. In this webinar, we introduce Bluehill® Universal's TestProfiler module — the add-on that lets you build custom test sequences using ramps, holds, and cyclic waveforms with a simple graphical interface.

We cover the fundamentals every beginner needs and give you a clear framework to decide if TestProfiler is the right investment for your lab.

Topics include:

The Basics - Ramps, holds, cycles, and loops explained
Events and actions - Augment test sequence with events and actions to respond to sensors and trigger conditional behavior
Real applications - Walkthrough of a couple ASTM/ISO methods which require TestProfiler sequences

Presented By:
Dan Caesar, Product Manager at Instron

2820-036 Variable Angle Peel Fixture

Unboxed and Installed

Synopsis

Whether you’re new to your testing system or simply need installation guidance, this video walks you through everything included in the box for the 2820-036 Variable Angle Peel Fixture and demonstrates the correct procedure for installing the fixture on your Instron^® universal testing machine.

About the 2820-036 Variable Angle Peel Fixture:
Engineered for accurate and repeatable results, this fixture enables researchers, manufacturers, and quality control professionals to evaluate adhesive bonds, laminates, films, medical products, packaging materials, and other bonded structures.

The 2820-036 utilizes a bearing-mounted sled and cable-driven system to maintain a constant peel angle throughout testing, helping eliminate unwanted forces and providing a direct measurement of bond strength. Adjustable peel angles of 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, 130°, and 150° allow users to replicate real-world application conditions and meet a variety of testing requirements.

Key features:

Variable peel angles: 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, 130°, and 150°
Direct measurement of adhesive bond strength
Adjustable substrate clamping system
Supports peel testing of films, coatings, laminates, labels, tapes, packaging, and medical adhesives
Compatible with ASTM peel testing standards including ASTM D3330, ASTM D2861, ASTM D6252, ASTM D6862, and ASTM B571

Applications include:

Adhesive testing
Packaging material testing
Pressure-sensitive tape evaluation
Battery material testing
Medical device and wound care product testing
Film and laminate bond strength testing

Learn more about peel testing.

Discover more testing accessories.

Transcript

[00:10] 2820-036 Variable Angle Peel Fixture

[00:14] What’s in the box? Upper/lower pulleys, M6 cap screws, sled assembly, M4 cap screws/shoulder screws, handle, crosshead extension, cables, manuals.

[00:22] Step 1. Attach the crosshead extension using the four M4 x 25 screws and M4 washers.

[00:36] Step 2. Insert the locating disc into the base of the frame.

[00:44] Step 3. Attach the sled assembly to the frame’s base by securing the base adapter plate with four M6 x 20 cap screws.

[00:56] Step 4. Install the upper pulley assembly using the handle.

[01:08] Step 5. Feed the cable through the hole on the upper pulley and secure with a set screw.

[01:18] Step 6. Loosen and rotate the upper pulley to wrap the cable several times until aligned with the lower pulley.

[01:32] Step 7. Insert and secure the cable into the lower pulley that corresponds to the required angle for testing.

[01:43] Step 8. Turn the pulley clockwise to wind the cable, ensuring the cable winds underneath the pulley.

[01:50] Variable Angle Pulley Setup

[02:01] Step 9. Insert and secure the sled cable into the hole on the remaining track.

[02:11] Step 10. Wind the cable underneath the pulley (refer to the pulley setup diagram).

[02:19] Step 11. Position the pulley in the pulley bracket and insert the shoulder screw at the required test angle.

[02:32] Step 12. Wrap the sled cable once around the pulley so that the cable aligns horizontally with the sled.

[02:40] Step 13. Connect the turnbuckle on the sled cable to the sled.

[02:47] Step 14. Loosen the handle and set the desired sled angle by aligning the protractor angle with the top edge of the sled.

[02:59] SLED REVERSAL PROCEDURE: For testing at 30°, 45°, and 60° peel angles

[03:06] Step 1. Remove the four lower screws on the hinge that connects the T-slot sled to the sled.

[03:14] Step 2. Unscrew the handle.

[03:20] Step 3. Remove the hex head bolt and washers.

[03:33] Step 4. Unscrew the cable turnbuckle from the sled.

[03:43] Step 5. Reverse the T-slot sled and align the hinge's center hole with the set screw on the bottom sled.

[03:55] Step 6. Reattach the hinge to the sled using the four screws.

[04:06] Step 7. Insert the hex head bolt with the tab washer through the sled.

[04:17] Step 8. Reattach the remaining washer and handle to the protractor.

[04:28] Step 9. Reconnect the cable turnbuckle onto the sled.

[04:39] SUCCESS: Your variable angle peel fixture is ready for testing.

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Large-Volume Autoinjector Testing and Partial Torsion Cap Removal

Synopsis

Instron's Autoinjector Testing System for Large-Volume Devices is designed to evaluate the performance, functionality, and usability of large-volume autoinjectors (3+ mL). Featuring an enlarged device interface, the system accommodates a wide range of autoinjector and cap geometries. Device-specific adapters securely hold the autoinjector throughout testing to ensure consistent, repeatable results and can be quickly exchanged to support different device designs.

The automated test sequence includes:

Cap removal force
Activation force
Audible click detection
Injection time
Needle depth measurement
Delivered volume verification
Lockout check (pass/fail)

For autoinjectors that require partial rotation cap removal, the system can be equipped with Instron's Limited Rotation Torsion Add-On 3.0, providing ±90° rotational capability for both standard and large-volume autoinjectors. The torsional cap-removal sequence is fully customizable to meet specific device requirements and test protocols.

For laboratories requiring System Suitability Testing (SST), a dedicated SST device is available for daily verification of the biaxial load cell, helping ensure reliable system performance, measurement accuracy, and repeatable test results.

Transcript

[00:04] Autoinjector Testing System: For Large-Volume Devices / Partial Torsion Cap Removal

[00:13] System Overview: System Enclosure with Light Curtain, Autoinjector Testing System / 6800 Series Frame

[00:23] Limited Rotation Torsion Add-On 3.0: +/- 90° (For Rotational Cap Removal/Device Unlocking), Biaxial Load Cell, Upper Pneumatic Gripper, Device-Specific Adapter

[00:35] The system is designed to support a wide range of device and cap geometries.

[00:44] A device-specific adapter secures the autoinjector for consistent cap removal.

[00:57] Complete Test Sequence: Cap removal force, activation force, audible click detection, injection time, needle depth, delivered volume, lockout check pass/fail.

[01:12] Autoinjector Testing System: Partial Torsion Cap Removal

[01:18] The device-specific cap adapter can be easily swapped to accommodate different autoinjector types.

[01:24] Limited Rotation Torsion Add-On 3.0: +/-90° rotation for cap removal and device unlocking on standard and large-volume devices.

[01:36] Rotational sequence is customizable depending on device requirements.

[02:03] System suitability test device provides a daily verification of the biaxial load cell operation.

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Setting Spherically Seated Platens

Setting Spherically Seated Platens: Quick Tips for Testing

Synopsis

Proper platen alignment is critical for accurate compression testing. Even small misalignment between compression platens can lead to uneven loading, premature specimen failure, and unreliable test results.

In this Quick Tips for Testing video, learn how to properly set up and use spherically seated compression platens to improve compression test accuracy. We demonstrate two common setup methods:

Establishing precise parallelism between compression platens
Accommodating non-parallel specimens for uniform load distribution

Learn how the spherical seating mechanism allows the upper platen to self-align, helping ensure consistent axial loading during compression testing of materials and components.

This setup is commonly used when testing materials such as concrete, metals, plastics, composites, and structural components, particularly in laboratories that must demonstrate strict alignment control and compliance with industry requirements, including Nadcap-accredited testing environments.

Topics covered:

What a spherically seated platen is
How spherical seat alignment works
Setting platen parallelism in a universal testing machine
Locking a spherical platen for precise alignment
Testing non-parallel specimens
Applying preload during compression testing
Preventing uneven load distribution
Compression testing best practices
Nadcap testing alignment considerations

Common applications include:

Concrete compression testing
Metals testing
Plastics testing
Composite materials testing
Structural component testing
Aerospace materials testing
Quality control and research laboratories

Transcript

00:10: When running compression tests, even small misalignment between platens can cause uneven loading, inaccurate results, or premature specimen failure.

00:19: Spherically seated platens solve this problem by incorporating a convex, spherical surface nested into a matching concave housing, allowing the platen to self-align up to 4 degrees.

00:29: In this video, we'll show you how to set up spherically seated compression platens, and how to use them to achieve either precise platen parallelism or uniform load distribution on non-parallel specimens.

00:42: Typically, a spherically seated compression platen is paired with a rigid fixed platen. It's recommended to use the spherically seated platen as the upper platen and the rigid platen on the bottom.

00:52: This setup is commonly used when testing materials such as concrete, metals, plastics, composites, and structural components — especially in applications where strict alignment requirements apply, such as Nadcap-controlled testing environments.

01:13: To establish precise parallelism between platens, begin by installing the rigid compression platen on the bottom of the test frame.

01:21: Once it's in position, tighten the checknut securely.

01:25: Before installing the spherically seated platen, ensure the four locking screws are loose to allow free self-alignment.

01:34: Once installed in the upper connection, tighten the checknut.

01:38: To align the platens, use the frame handset to jog the crosshead downward while closely monitoring movement.

01:45: If your system has a micro-jog function, use it to continue lowering the crosshead until the platens just make contact and a small compressive load is detected.

01:55: As a working guideline, apply a seating load of approximately 1/1000 of the load cell capacity — for example, 50 N on a 50 kN load cell.

02:04: Do not exceed 5% of load cell capacity during this step, as overloading can cause damage.

02:11: Once the target load is reached, tighten the four locking screws on the spherical seat.

02:16: The upper platen is now locked into the precise parallel alignment with the lower platen and ready for testing.

02:27: If your specimen surfaces are not perfectly parallel, such as concrete cylinders or irregular components, you'll want to leave the four locking screws loose during the test.

02:37: Install both platens the same way as before, then place the specimen between them.

02:42: In this method, the spherically seated platen remains unlocked throughout the test, allowing it to self-align onto the specimen surface.

02:50: As the platens are driven onto the specimen, the upper platen adjusts naturally, conforming to the specimen surface and distributing the load uniformly.

02:59: In the Bluehill^® method, apply a small preload — no more than 10% of your expected peak load — to confirm the upper platen is making contact with the specimen before the test begins.

03:10: The spherical seat is engineered so this adjustment occurs without lateral movement, ensuring consistent axial loading and accurate results.

03:19: That covers the two primary setup methods for spherically seated compression platens, whether you need precise platen parallelism or uniform loading on non-parallel specimens.

03:30: For more setup guidance and application tips, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and visit instron.com. Thanks for watching.

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Safety by Design: 6800 and 3400 Series Frames

Safety by Design: A Look Inside Instron's 6800 & 3400 Series Frames

Synopsis

In materials testing, safety is more than a requirement — it's a critical part of reliable lab operations. This video explores the functional safety architecture of the Instron^® 6800 Series and 3400 Series universal testing systems, demonstrating how their built-in safety features help protect operators while supporting productivity and testing efficiency.

Whether you're testing materials, components, medical devices, consumer products, or finished goods, built-in functional safety features play a critical role in protecting operators, reducing risk, and supporting safe, efficient laboratory operations.

Transcript

00:04: In a testing lab, safety isn't optional — it's a mandate, and every aspect matters, including the test machine itself.

00:12: While most tests run without incident, the rare exceptions can have serious consequences.

00:18: That's why Instron systems are engineered with functional safety at their core, reinforcing safe operation through built-in protective measures that complement your lab's protocols and standards.

00:29: Safety is embedded at the foundational level. Starting with the system architecture, every 6800 and 3400 Series frame is designed in alignment with ISO 13849, an international standard for functional safety.

00:43: This ensures that even in the event of a fault, protective mechanisms remain active, keeping operators safer at all times.

00:50: A key part of that foundation is a virtual interlock that guards against unintended crosshead movement, whether from an accidental button press or a rare system fault.

01:00: Unlike systems that rely on manually activated safety modes, which can be left disengaged or forgotten, Instron’s latest-generation system architecture ensures protection is always active.

01:11: When crosshead movement is initiated automatically, such as during a test or when returning to a set position, operators must press the interlock button to enable motion.

01:21: During manual operations like jogging the crosshead, the operator is already in direct control, so no interlock override is needed.

01:29: This deliberate separation reinforces safe behavior and ensures motion only occurs when intended.

01:36: Every 6800 and 3400 Series system also includes physical limit switches that define boundaries for crosshead travel, helping prevent fixture collisions and over-travel that could damage the system.

01:48: To reinforce this critical setup step, Bluehill^® Universal's built-in safety coaching prompts operators to set these physical limits before testing, supporting a safer and more consistent test setup process.

02:01: For high-throughput labs, an optional light curtain provides an alternative to the manual interlock, streamlining the workflow without compromising protection.

02:10: When an operator enters the test space, the curtain automatically disables frame movement.

02:15: Once they exit, motion is enabled, and if configured, the test can begin automatically for maximum efficiency.

02:22: For labs pushing throughput even further, Instron offers fully enclosed automated systems that eliminate the need for operators to enter the test space during testing.

02:32: When access is required, safety interlocked doors automatically prevent system movement when opened.

02:39: While frame movement is a primary safety concern, other risks must also be considered, particularly when testing brittle or high-energy materials that can produce flying debris.

02:49: Instron testing systems can be configured with debris shields that include optional safety interlock capabilities, helping to contain fragments and reduce the risk of injury.

02:59: At Instron, safety isn't just about compliance. It's a design philosophy woven into every layer of the system.

03:07: Whether you're running a single test or thousands, that level of protection never changes. It's built in from the start.

03:14: Instron: The difference is measurable.

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AT6 Automated Testing System: Dual-Frame Configuration for Metals Tensile Testing

Synopsis

This video showcases the Instron^® AT6 Automated Testing System in a dual-frame configuration for high-throughput tensile testing of metals up to 600 kN. Designed for precision and repeatability, the AT6 automates the full testing workflow from specimen measurement through data collection. Its flexible configuration allows multiple specimen sizes to be tested within a single sequence, significantly increasing throughput.

The system features dual Instron 6800 Series floor model universal testing machines equipped with DuraSync hydraulic dual side acting grips, ensuring secure and consistent specimen clamping. AutoXBiax automatic contacting extensometers provide simultaneous axial and transverse strain measurements, while a Rockwell hardness tester evaluates material hardness prior to testing. Optional specimen removers can further increase throughput by 15 to 20 seconds per specimen. The AT6 automated testing system minimizes operator variability and improves overall efficiency, making it well suited for aerospace, automotive, and industrial materials research applications.

Learn more about automated testing solutions.

Transcript

00:52: System supports multiple specimen sizes in the same test sequence

01:07: Barcode scanner transfers specimen data to Bluehill^® Universal sample file

01:25: Automatic specimen thickness measurements taken at multiple points along the gauge length

01:49: Rockwell hardness tester determines material hardness

02:43: Concurrent operations optimize throughput

02:48: Second specimen is loaded for simultaneous testing

03:12: Optional specimen removers free the robot and increase throughput by 15–20 seconds per specimen

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Instron 2810-40X Series Flexure Fixture

Unboxed and Installed

Synopsis

This video looks at the Instron® 2810-40X Series flexure fixture. Whether you are new to your testing system or simply need installation guidance, we walk you through everything included in the box and demonstrate the correct procedure for installing the fixture on your Instron universal testing machine.

The 2810-40X Series flexure fixture allows a variety of flexural and fracture toughness bond tests to be performed, including determination of flexural modulus, flexural strength, and flexural yield strength. Easy to install, the 3-point fixture can be modified with an optional conversion kit to provide a 4-point bending option. The 3-point fixture includes a 10 mm (0.4 in) diameter upper anvil and two 4 mm (0.16 in) or 10 mm (0.4 in) diameter lower anvils that are adjustable to accommodate specimens of different spans. Deflection of the specimen can be measured either through crosshead displacement, or through the mid-span direct measurement deflectometer plunger with an extensometer for more precise measurement.

Features:

Rated capacity: 5 kN (500 kgf, 1,125 lbf)
3-point flexure fixture with an optional conversion kit for 4-point loading
Conforms to ISO, ASTM, DIN, and many other standards
Fully adjustable span distance to suit a wide range of specimen sizes
Adjustable stops for specimen widths up to 50 mm (2 in) for precise alignment
Optional deflectometer plunger assembly
Rugged design for minimum maintenance
Temperature range: -100 to +350°C (-148 to +662°F)
Compatible with AVE3, AutoX750, clip-on (2630-107 or 2630-110) extensometers

Discover more testing accessories.

Transcript

00:10: 2810-40X Series flexure fixture

00:25: Step 1. Insert the lower assembly into the clevis socket and install 0.5 in. clevis pin.

00:32: Step 2. Tighten the locknut and secure with the clevis pin clip.

00:41: Step 3. Install the upper anvil assembly and secure with the 6 mm clevis pin.

00:49: Step 4. Tighten the locknut and secure with the clevis pin clip.

01:01: Step 5. Visually confirm the anvil alignment with the alignment plate by ensuring the upper anvil lines up with the center notch.

01:16: Step 6. The lower anvils can be manually adjusted to accommodate your test specimen.

01:24: Step 7. Secure the specimen stops and position for testing.

01:31: SUCCESS — your flexure fixture is now ready for testing.

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Preventing Specimen Slippage: Quick Tips for Testing

Synopsis

Specimen slippage during tensile testing can lead to inaccurate results, interrupted tests, and damaged specimens. In this Quick Tips for Testing video, we share practical guidance to help reduce slippage and improve the overall quality and consistency of your test results.

This video addresses the most common factors that contribute to slippage and highlights straightforward adjustments that can be applied in most testing setups. These best‑practice considerations are relevant across a wide range of materials and grip configurations, whether you’re troubleshooting an existing issue or preparing for a new test.

General approaches to improving grip performance are also covered, including proper clamping pressure, appropriate jaw face selection, and the importance of clean, well‑conditioned gripping surfaces.

Regardless of the application, applying these core principles can help prevent specimen slippage, protect your samples, and increase confidence in your tensile testing data.

Transcript

[00:10]: Specimen slippage is a common challenge in tensile testing. In this video, we'll break down what slippage is, how to recognize it, and the simple steps you can take to prevent it.

[00:20]: Slippage happens when your tensile grips fail to maintain sufficient hold on a specimen, causing it to slowly slide out as the crosshead loads. On the stress strain curve, this usually appears as a jagged, sawtooth pattern.

[00:33]: In some cases, you may also see signs of slippage directly on the specimen tabs.

[00:38]: Slippage can occur for many reasons, but the three most common are: insufficient gripping force, incorrect jaw face selection, and a lack of friction between the specimen and the jaw faces.

[00:49]: The first step is figuring out what's behind the slippage so you can apply the right solution.

[00:55]: If the slippage is caused by low gripping force, the solution is simple: Increase the clamping pressure. This could mean tightening manual grips further or increasing the pressure on pneumatic or hydraulic grips.

[01:06]: Just be careful not to over-tighten. Too much pressure can damage the specimen and compromise your test results.

[01:12]: Since manual grips rely on operator strength, pneumatic or hydraulic grips can often be a more reliable option, as they provide consistent and adjustable gripping pressure.

[01:22]: If you've eliminated gripping force as the source of slippage, the next thing to look at is the jaw face selection. The wrong jaw faces can allow slippage to occur even when your gripping pressure is set correctly.

[01:34]: For rigid materials like plastics or metals, serrated jaw faces typically work best because they create the friction needed to hold the specimen securely. Using smooth or rubber-coated faces on these materials often isn't enough, making slippage more likely.

[01:49]: The final factor to consider is the condition of your jaw faces. Even with the right gripping force and jaw face type, worn or dirty faces can reduce friction and lead to slippage.

[02:00]: Regularly inspect your jaw faces for wear, and clean them according to your user manual. If you're testing common materials like metals, plastics, or composites, a quick pass with a wire brush is often enough to remove buildup and restore proper gripping performance.

[02:15]: While every testing setup is a little different, applying these fundamentals will help you prevent specimen slippage and ensure consistent, reliable results.

[02:23]: For additional support, contact your local Instron® Sales Engineer or visit instron.com, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more testing tips. Thanks for watching!

Level Up Your Materials Testing Data Integrity With Test Setup Essentials

Synopsis

If your setup isn't consistent, your results aren't reliable. In this webinar, we dive into the "front-end" of data integrity: the physical interaction between your hardware, your specimen, and Bluehill® Universal software.

Learn how to eliminate human variables and standardize your testing environment using built‑in automation and safety tools — so your team can achieve the same high‑quality results every time. From protecting fragile specimens during loading to ensuring your load cell is stable before the first pull, these 10 best practices will give you total confidence that every data point is accurate, repeatable, and truly reflective of your material’s performance.

By watching this webinar, you’ll walk away with actionable strategies to improve test repeatability and reduce operator‑driven variability, including how to:

Master hardware safeguards such as Auto Position and Specimen Protection to begin every test from the exact same physical state without damaging the sample.
Standardize loading conditions using tools like Preload and Auto Balance to eliminate slack and variability in how specimens are held.
Strengthen input integrity with Input Bounds to prevent data entry errors and ensure only dimension values within your validated range are accepted.
Remove operator bias by configuring automated Pass/Fail criteria so results are evaluated objectively — every time.

Presenter: Dan Caesar, Software Product Manager at Instron

Transcript

[00:00] — Introduction & Context
So, welcome in everyone today again. Yeah, my name is Dan Caesar. I've been the product manager for Bluehill Universal, Bluehill Central for over five years now. So, I love to take these opportunities to share some insights and hopefully you'll learn a couple things today. So, again, what do we want? What do I want to cover in this session? So the meat of it is going to be the features 1 through 10. Just some tips and tricks around things that you can set up within Bluehill that encourage and promote better data integrity in the tests that you're running.

But before I jump into those specific features, I did want to take a step back, look at the overall context of trusting your data that's getting produced by an Instron system, and look at all the different factors at play and kind of building up the foundations of trust before we get into just the software features that we'll get into in this session.

So, this is kind of a pyramid where it's going to be displaying a little bit of a hierarchy of trusted data. We're going to start with kind of the foundations. And you'll see what I mean by starting with the basics, starting with the equipment that you're purchasing, spec'ing it out to make sure that the machine itself is designed and spec'd out to meet your needs, to meet the quality of data, the reliability and accuracy that your application, your company depends on. And so this is of course what the machine is designed to do, what it's manufactured reliably to do when it's installed on site is verified to meet those performance specs, because if these don't meet your requirements or the standards that you're testing to, then everything else above this really doesn't matter. So that's kind of first and foremost — the foundation of building data that you can trust.

And then if we look at, over time, over the life of that equipment — you might have it for 30 years — that you can't just assume that its initial performance is going to be maintained without doing anything. So, of course, we know the value and the importance of taking care of your equipment, making sure that you are doing preventative maintenance, that if something needs to be replaced, that you're replacing it, that if you have service come on site to make sure that the sensors, the load cell, the extensometers that you use, the displacement transducers are all measuring as they intend, that as they should. So that trust needs to be sustained over time. And then so we have the equipment, we're confident in our hardware, we're doing a good job taking care of it.

Now it gets into some of the more complex nature of test setup and the actual performance of the test itself. And this is where a lot of risk can surface because there's so many decisions. There's so many configuration options and you introducing kind of the human into the equation of performing the test, setting things up, and that due to the nature of all the different configuration settings and all this, the decisions that need to be made, that there's risk that you might be doing something incorrectly, whether intentional or not.

Then the test is run. You're producing data. You have the settings, kind of the system is configured to do what you've designed it to do. How do we govern those settings? How do we govern the data that's being produced? To make sure that the right people who are trained to make certain decisions are the ones making those decisions and that the data that's being produced is protected and secured so that no one can accidentally overwrite it, that you can refer back to data when you need to, and that it doesn't disappear if there's some unforeseen event that unfortunately deletes things.

So data governance is certainly important, and then at the top of the pyramid is the glue that holds a lot of this together, and that the human plays an important role in everything underneath, and that we cannot automate every single last decision and activity when we're running tests on material testers. And so there's still a lot of different decisions that have to be made and where they're not made, it is a human that is doing it. So we want those humans to have the right experience to be trained accordingly, that largely a lot of the companies that we do business with have very good training programs that supplement the Instron training that we provide. They have very well-documented operating procedures that outline kind of how the equipment should be used to control the use.

So this is I guess setting the scene for all the different factors that can play into getting to a point where you 100% trust the data that's coming out of your system. And what we're going to be focused on today is this middle one, test setup and execution. And so of course I am the software product manager for Bluehill Universal Software. So that's where we are going to focus on, some specific software features specifically in kind of the test configuration. But I do want to do a little bit of a shout out that in a couple of months, we're going to be doing a subsequent session again focused on software capabilities, but in kind of one leg up on this ladder in data governance. So if that's something that you're interested in, make sure you keep an eye out or an ear out for that session.

Before I go to the first feature, though, I want to make sure that I didn't lose you in that first section, that we still have a little bit of engagement to start this session off. So, I want to put up a poll. So, Nick, if you could put up that poll for everyone to see that this is a question that we have about our Bluehill help system. So, you should be seeing a question that says, "What content from Bluehill's help system do you visit the most?" Is it your test control, setting up ramps? Is it setting up your transducers and measurements that your sensors are capturing during the test? Is it figuring out what calculation you need or exports? Just general terminology and glossary? Or maybe you never visit the help, but if you could just quickly say, hey, this is the one I visit the most, it'll help us get a little bit of an understanding of where people are going to for the help system and also potentially how we can make that inherently simpler so you don't have to go to the help in the first place.

So I would say just give it another 10 seconds or so, Nick. And I'm not sure if you can see the response rates, but yeah, I I think there's a couple more trickling in, but we're probably capturing most of the responses here, so I'm going to wrap it up. Perfect.

OK. So, let's jump to the first feature. So, hopefully we're going to go through 10 of these. I definitely expect you to not know about a few of them.

[08:41] — Tips 1 and 2: Drift Check & Periodic Calibration
Maybe you will know about some, but the first one we are going to start with is called drift check. And so this dialogue that I'm showing is for your load cell. If you go to the transducer settings by clicking the icon, there's a tab that's called checks, and that will allow you to do two different things. One is periodic calibration, which I'll get to in a second, and one is called balance drift check. And so this is an automated routine that ensures that your load cells zero point when there is no mass, no force on the load string, that it's not drifting over time, which would of course indicate that something could be wrong with that load cell.

So, if you do choose to enable this check, that you're going to be specifying a time interval between two checks and then a tolerance, a force value where it's an allowable delta between those two points. And so you can choose those two values. And when those time intervals occur, the user will actually get a message that if there is a specimen in the grips, to remove that specimen, and then it will have an automated check that they initiate where it will evaluate the drift that has occurred. So if the tolerance has exceeded, they're going to be required to balance that load cell. Certainly if this is something that's happening regularly in any significant manner, then there could be something inherently wrong with the load cell. So you could contact us. But this is something that's good to know where I think certain customers, they might have just a rule of thumb or maybe a simple check that they're doing informally, but this could be a formal procedure you put around checking the status of your load cell.

And periodic calibration is a little bit more simple. Basically all you're specifying if enabled is the time interval between required electronic calibrations. So many people do this again informally once a day, once a shift maybe before every single sample. But you can specify that interval, and it will not allow the user to actually run a test until the calibration has been performed. So that's our first, a little bit of a two-for-one between drift check and periodic calibration.

The next is is pretty simple. It's input bounds, but I don't know and I'm not very confident that a lot of people actually implement this very simple, useful capability. So what is it? All of our number inputs, that if you want to make sure that the user who's entering that value as they're running tests does not enter something above or below a certain value, you can simply set up these bounds. And in the act of running a test, if they do enter that, it'll tell them this is an invalid value and essentially you'll be able to prevent a test where that specimen or the test conditions, whether this I'm showing is width so dimensional values, you could have maybe temperature, humidity, any sort of number input that your operators are entering, you can assign these bounds to make sure that the test does not proceed with the value that's not acceptable.

[12:45] — Tips 3–5: Grip Pressure, Pre-Tension, Excess Tension
The next slide here shows three. So, I'm grouping three features together. They all involve gripping pressure and the act of using automatic grips. So, this isn't going to be applicable to everyone potentially like the last couple, but if you do use automatic, like automated grips such as our pneumatic side grips, which are shown in the middle here on the right-hand side, these are our pneumatic cord and yarn grips for testing fibers and cables and such. What you're about to see does require these types of automated grips and a grip controller. So in many cases there's a footswitch in play, and that certain features are going to require the integrated air kit into the controller. But I'll get to that.

So the three features again: grip pressure, pretension, excess tension. Let's start with grip pressure. It's probably the easiest to explain where in a Bluehill method, we have a grip menu. It is found in console. So there's some frame settings, some grip settings, and the very first field that you're able to specify, that if you are using an integrated air kit, that you can specify the grip pressure that will be applied to the specimen for that method. So in this case, you can see it's set to 45 PSI, that if you had a different method with a different material, you could set that to 50 PSI or 60 PSI, whatever was in the workable range of your grip. We recently released a compact hydraulic grip pump that also has this capability. So, if you're setting things to 2,000 – 3,000 PSI with that hydraulic pump, then you can do so in the same area.

And so, what is this doing? How is this helping that? You're basically just able to remove the variability associated to having the user, the operator being relied upon to manually adjust that pressure regulation test to test as it might be changing for different types of materials, different tests that you're running. That it will take that variability out of the equation.

Then the second feature is called pre-tension. So pre-tension, what does it do? That it is going to automatically close your lower grip at a specified tensile force. And this is particularly relevant for our cord and yarn-style grips. Again on the right-hand side, where a user will be wrapping the cord in the upper grip, closing it, pulling at a slight tensile force as you're wrapping around the lower grip and as you've achieved the threshold of tension that the lower grip will automatically close. Again, what is this doing? As you're testing these cords, you're removing that slack and you're putting a consistent amount of tension on the specimen prior to your pre-test or test settings.

And the last one here is excess tension. And so what does this do? This is going to automatically open your grips when the load cell sees a certain value before the test has begun. So if you want to protect your specimen from an excessive amount of force during the test — sorry, protecting the specimen from an excessive amount of force before you're starting the test, that you can specify it here.

One additional screen that I wanted to show that on our latest controllers, the 3400 and 6800 systems, that there's an Operator Protect menu that can be found in your admin settings. And this is a number of safety settings that are kind of introduced with those controllers to create a more safe user environment with our equipment. So there's things where you can specify minimum, kind of maximum jog rates, and then there's some grip controller configuration to determine the safe gripping pressure before the full test pressure is ramped up to. You can configure kind of that safer grip pressure.

But what I wanted to focus on is the grip control. And so for pre-tension specifically, that there are additional settings in Operator Protect that you will be configuring because that could be seen as an unsafe condition, where if you have a method where you have pre-tension enabled, you close the upper grip, you pull on the specimen, and the lower grip closes without the user pressing the foot switch. We need to make sure that is a known condition that is known by the system. And so in that case, you would actually be saying the grip control is, kind of the upper is closing by the footswitch, the lower is going to be a remote setting. So, just something to keep in mind that depending on your system, depending on your integrated kit, there could be different settings that you're going to be used to enable some of these capabilities. But our service team is definitely well aware of all of this, and so they can answer any questions that you might have.

[19:02] — Tips 6 and 7: Preload & Auto Balance
OK, moving on. Number six and number seven. Again, I'm going to bundle a couple of these together, so preload and auto balance. So in your test control pre-test menu, you will find a few different settings associated to things that will happen before your test starts, before you start collecting data. So you can see temperature soak. If you have a furnace or a chamber, you need to soak things — that's something you can do in pre-test.

And then you'll see preload. There's an optional over-travel condition that you can set associated to your preload. And then there's auto balance. And so what is preload doing? It's going to be removing the slack from the specimen caused by gripping the specimen itself. So what are you doing? You are essentially telling the crosshead to move at a certain rate until you reach a certain force. The settings that we recommend for preload is that you don't ever really want to exceed 1% of the expected fast maximum force of your test, and you want to use a rate, a displacement rate that's either going to be equal to or slower than your test rate.

So those are kind of the rules of thumb for your preload settings. And many times, especially if you're measuring strain, if you're using an extensometer, that hand-in-hand with reaching a certain preload is balancing your strain source's displacement so that you can start each test at 0% strain. So preload, how is that helping, that you are in a consistent manner removing slack from your specimen, and test after test after test, you're going to be able to start at a consistent rate, and auto balance is going to make sure that when you do start data collection, that you are balancing your displacement to zero.

[21:29] — Tip 8: Specimen Protect
All right, Specimen Protect. So Specimen Protect is the eighth feature we're going to review that the controller, there is a frame controller requirement for Specimen Protect. So currently our 6800 Series has Specimen Protect. Our 3400 Series does not. Previously 5900 have Specimen Protect, 3300s do not. 5500s also have Specimen Protect. So there is a dependency whether or not you're going to see this capability within the the machine's handset, which I'll show you in a minute.

But I wanted to show you the settings that are available in the test method. But before we get to that, I mean, really what is Specimen Protect? It's when the system is idle, if you're in setup, you're jogging the crosshead that when a test is not running, the crosshead will automatically by itself move marginally up or down to reduce any force that it sees as you're gripping a particular specimen. And the reason why this can be so important is especially on more rigid specimens, this really becomes something that could impact your results, in that as you grip the material, as you're putting the specimen in your grips, clamping it down, that you can subject that to bowing in compressive forces or you can even, depending on how the gripping occurs, you can put tensile forces that can actually make a difference and damage that material before you even have pressed start.

And so what Specimen Protect does is that, as you are in the act of gripping, and that moment is being put on your material by forcing your material together in a little bit of a compression or pulling it apart, that your crosshead will automatically move fractions of a millimeter up or down to relieve that load based on the threshold that you've defined. So in this case, I had set the threshold to be 10 newtons. So if it sees a force above that, it's going to move the crosshead to relieve that force. So you're going to be setting the actual force threat threshold and the responsiveness. So depending on the compliance of your, or flexibility rigidness of your material, that you're going to want to play around with the responsiveness to make sure you're getting the appropriate movement before in an appropriate amount of time.

And one reminder on this particular feature is that there is, if you go into test control into the end-of-test conditions, that there are what we call end-of-test actions. And so if you do have a 6800 Series and you are using Specimen Protect, it is typically recommended to have Specimen Protect automatically enabled once your test finishes, which puts the system in a little bit of a safer state and then also doesn't allow, doesn't force the user, the operator to remember to turn it back on as they go to grip the next specimen. And so what this looks like on our current handset is this button in the bottom left that there's a shield. So this shield is synonymous with Specimen Protect, that if it is green, that means it's currently active. If it's white, so if it were the color of say this down arrow, then it's not active. So, that's just one little reminder of how it's been integrated onto our latest handset.

[25:38] — Tip 9: Automatic Crosshead Positioning
All right, number nine. So, I wanted to start this by just showing a couple of photos. So, number nine is automatic crosshead positioning. And this is a feature that we just came out with, with the release of our 6800 systems, was the first series of systems to have this capability. But what were we trying to solve? I mean, I'm curious if anyone finds these in their labs, but certainly when we walk into a lot of our customers' sites, we tend to find lines drawn on the equipment with a Sharpie that say start here or tensile 1 starts here, tensile 2 starts here, and just have reference points so that users know where they need to drive the crosshead to start the test.

So why do they need to do this? It's because our displacement transducer is something that people can balance. And so it doesn't necessarily know where it is or when it's been balanced. And so you're driving to a reference point to be able to start at a consistent place to have a consistent grip separation for your given load string for your given test. So pretty logical, but unfortunate that this was how the majority of people are achieving that. So what does Auto Positioning do? It is saving your crosshead starting position for each test method. So it uses an absolute encoder behind the scenes to identify the actual absolute position of the crosshead at any point in time.

So it's not, this is not impacted by you balancing displacement throughout the everyday use of your system, and how it works is that just like users do today if they're about to run a test, they say, sure I want to run a test. They select the method they want to run, and typically it jumps directly into the sample, but when you have Auto Positioning active for that test method, there'll be an in-between step where you see a screen that looks exactly like this where the user is presented with an image. The image is going to be a preconfigured fixture profile that has been set up for this setup that they're about to run that's linked to this method. It's going to tell them to make sure that you're setting your limits. So, it's just always a friendly reminder to make sure that, OK, you have the right equipment, you have your mechanical limits set where they should be, and that now if you press unlock and return, your crosshead is going to move down 200.4 mm to the starting position that this method should start at. And so they'll do that, and the crosshead is going to just automatically move down to the precise position that equates to the grip separation that is required for this test.

So those fixture profiles that I'm referring to, they can be stored globally and be accessed by multiple methods, or if it is exclusive to a specific method, you can create them locally to a method. But at the end of the day, what are we doing? We're just ensuring that no matter who's walking up to this, the system to run that test, that they're starting with precisely the correct grip separation each time. And that if you historically look back at how a user is setting up that separation, you could have one operator that's incredibly meticulous and spending a minute or two with a ruler of some sort to measure out that, say, 100 millimeter grip separation, and using the jog speed and the fine jog control to set that as perfectly as possible. And then you might have another operator who does it much quicker and has maybe a wider tolerance on where they end up with that grip separation being. And so it just takes out kind of the time associated to doing that really well, but also kind of the inter-operator variability.

[30:25] — Feature 10: Pass/Fail Criteria
OK, number 10. So, this is pass/fail. It's something that we've had in Bluehill for quite some time. In the results table, I think in the last couple generations of Bluehill products, there's been the ability to set tolerances on your test results to understand if a certain value is above or below failure criteria that, we did introduce the visual component of this where you have these nice big X's and checkmarks in Bluehill Universal. And then even in a later version of Bluehill Universal, I think two years ago, we introduced the concept of a sample pass/fail.

So previously it was specimen by specimen, identifying whether or not any of the results that you've defined failure criteria for, if something has fallen above or below those bounds. And then just more recently we've introduced the criteria associated to statistics. So in this case you see a big green check because the mean value passed. It's within the defined average value for tensile strength, but specimen 2 had actually failed. So the average value was good but specimen 2 had failed. So depending on what your policies are for treating that type of sample, it's good information to have.

And more than just this exceeded one of our tolerances, one of our specs that our customers have that you also could put in warning bounds. So if you're close to exceeding that, you can define what a warning bound would be. And there's a different symbol associated to warnings, different symbol in the results table. So just good to know that there's both like absolute failures and then warnings for our pass/fail kind of feature set. And you can have it set up in the test workspace. It'll automatically give you icons in your results table. And if you do have exports, so whether it's to a PDF or to a CSV file, that there are settings associated to the visibility of those out-of-bound conditions in the results table itself. If you want to keep those or remove them, you can do that with our, in the CSV files.

[33:08] — Bonus Feature 11: Live Modulus Monitoring
OK, I have a surprise. I actually have an 11th. So there's a bonus from a recent version of Bluehill last year that we released, version 4.55, and we introduced a feature that I'd imagine that everyone here has not heard of. So it is the ability to monitor the live modulus as a test is occurring. Currently this is a capability that is isolated to our metals test type only. So that is a little bit of a condition that you only will see this option in your strain test control settings in the metals test type, which everyone has access to, but the metals test type gives you some extra calculations, gives you a couple extra ramps for test control and now has this feature.

In the future we might bring this across the board into other test types, but for the first introduction, again just for the metals test type. But what is it? It's basically monitoring the modulus, the stiffness of your material in the elastic region instantaneously during a test. And it's going to be able to notify the operator if there's some sort of out-of-tolerance condition that's occurring in that elastic region, and it can either just pop up a warning or you can have an action where it actually stops the test, and allows you to reset that test before any sort of permanent deformation occurs after yield.

And so to do so, it basically, when you're setting up that method, you of course need to turn this on. And then you will be in the specimen properties area, there's a new nominal or expected modulus value that you'd be filling out. Then you would say, what's my tolerance in the elastic region where I want potentially a message to be shown or the test to be stopped, probably going to be a little bit tighter than 50%, but that's up to you. The nominal yield stress is I believe an existing value in our metals test type, and so this is again the expected yield stress, and then you'll be saying OK, what part of the elastic region do I want this to be active? Do I want this check to be occurring? So maybe not right away, maybe not super-close to yield where I know the stiffness is going to be changing, but maybe between 25% and 50% of the yield that I want this check to occur.

And you can play an audio file. You can optionally do that. And you can optionally stop the test altogether. So typically if you're going to have some sort of wide variance of modulus, especially within different types of metals and metals tests, that I mean even anytime that you're measuring modules across a batch, if there's a huge dispersion of that, that likely something is wrong. So, it could be the grips, the gripping was incorrect, there's something wrong with the batch of material that the extensometer could be installed incorrectly, that why waste the time of that test? Why potentially destroy that specimen which could be worth hundreds of dollars when you can just stop the test and kind of take a step back. But yeah, hopefully that was, I'd imagine the one that definitely everyone did not know.

[37:15] — Q&A Session
So, OK, but that's all I have. So, we can start going through the Q&A. We have a pretty good chunk of time for me to go through questions. I haven't actually looked to see how many questions have come in. It doesn't look like too many questions have come in. So, we should be able to get through these. So I'm just going to start, before I go into the ones that were just asked live, I want to start with a couple questions that came from registration over the last couple of weeks.

So, one of them is not specifically about what we kind of had this session on, but it's a question about exporting load values at specific points, and how to do that. And I think the key piece here, and something that I've realized over the last few years of talking with customers, is that there's not a majority of people that know what our preset points are. And so I think what could be helpful is, let me pull up Bluehill, and I'm going to open up just a normal tension method. And I just want to show everyone that in our calculations, that there is in the PS something called a preset point. And the preset point allows you to grab a data point based on some sort of criteria. And once you grab that data point, you can ask for any other data associated to that point.

So what do I mean by that? So in this example, we're trying to figure out how to export a load value at a specific point. So maybe to keep it simple, I'll say displacement, that once we hit 100 mm displacement, I want to take that point. That's my preset point. I want to figure out what the load is at 100 millimeters that you can indicate on a graph if you want, up to you. You can call it whatever you want, but I just wanted to show quickly that when you go to add results, that you'll see all your calculations and the different options you have available to you. And so we have that preset point that I just made. And what do you have? You can grab anything you want at 100 that, at that 100 millimeter point. And so I could grab force at that point and now do whatever format I want. And now that's on my results table. And so for this user, if you want to export it through a PDF or CSV file, then you're kind of off to the races at that point playing around with the exporting formats. But the core ability is just knowing that you can have very simple preset points to do what you need there.

OK, the other registration question that we had got, again, it was not really relevant to some of the things I talked about, but in general he was asking about hearing about different factors and how data integrity could be impacted by changing things like your specimen geometry, so going from a flat specimen to a circular, cylindrical, or bar specimen, or if you have wildly different materials that you're testing. If you have Inconel, if you have copper, two very different materials, how should that play a role into thinking about data integrity? Also, the type of extensometer, physical extensometer, like a traditional clip-on versus a video extensometer. So there was, it was a pretty wide open question, and I think all I really wanted to say is, and I hope the beginning, kind of the initial part of this webinar, was helpful for this particular person if they tuned in, but at the end of the day, there are a lot of different considerations whether you're thinking about your geometry type, the material type, the extensometer type that you have to worry about, your frame capacity, the grips that you're using, the jaw faces that are within those grips, and of course your extensometer type. If you're measuring strain, that if you have a video extensometer versus a traditional clip-on, there's a lot of different influences at play and they come with different advantages and disadvantages. And so, I mean, there's not really an answer to the question. There's a lot of different considerations. And so, I will follow up with this person to see if they have a specific question. But it can be overwhelming sometimes to look at all the different ways your setup can impact, again, how much you trust the data coming out of the system.

OK, other questions? So these are the live ones. Is the drift check feature in older versions of the software? That is a good question. I want to say that was introduced in Bluehill Universal at some point. I don't think it was available in Bluehill 3, Bluehill 2, but I will follow up with an exact answer to that person. But I apologize, I don't I don't know when everything is introduced. But good question.

Another question: When I make a new tensile testing template, I notice two things. The test stops when five samples are reached, and the start of the test lowers and I notice a bend in dog bone sample before starting to pull in tension. This only occurs if I create it from a blank template. If I use one of our past templates, I don't get this issue. OK, so this is a good question. And I think it kind of covers a couple of the features that we were talking about.

So number one, I think I'm still sharing my screen, is that the number of tests that are kind of predefined, that if you go in Bluehill Universal all the way to the right, there's our workflow where you can define a prompted test sequence. And in this prompted test sequence, one of the things you can do is say, hey, is this going to be, is the sample size, the number of specimens going to be open for the operator? They can do as many as they want, or is it going to be predefined? And so if it's set to predefined and you had this set to five, then that would be a case where you try to, it'll basically tell you to finish that sample once you've reached that number. So I'd imagine that's what you're seeing in that case.

And then in terms of the the other part of the question about creating a bow in the material, I'd say that the two simple ways of thinking about that if you do want to check about, you do want to check your Specimen Protect settings so that, like I said before, in test control end of test maybe at some point in the method, that does work for you. Someone had said enable Specimen Protect. If you do have that capability on a, say, 6800 or 5900 system, that means as you're gripping, you're going to be kind of removing some of that compressive bow. But that's one thing, but probably more likely it's going to be the preload routine. So that again, kind of the most commonly recommended way of getting rid of slack prior to collecting data and the test starting is going to be enabling a preload specifying kind of, yeah, what rate do you want the preload, the crosshead to run at during this pre-test event. And then if you do clamp your specimen, you get a little compression on it, you want to pull it to some level of force that of course you're not balancing the force out. So you're always going to maintain that true force on the material, but you just want to make sure it's not too high because data collection hasn't started yet.

OK, another another question. How do you set the upper and lower grip travel limits? OK, so there's a couple ways to do that. You can do that physically, you can do that kind of electrically. So, the way that we show every time you open up a sample, it has someone setting your mechanical limits to make sure that your crosshead and your grips cannot go through a certain point. So there's going to be mechanical limits on the guide columns of the system that you're going to unscrew, screw to a point where that if the crosshead comes down beneath, that it'll make a contact disable the frame to prevent any further movement. So you can do that on the low end, you can do that on the top end as a mechanical stop for the crosshead, which basically is in essence the grip's travel limits.

The digital kind of the, through the software that you can set up limits for not just displacement but actually for other measurements as well that you can set up pre-test limits, so that if it exceeds or kind of goes below a certain value, then you prevent a test from starting. So this is one form of a limit that you can define for pre-test conditions of not just displacement but force, strain, what have you, and then an additional layer that's more of a system-level setting is that if you go into system settings and you go to your displacement settings that you can set up, again limits, and so this is a global setting electronic that's going to be looking at the live displacement value. So the only the thing you have to be aware of here is that this is not the absolute position. And this is going to be the displacement that you see in the live display. So someone could balance it and it could not be as reliable as the physical hard stop that you're, that the user is setting up on the guide columns themselves.

OK, other questions? There's a lot more. So, I'm going to just try to fly through these as fast as I can and then I'll follow up with people. For periodic load cell calibration, can the time of day be set? I believe it is just a time interval, not date time. Let me look at — yeah, so it is day, hour, minute, and it's simply an interval. So it's not, say, 8 a.m. every single day. But that is a good feature request, I agree. But we don't have that capability right now.

What speed should the tensile machine be set up at? So the speed, so if you're talking about jog speed, that as you're moving grips up and down, getting ready for a test, you can set up that jog speed to be whatever you want. The faster it is, the quicker you can get something done. Maybe a little bit less safe depending on who's using the equipment and what type of equipment and fixtures you have and the sensitivity of those that you don't want to run too quickly and potentially damage something. But you can set up your frame rate in terms of the jog speed when you're just setting up in Bluehill. You can also set up the return rate. So, if you do want to kind of max it out or if you want to actually tone it down from a safety standpoint of your equipment and of your users, you can do that in Bluehill. And then, of course, for your test method, that's going to be entirely up to your application. Many standards are going to define exactly the rates that are available for the different types of specimen geometries that you're testing and the results that you might be trying to capture, whether it is modulus and yield or just kind of elongation at break, there's going to be regulated rates to make sure everyone's doing it the same. But yeah, so I'd say this one's up to the application and the standard. It's not something that's universally set.

OK. Does the modulus monitoring function require the extensometer? Short answer is no, but I don't know the relevance without it. But if I go into a, typically when you're measuring modulus, I guess it depends on exactly what standard you're referring to, but most modulus measurements do require a very accurate strain measurement that is only met by extensometry, but maybe you're referring to some sort of elastomer or some elastomeric standard or something. But for this live modulus setting where I showed it before, is that in strain it's, you have this setting. But it does require you to enable this virtual kind of instantaneous modulus measurement. So if I try to do this, it's going to give me an error saying I need that measurement. So in measurements, there's a new modulus virtual measurement that's exposed in this metals method type, and this is just going to be looking at stress strain stiffness of the, I believe, of the tensile strain channel. So even in this case I don't have a extensometer set up. It's still going to do its job, to your point. You don't need an extensometer. It's just going to look at the stress and strain based on your kind of cross-sectional area, the active stress, and then the strain from, in this case, the movement of the crosshead and the initial length that you're setting here. But I'd say that's a pretty rare case where someone would be calculating modulus like that. But in here is kind of this additional nominal modulus field that is exposed in specimen properties that enables us to kind of set that these expected levels for us to not only do the instantaneous measurement, but of course evaluate against where you think the material should be.

OK, next question. Five minutes left. The responsiveness of Specimen Protect is in percent. What is the percent of a measurement of what, or what is that respect to? OK, that's a good point. I think there's there's some color here where if we, hopefully you can read this, but it's in percent. Right now it's set to 50%. Like if I change this down to 20%, what is that going to do? That's going to make it respond slower. So the responsiveness is determining how quickly the system reacts to relieve the force on a specimen. So at 1% it's reacting at the slowest rate. And so I'd say maybe it's not the best answer, but this is basically slow, slowest to fastest. I think it's easier to do kind of a slow to fastest rather than defining it to be a set rate that you're telling the crosshead to move to adjust, because it is kind of a profile that's actually happening in real life. So we just do this kind of 0 to 100 scale. I'm sure there's a little bit more color in the help file, so if you were interested, there's always some good content in our help file.

Next question. Is the pass/fail tolerance something saved with the test template, or can you enter it in pre-test? Oh, OK. You can do both. So you can either, let's grab that preset point again really quickly. Well, actually no, even easier, press a peak max. So max force, maybe I want to add some failure criteria for max force. So what do you do there? I'm going to grab max force. When you put it onto your results table, you're going to see that you have for that particular result your warning bounds and failure bounds. And so you could put in failure bounds, and what do you see? You see you can put in an actual number. So I could say, whatever, 100 kN to 95 kN are my bounds for what this material should break at. Those are just fixed numbers that I'm saving to this method, right? But what you could do is you can use Expression Builder to link that to be a user input value or something that you can maybe even link to a choice. So you could have a number input that is called your, whatever, max force upper limit, right? And then you can make this a force unit group. Doesn't really matter what the default value is. And what are we going to do with this? You can put this on your operator inputs. So you grab your specimen number input max force. Bam. Now someone can define what that is. And then number two is you go back to your results table, back to that max force, and say, no I don't want this to be fixed at 100. I want to grab my specimen number input. That is going to be dynamically set. And then that is going to be how it's going to be evaluated. So right now it's saying, hey Dan, your dynamic number doesn't match with the lower bound. So, it's going to give me an error, but that is exactly how you would do it either way.

All right. I think Nick's going to want me to end, but there is a bunch of questions, so I'll try to do my best to get to other ones afterward, but until then, thank you for tuning in.

All right, great job, Dan, and yes, lots of questions. So, if you still have some questions that are coming in, I'm going to summarize those and get those over to Dan so he makes sure you know he can follow up with you. Just a reminder, I did see some questions about this being recorded, so at the end of this, I'm going to throw it up into YouTube and I'm also going to email everybody a link to that. So, in case you need to go back and rewatch anything, you have that.

And then I'm going to make a plug here: If you're interested in additional learning opportunities like this webinar, I encourage you to take a look at our new plastics testing webinar series. It's called From Formulation to Finished Components. The series explores best practices for testing plastics across different stages of development in manufacturing, and registration is available on our website now, and I'm going to drop a link into the chat where you can check out the landing page where it's got, there's five different sessions. So, if there's something that works that fits what you're interested in, go and check it out, get registered.

And then lastly, once this webinar ends, a survey should appear on your screen. We would really appreciate your thoughts on this presentation today. So, with that said, I just want to say thanks to Dan for presenting today and certainly thanks to you for attending. Really appreciate you joining us. Take care, everybody.

Expanded Q&A Session Responses

For periodic load cell calibration, can the time of day for calibration be set?
In Bluehill Universal 4.56 (latest version as of April 2026), periodic calibration is limited to a time interval. Time of day is not configurable.

The responsiveness of Specimen Protect is in %. What is the % a measurement of or what is it with respect to?
You can adjust how quickly the system responds to relieve the force on the specimen by using the Responsiveness sliding scale control.

In most testing scenarios, the default responsiveness setting of 50% is appropriate. However, there may be situations when you want to increase or decrease the system response to the information from the force transducer. A higher response percentage relieves the excess force more quickly, while a lower response percentage relieves the excess force more slowly.

The responsiveness settings for Specimen Protection are saved with the method. You can create a separate method with appropriate response settings for each type of specimen being tested.

Is the pass/fail tolerance something saved with the template method, or can you enter it in pretest?
Both are options. Fixed upper and lower limits can be saved with the method. But if you’d like the user to be able to specify bounds when starting the sample, you can create sample number inputs for upper and lower bounds and link them via Expression Builder to the failure bounds fields. Finally, in your Pre-test workflow state, you can add the linked inputs you’ve created.

Note: An advanced configuration could employ linked choice inputs for cases where the tolerances vary, but are known and could be linked to a choice input field.

How to set up the default location where I want to save the test results? Rather than pressing "save as" every time and selecting the location?
In a method’s settings, go to Exports >> File settings to define the default folder path for sample and results files. Exports 1 and 2 provide the flexibility to override this default with a different location to store your .csv exports.

In my stainless steel sample, sometimes the failure occurs outside the extensometer bound region. Is it only because of the defect in the sample, or is there any other feature I am using wrong?
It is not uncommon to experience localized necking or non-uniform elongation in the plastic region, post-yield. One quick check is the ratio of your extensometer’s gauge length vs. the length of the specimen’s reduced section. In theory, the closer to 1:1, the less you have to worry about localized necking invalidating your strain results. But many times, gripping and device configuration are limiting factors — so you may end up with, say, 50 mm GL and a 75 mm reduced section, exposing 25 mm not captured by the extensometer. If necking poses a risk to your strain data in this scenario, the next logistical step is to stop measuring strain from the extensometer post-yield.

Removing the extensometer at yield and changing the strain source to crosshead position is quite common. Bluehill’s “Tensile strain” is a composite measurement that does this transition from extensometer to crosshead displacement automatically. Extensometer removal can be configured within Test Control >> Strain.

Another, lesser-used approach is to create a virtual strain channel for nominal strain from the start of the test. This would be completely independent of the extensometer, using only the starting length and crosshead movement to calculate strain.

Note: Certain test standards outline specific guidance around preferred post-yield strain measurement. If you have a specific standard you are testing to, our Applications Team could assist further (or check out the pre-configured ASTM/ISO test templates).

How do you select the right bandwidth for your tests? For example, compression profile (creep) vs. simple tensile tests.
First, we need to distinguish between bandwidth and data capture rate. Bandwidth is the hardware’s physical ability to accurately track rapid changes in the specimen's behavior, whereas data capture rate is simply how frequently the software saves those measurements into your final data file.

An Instron’s default 10 Hz bandwidth is appropriate for most tests, including standard creep and tensile tests. Only in rare cases would Instron recommend overriding the system’s bandwidth. However, data capture rate needs consideration. Longer, creep tests are recommended to lower the data rate to prevent unnecessary amounts of data that increase PC memory and storage requirements.

White Paper on Bandwidth and Data Capture Rate

Video on Data Capture Rate

What is the difference between sample length and grip length under the specimen geometry tab?
Specimen properties include “Length” and “Fixture separation.”

Length is section of the specimen between the grips in the direction of the applied force. Length is used as the gauge length for the Tensile strain measurement when crosshead displacement is the primary strain source.

Fixture separation is the distance between the upper and lower grips or compression platens. This distance can be different than length when the grip body extends past the jaw faces. Fixture separation is used for 6800 Series Auto Positioning and to normalize compressive strain when crosshead displacement is the primary strain source. The Bluehill Help Files contain useful details on this topic.

What is the benefit of using preload compared to using the fine-tune jogger to extend the sample until it is straight (assuming it bows during gripping)?

More consistent force applied
More efficient
Automatic, cannot forget

For end of test control, is there a recommended property to monitor or control setting to use for test termination? In testing copper, I've run into issues with the test ending prior to the specimen actually breaking due to how much the material stretches. Fixed it by making the end of test criteria be a 98% force drop from peak, but wanted to know if there is a better method.
Depending on the consistency and nature of the material’s failure, the default end of test criteria (40% force drop over 100 ms) may not be suitable. Common cases where you need to change this would be (1) gradual reduction in force or (2) large force drops during the test, before failure. That is why Bluehill has a variety of end-of-test criteria available and allows you to enable up to four to be active at the same time.

How can I identify suitable grip pressures based on the cross-sectional area of the specimens?
You cannot determine suitable grip pressure based on cross-sectional area alone. Other factors need consideration. These include the material (e.g., aluminum, elastomer), the gripping surface (e.g., rubberized, serrated), and the gripping surface area (e.g., 25mm x 25mm). Rule of thumb is to use the least amount of gripping pressure to reliably test without slippage. This may require a guess and check approach when you are testing new material or using new grips.

What is the difference between strain rate adaptive and tensile strain? How do they differ in how they control the strain rate?
Adaptive strain rate control uses a software-based pacing algorithm to adjust the crosshead's position speed in response to extensometer data. Unlike true closed-loop control, which uses the strain signal as the direct primary feedback to drive the motor, adaptive control acts as an "outer loop" influencing an underlying position-controlled ramp. Consequently, it is a reactive pacing technique rather than a direct feedback system, which is why users must often verify post-test that the results complied with specific testing standards.

2716 Series Mechanical Wedge Action Grips

Unboxed and Installed

Synopsis

This video looks at the 2716 Series mechanical wedge action grips. Whether you’re new to your testing system or simply need installation guidance, we walk you through everything included in the box and demonstrate the correct procedure for installing the grips on your Instron® universal testing machine.

Instron’s 2716 Series mechanical wedge action grips are designed for easy specimen loading, alignment, and positioning. After the initial face-to-specimen contact, the gripping force will increase as the testing load increases. Due to the Instron design of moving grip bodies, virtually no preload is seen during specimen clamping.

These versatile wedge grips are equipped with moving grip bodies, allowing them to be tightened onto a specimen without altering the vertical position of the faces in relation to the specimen. This is accomplished by a design that moves the grip body to close the faces. This feature makes it possible to preselect the exact point at which the specimen will be held with a consistent gauge length and where virtually no compressive force is applied, which may cause specimen buckling. The grip faces are spring loaded against a shoe, which is in a fixed position in respect to the testing machine.

As the grip is tightened, its frame is drawn toward the specimen and the wedged sides push against the matching side of the faces that move laterally against the specimen. The open-front design of the grip frames allows for the faces to be easily interchanged, as well as for easy specimen loading. Because the faces are held in a fixed position, there is no recoil or loosening when the specimen ruptures, and if an extensometer is attached, it will remain in place.

Discover more testing accessories.

Transcript

[00:24]: Step 1. Insert the grip assembly into the clevis socket and install clevis pin.

[00:30]: Step 2. Tighten the locknut and secure with the spanner wrench.

[00:38]: Step 3. Secure the clevis pin in position with the clevis pin clip.

[00:44]: Step 4. Insert the jaw faces into the grip body.

[00:53]: Step 5. Use the spring hook tool to attach the springs from the spring retainer pins to the posts.

[01:02]: Repeat with springs on backside of grips.

[01:07]: Step 6. Repeat the installation steps for the upper grip.

[01:13]: SUCCESS — your mechanical wedge action grips are now ready for testing.

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Transcript

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