How Automation Can Improve Plastics Testing

Taking steps to automate a lab can deliver more repeatable test results and higher throughput

How to Achieve More Repeatable Test Results in 3D Printing Applications

By Francesco Manarini, Product development Manager – R&D dept. at LATI Industria Termoplastici S.p.A & LATI3Dlab

Melt Flow Index Tester Maintenance: top tips to optimize repeatability and accuracy 

Regular melt flow index testers regular maintenance maximize test uptime and efficiency. Explore the top tips.

Melt Flow Index Tester Maintenance: top tips to optimize repeatability and accuracy 

Regular melt flow index testers regular maintenance maximize test uptime and efficiency. Explore the top tips.

Why is Pendulum Impact Testing Important in Research

Charpy and Izod impact tests play a vital role in the plastic chain, especially in raw material supply and recycling applications. The impact strength is one of the most crucial properties for polymer-based materials and it is commonly seen on materials data sheets.  Knowing the impact strength of plastics allows manufacturers to classify the materials for specific purposes.

How to measure the Melt Flow Index of recycled and biodegradable plastics

Melt flow index testers are routinely used to ascertain the quality of recyclable, recycled, and biodegradable plastics. But the expanding use and variety of these materials pose new challenges to the melt flow rate testing process. Here we look at how the latest melt flow testers can help.

Mechanical Testing of Additive Manufactured Components

A video discussing some of the most important considerations for testing additively manufactured, aka 3D printed, components. As the technology and application capabilities continue to grow, additive manufacturing or 3D printing is becoming an increasingly popular way for a wide range of manufacturers to create products or components with highly complex shapes and unusual geometries. In this video we compare the mechanical properties of an additively manufactured component that has been printed in two different orientations. We also discuss how testing 3D printed materials differs from more traditional manufacturing methods such as injection molding or subtractive manufacturing methods. We perform a tensile test using a 6800 Series universal testing system, AVE 2 video extensometer with Digital Image Correlation (DIC) software to show the strain map and identify areas of stress concentration while the force is being applied.

Manual or Automatic Melt Flow Index Testers

Melt flow index testers come in all shapes and sizes, from completely manual machines to largely automatic solutions. Here we look at the main benefits of combining manual and automatic features within the same plastic melt flow index tester solution.

Materials and Applications Solutions for the Biomedical, Plastics, and Elastomer Industries

Materials and Applications Solutions Part 1 of 3 Instron universal testing machines can be used across industries to meet many different mechanical testing requirements, and Instron software and accessories allow our test frames to be configured to suit your specific industry or application need. This issue of the Accessories Newsletter includes some of the key application and product solutions for the biomedical, plastics, and elastomer industries. Please follow the links to prerecorded webinars, demonstration videos, or product pages which may be of interest to you. As always, you can also contact your local Instron representative for more information.

Biomedical Materials and Product Testing Over the past decade, the medical device and biomaterials industries have undergone tremendous amounts of innovation and change. There have also been substantial increases in regulatory involvement to ensure the safety and efficacy of all products. These evolutions have translated into a growing requirement for the full evaluation of each device from concept to finished product. Physical testing and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) have become commonplace among the research arms of medical device manufacturers around the world. As a total solution provider, Instron designs and manufacturers both customized and standard systems for testing medical devices and biomaterials.

材料の動的破断の調査方法

Compression Testing of Concrete Blocks with Recycled Plastic

This task came to us from a research team evaluating how the strength of concrete changes when mixed with different percentages of recycled plastics. Would concrete filled with recycled plastic be the way of the future? How much would these colorful little bits of plastic change the strength of something as robust as concrete?

Understanding Melt Flow Testing and Its Importance

Melt flow testing is simply a measure of the flow of a polymer when melted. The result of a melt flow test, called the melt mass-flow rate (MFR) or melt volume-flow rate (MVR), is defined as the amount of mass or volume of a polymer that flows through a small die at a specified temperature and pressure.