Material testing is an important aspect of both R&D and new product manufacturing processes for ensuring the quality of the products before they make it to the market. Material testing is usually performed during the product development stage to evaluate the production process. For the QA department, a material tester helps to identify inadequate materials, defective products, and the root cause of a failure during the quality investigation.
Industries use material testers to evaluate the behaviour of different components under force. The data obtained by a material tester assists in selecting appropriate materials for different applications, evaluating the product design, verifying a production process etc.
Whether it is a friction tester, adhesiveness tester, peel tester, compression or tensile tester, material testing machines have expanded their use cases for various applications. For them to employ one of these machines, they need to understand their requirement to select the ideal material tester suitable for the application. However, navigating through the market of material testers might turn out to be overwhelming due to the wide range of machines available in the market.
Factors to consider when selecting a material tester
Which industrial application does your material tester need to be suitable for? Will this machine satisfy the changing future needs? How do you evaluate the quality of the wide range of material testers available in the market? These are examples of questions that they may ask when choosing a material tester.
The quality of a material that is used for manufacturing is as important as the reliability of the production process. The material testing machine offers the user the capability to conduct various testing in an effort to understand the material characteristics
When it comes to choosing the right tester, there are crucial factors you must consider, before purchasing the product.
- Quality
When selecting an appropriate material tester for specific applications, you must choose good quality equipment with comprehensive analysis software. The combination enables the user to both, perform the test and store the results. While a good quality material tester provides accurate and reliable testing results, a good quality testing software would allow easy interfacing and determine the scope of testing possibilities.
- Testing flexibility
As different products and processes evolve, their industrial application requirements also tend to change over time. Buying separate material testing every time your application needs changes would not be cost-effective.
This makes it essential to invest in material testers and testing software that have the flexibility for changing application needs. You can consider buying a software package that comes with a wide range of built-in software modules. it will allow the user to perform different material tests without extra accessories.
- User-friendly
If your material tester has a complicated setup process, then it will reduce the efficiency of the tester. Hence, you must choose a material tester that is intuitive to your application requirements and offers ease of use to improve the efficiency of the process.
Additionally, future material testing needs might require you to use accessories such as splinter shields and extensometers. Some machines have easy mounting slots that make it quick and easy to add those accessories. This saves time and helps to ensure that the accessories are properly added/installed and will not fall off during the test.
- Future-proof the application needs
If you plan on expanding your product range in future, then it becomes vital to consider this element before selecting a material tester. You must opt for a material tester that has sufficient capacity to expand to cater to the expanding future application needs.
- Be realistic about your current and future needs
Consider the type of tests that a material tester would need to perform, which might vary from basic to advanced. According to the specific needs of your industrial applications, the tester requirement would include factors such as high-quality assurance, reliability, accuracy, traceability, documentation etc.
Selecting the right tester for effective, accurate and reliable material testing requires an understanding of your industrial application needs. So, before making a decision, it is wise to consider the product and process requirements which will help you narrow down the ideal material tester for your industrial applications.
If you face difficulties in material testing applications, contact our engineers at Bestech Australia. We possess expertise in industrial testing and measurement of physical parameters and we offer high-quality material testers from Ametek. We would assess your requirement and assist you in designing and offering efficient, cutting-edge sensor solutions well-suited to your material testing needs.
