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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Quick Gripping Tips

Q: When I grip a specimen it seems that some force is already being applied. Is there a way to avoid that?

A: The force applied to a specimen when the specimen is being gripped is a result of the compressive force that faces put on the specimen when gripping. To minimize this force, side action grips are recommended. However, if you're using wedge grips, we suggest a mechanical testing frame that features “Specimen Protect”, which adjusts the crosshead to minimize the compressive force that a specimen sees during gripping.

If you have additional questions around your gripping techniques or issues you may experience while gripping your specimen, let us know.

1 comment:

Joo Wee said...

Wedge grips that incorporate a "moving body" design can also help to minimize the gripping preload because their jaw faces do not move vertically with respect to the specimen when closing/opening.

Note the gripping preload is not necessarily compressive. It can be tensile as well. The direction and magnitude of the gripping preload are influenced not only by the way the grips close about the specimen, but also by the way the jaw faces interact with the specimen.