Free Webinar: Modernizing Your Old Tester

Are you in need of a new testing system, but just don't have the budget right now for new equipment? Did you know you can modernize your test frame at a fraction of the cost of a new testing system? Join our free webinar (Tuesday, December 6th at 11 AM EST) and participate in the discussion with Frank Lio on the different types of retrofits, the retrofit process, technical and user benefits, costs, and whether your frame is a good candidate.

Register for the webinar - or leave us a message below! Read more

From Bike Riding to Subcontracting ...

Jönköping, Sweden is home to the largest recreation bicycle ride in the world. For those that are interested by a 300 km pedal around one of the largest lakes in Sweden, you’ll have to wait until June – VÄTTERNRUNDAN.

The city also hosts the largest subcontractor tradeshow and the 28^th Elmia Subcontractor proved to be another interesting event. With more than 1,200 companies exhibiting it is always an important meeting place for the Swedish industrial community. As the name suggests, the focus is on the subcontractor industry, a lot of whom are Instron customers. We, therefore, found ourselves spending as much time with other exhibitors as we did with the visitors to the fair.

This tradeshow was in stark contrast to the usual application specific events we attend and the diversity of product on display was overwhelming. We had discussions on testing: hearing aids, engine mounts, lifting devices, composite prostheses, and the buckling of felt paper! As some of our British colleagues attended this show, they found time to debate tactics for the upcoming England vs Sweden soccer match next week. Check out the video! Read more

Project 2.6g 329m/s

It's been fascinating to look back over some of the previous articles covering the development and testing of new materials and new applications for materials. Some of the most popular articles judging from your feedback have been those that have looked at the ongoing efforts to develop synthetic spider silk and the efforts to manufacture effective lightweight body armor. Recently, an amalgamation between art and science has resulted in the development of what many newspapers and popular science publications have trumpeted as bulletproof human skin.


Bulletproof skin. The words conjure up images of bullets bouncing off the superhero’s chest as the villain opens his eyes wide in amazement. The recent flurry of hyperbolic headlines in newspapers, the web, and popular science magazines announcing the arrival of bulletproof human skin made it seem as if that possibility was already here. “Scientists to Engineer a Human with Bulletproof Skin” proclaimed the International Business Times on August 23, 2011. The reality is rather more mundane although it still offers exciting possibilities. The Designers & Artists 4 Genomics Award, DA4GA, a competition launched by the Waag Society in Amsterdam, Holland, invited emerging artists and designers to submit projects exploring biotechnology. One of the winning projects, named 2.6g 329m/s, is a manufactured human skin that has properties that make it very strong and resistant to penetration. The name comes from the performance standard for Type 1 bulletproof vests. 2.6g 329m/s is the maximum weight and velocity of a traveling bullet from which a Type 1 bulletproof vest should protect you.

The project artist, Jalila Essaidi, worked with the Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands to develop human skin with a layer of transgenic spider-silk sandwiched between the epidermal and dermal layers. The silk is a product of research done by Utah State University researcher Dr. Randy Lewis. It is produced from goats and silkworms that have been genetically modified to produce the two proteins necessary to make spider silk. The silk is harvested from the animals and woven, using special bulletproof vest techniques, into a scaffold upon which is cultured human skin cells.

The team manufactured skin samples using two types of silk: one from unmodified silkworms and one from the transgenic silk. Essaidi mounted the skins on gelatin blocks and, using a high-speed camera, filmed bullets fired at the skins. A bullet fired at a reduced speed pierced the skin woven with an ordinary worm's silk. When tested with skin manufactured from Lewis' genetically engineered silk, the skin didn't break. However, neither skin was able to repel a bullet fired at normal speed from a .22 caliber rifle. Furthermore, the bullet that did not penetrate the skin still traveled 5 cm into the gelatin block.

Lewis was happy to collaborate in the project, viewing it as a way to widely demonstrate the properties and capabilities of the transgenic silk. However, he downplays the potential bulletproof applications of his research. In a recent interview on CNN, he said that this was an interesting experiment but he didn’t see it as the future for mankind. His interest lies more in the possibility that growing human skin cells on the silk may eventually enable doctors to use the material to replace large amounts of human skin and cover large wounds or treat people with severe burns. The material's strength and elasticity would enable doctors to cover large areas without worrying about it ripping out — a big advantage over small skin grafts. He says it may be possible to use the genetically engineered silk as a framework for growing ligaments or tendons with better mechanical properties than those provided by nature.

So while the long sought-after “warrior gene” may still live in the domain of comic books, the ongoing research into biosynthetic material engineering comes closer to offering major medical benefits to the human race. Read more

Keep It Consistent

Consistency is the key to accurate and repeatable test results. Variations in the test setup, test procedure, environmental conditions, and operator input can all affect the test results.

• Make sure that the appropriate gauge length, test speed, type and capacity of load cell, and grip and grip jaw selection are appropriate.

• Insert the specimen in the grips correctly and clamp it securely. Manual wedge grips are difficult to tighten consistently even with the same operator. You can minimize this variation by using pneumatic grips that always grip at the same pressure.

• Control the temperature and humidity to standard laboratory conditions or record the actual conditions when a test is performed.

• Ensure that your testing system and accessories are regularly serviced and calibrated to keep them at the peak of efficiency. Read more

Question from a Customer

Q. What is a durometer? Is it an instrument or a measurement?

A. It’s both. A durometer is an instrument used to measure hardness and is typically used on polymeric, elastomeric, and rubber materials. Durometer also refers to the hardness result obtained.

There are several scales of durometer, used for materials with different properties. The most common scales are the ASTM D2240 type A and type D scales. The A scale is for softer materials, while the D scale is for harder ones. However, the ASTM D2240-00 testing standard details 12 scales, depending on the material to be tested; types A, B, C, D, DO, E, M, O, OO, OOO, OOO-S, and R. Each scale results in a value between 0 and 100, with higher values indicating a harder material.

Durometer is a dimensionless quantity that offers a comparative value within any particular scale. There is no simple relationship between a material's durometer in one scale, and its durometer in any other scale. Read more

What is Potting the Bone?

During a conversation with one of our Application Engineers, he brought to my attention that many of our customers ask him how to "Pot" the ends of "bones" and perform compression, tensile, or fatigue test on the bone .... So, we're sharing his techniques with you.

Technique #1

• “Paint” the end of the bone with Krazy Glue or equivalent and let it dry.
• Use 3M ScotchWeld Acrylic Adhesive; this is a two part epoxy so you will need to use a mixing nozzle to get the correct blend.
• Put the epoxy into a “sawed off” hollow square tube (you can purchase long lengths of square metal tubing from many local steel suppliers).
• Put duct tape on one side of the tube to prevent epoxy from escaping.
• Place one end of the chicken bone into the epoxy and let cure (room temperature, 8 hours or so).
• Do the same to the other end of the chicken leg (room temperature, 8 hours or so).

You will now have an “assembly” that can be put into the test machine and tested.

Technique #2

• Same as above, but no need to “paint the ends with Krazy Glue”.
• Use Cerrobend Alloy; this melts at 158° F and has a very fast cure (about 10-15 minutes maximum).
• Here is one possible supplier. There are many more…
• Pour it into the square tubing as described above.

Read more

New Training & Research Center in Moscow

Ben Randles, Instron’s North Europe Sales Engineer, and Dmitry V. Livanov, Rector of the National University of Science and Technology "MISiS", signed a partnership agreement and officially opened the new International Scientific and Research Centre in Moscow.


The aim of the new centre and the joint collaboration, which will also be supported and assisted by Instron’s long-term Russian partner “Novatest LLC”, is to provide:

• The highest standard of training for students, using the latest Instron equipment and software
• Extended vocational training courses for teachers & professors in modern methods of mechanical testing and experimentation
• High-end research capability for MISiS specialists
• R&D Contract testing business from Industrial customers for MISiS
• A reference site and training facility for Instron

Read more

Using Video Capture to Develop Global Quality Control

Have you ever run a test and wanted to know what the product or material looked like or what the force/displacement is at a certain moment in time during the test? Our friends at Vartest Laboratories in New York City use the Video Capture Module for Bluehill® to investigate failure modes of individual specimens. The Video Capture Module allows users to view the test curve and a recorded video of the test at once.

You can read their full blog post on their experience and findings. Read more

Shanghai Composites Seminar

On October 26, 2011, Instron hosted a seminar on Composites at the Shanghai City Hotel in Shanghai, China. Approximately 35 guests from industry and academia attended the seminar, which featured talks on “Trends in Composites Testing”, “Typical Applications and New Grips and Fixtures” and “Bluehill Software Features for Composites Applications” by Ian McEnteggart.

Mr. Shen Wenrong, from Instron China's Engineered Solutions Group, presented “Strain Testing Solutions for Composites”, covering contacting and non-contacting extensometry.

Dr Zhou Zhulin, a special guest from the Shanghai Fiberglass Institute, also delivered a speech in the seminar.

This represents one of the many ways that Instron is reaching out to the composites industry - making sure that we stay abreast of the latest technologies and innovations for testing and more!

Would you be interested in attending a composites seminar hosted by Instron? Or how about a composites webinar? Let us know. Read more