Strain control according ISO 6892-1 (2009) with modernized testing machine

Bringing older materials testing machines up to state of the art is a routine activity for Zwick. The latest testControl measurement and control electronics are installed, electro-mechanical machines receive a new AC drive and existing sensors are connected. At the heart of the modernization lies Zwick’s testXpert II® testing software. Machines modernized in this way are entirely compatible with new machines with regard to operation and expandability.

Bringing older materials testing machines up to state of the art is a routine activity for Zwick. The latest testControl measurement and control electronics are installed, electro-mechanical machines receive a new AC drive and existing sensors are connected. At the heart of the modernization lies Zwick’s testXpert^® II testing software. Machines modernized in this way are entirely compatible with new machines with regard to operation and expandability.

Testing metals using strain-rate control to EN ISO 6892-1 (2009), Method A (closed loop), places heavy demands on the machine’s hardware as well as on the electronics and software. Precision guides, an extremely stiff load-frame and smoothly operating mechanical components are essential requirements. Zwick testing machines well over twenty years old are still meeting these demands today following suitable adjustment, enabling Zwick to provide sophisticated strain-rate control to the new standard for older machines also.

A 1981-built Zwick 1484 at TÜV Nord in Hanover provided Zwick with an opportunity to demonstrate this. There are five basic criteria relating to strain control:
 - load frame
 - measurement and control electronics
 - testing software
 - extensometer
 - specimen grips.
Each of these was successfully brought up to the required state of the art in the course of modernization.

Herr Klaus Katzorke, Director of the TÜV Nord Institute in Hanover, confirmed that his Zwick testing machine fulfilled the requirements of the standard following modernization. “The modernized machine coped with the exacting demands of strain control right from the word go,” he stated, following comprehensive tests on the machine. “Zwick understood what was involved and were able to implement it without any difficulty.”

More Information about Modernization.