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When purchasing a stress tester

The stress tester is used to test a material’s ability to resist progressive and localized structural damage when subjected to cyclic loading. Microscopic cracks begin to form on the surface and when they reach a certain size, the structure fractures.

Industries require test instrumentation that allows them to quickly deliver complex and realistic tests, allowing them to identify potential performance issues that can negatively impact business results.

Robust design, high-end electronics, and easy-to-use software are some of the basic features you expect in instruments, whether it’s a stress tester, multifunctional tribometer, indent and scratch tester, profilometer, AFM, polishers. , coating and deposition.

Let’s ponder the stress tester as a case study to see how a manufacturer will approach it for a purchase. It is used to test the ability of a material to withstand progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading. A material suffers fatigue when it is subjected to repeated loading and unloading above a certain threshold. Microscopic cracks begin to form at stress concentrators, grain interfaces, and persistent slip bands. When the crack reaches a critical size, the structure will suddenly fracture.

The shape of the structure affects the fatigue life. Sharp corners or square holes lead to high local stresses where fatigue cracks can start. To increase the fatigue resistance of the structure, round holes and smooth transitions or fillets are important. Factors affecting fatigue life are cyclic stress state, type of material, surface quality, geometry, size and distribution of internal defects, residual stresses, grain size, crack closure, temperature and environment.

A buyer would prefer a stress tester that can quickly calculate the residual stress of thin and thick films.

They would look for an instrument that has 2D and 3D maps, both dot and array lasers, and unique optical planar referencing.

A stress tester from one of the major vendors measures residual stress using non-contact lasers. Accurately determines the radius of curvature of the sample. Depending on the precision and the application, there is a wide variety of lasers. Multiple lasers can be used on the same platform.

Residual stress can be assessed using the instrumented indentation technique. The tester can measure quantitative values ​​for residual stress if he understands the relationship between load space and residual stress. When tensile or compressive residual stress is applied, the load-depth curve shifts to the right or left side.

One of the stress tester models allows users to perform quick and easy tests with a wireless communication module between the main body of the instrument and the attached computer. The superposition of the obtained curves allows to immediately analyze the changes in the residual stress.

3D images are another essential aspect that manufacturers expect from a stress tester. Automatic XY vision and staging software allows for the creation of 3D images of the scanned sample. The presence of temperature and humidity chambers makes it possible to measure the effect of temperature on stress.

Specifications for a top-tier stress tester may include repeatability down to 0.001 um, 3D map and 2D line data display, and stress sensitivity to 0.4 MPa. The instrument is used in industries such as semiconductor, electroplating, PVD, DLC, CVD, ALD, MEMS, decorative coatings, solar cells, hard coatings, protective coatings, thermal spraying, painting, etc.

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