Instron, division of the United States Group Illinois Tool Works or Itw that produces instruments for structural and material tests, has presented the automatic contact extensometer AutoX750 that grants more rapid and accurate tests assuring highest reliability. Thanks to its high precision of +/-1 µm, to the maximum 750 millimetre displacement and the manifold optional knife edges, AutoX 750 is ideal for tensile, flexure and compression tests on various materials, including high-stiffness composites, metals and plastics. Its characteristics, like the automatic positioning of the initial gauge length and the automatic closure on the specimen, with adjustable contact force, allow test material labs to improve their productivity. Operators therefore succeed in simplifying the test and in increasing the production volume, while eliminating manual procedures. The reduction of possible discrepancies among the mounting modalities of a conventional extensometer improves then the repeatability and the reproducibility of test results.
AutoX 750 can satisfy the deformation measuring requisites in compliance with the ASTM E83, ISO 9513 and ISO 527-1 (2011) regulations and allows the closed loop deformation control in conformity with ISO 6892-1 Method A and ASTM E8 regulations. The proprietary software Instron Bluehill 3 enables the registration and storing of the data supplied by the extensometer and the calculation of parameters such as the module, the yield strength and the plastic elongation (not proportional) to rupture. AutoX is compatible with automatic and manual testing systems, like double-column electromechanical systems 3300, 5500 and 5900; and with hydraulic testing systems LX, DX, HDX and KPX.
Other features of the product are patent pending, and among them the opening and closing of both arms simultaneously, through the common rotation bar, driven by a single motor, which contributes in making arms lighter, and the protection to prevent filth or debris from entering into the instrument and damaging it. Finally, the customized configurations succeed in increasing the advantages on composite laminates in testing phase.
