All-State’s New Materials Test Lab

In the late third quarter of 2014  All-State Industries  installed a couple pieces of test equipment in the West Des Moines facility.   This will allow All-State Industries  to test numerous material properties in-house versus sending them out to be tested.   Some of the benefits of having in-house test equipment are:

• Research and development of new materials – this will be especially useful in  our urethane division.
• Ability to do lot testing on batches of incoming raw materials or ongoing testing of production material/poured urethane.
• Test customer’s current part material or competitor’s material to determine properties.
• Test can to be performed in a few days, not weeks.
• Qualify alternate materials.

The two pieces of equipment which we purchased were:

Instron Tensile Tester – Model 3369

This machine is capable of preforming a multitude of tension, compression and shear tests on materials.   Some of the more common tests are:

• Tensile strength – The material sample is stretched until it breaks.
• Tear strength – The material sample is nicked and then stretched until it breaks.
• Compression deflection – The material is compressed to a certain percentage of its original size.
• Flex modulus – Stiffness of   the material.

These tests are all performed on the Instron using different fixtures that are attached to the frame.   A computer is hooked up to the machine so any test can be recorded/saved and printed if needed.

Taber Abrator – Model 5135