Plastic chain conveyor tensile strength test

Case study
Plastic molded conveyor component tensile test
Plastic molded conveyor component tensile test
Plastic molded conveyor component tensile fractured part and gauge display
Plastic molded conveyor component tensile fractured part and gauge display

Solution

  • Motorised test stand, gauge display and software
  • Clamping fixtures and accessories designed for the product tested

Benefits

  • System able to apply and measure high loads
  • Simple test procedure for production staff use
  • Data capture for further analysis

Requirement

The customer manufactures rigid plastic links which, when assembled, form a conveyor. The assembled link may be subject to significant stress in use during its lifetime, so it is important that the link can withstand a minimum load of 3000 N to ensure there are no weaknesses in the material of the manufacturing process.

The requirement was to provide a complete solution to perform a destructive test on the plastic links using an affordable yet simple-to-use test system. The maximum load and deformation of the sample were to be recorded and the curve of force/deflection plotted on a PC. Two systems were required for use in the production area of the factory by semi-skilled production operators.

Solution

The customer manufactures rigid plastic links which, when assembled, form a conveyor. The assembled link may be subject to significant stress in use during its lifetime, so it is important that the link can withstand a minimum load of 3000 N to ensure there are no weaknesses in the material of the manufacturing process. The requirement was to provide a complete solution to perform a destructive test on the plastic links using an affordable yet simple-to-use test system. The maximum load and deformation of the sample were to be recorded and the curve of force/deflection plotted on a PC. Two systems were required for use in the production area of the factory by semi-skilled production operators.

Mecmesin provided a customised solution based around a 5000 N capacity motorised test stand fitted with S-Beam loadcells and a digital height scale for measuring crosshead movement. It provided the necessary repeatability of results by virtue of operating at a fixed speed of 50 mm/min and using the high-speed peak-capture facility of the AFTI display to record the maximum tensile force as the plastic link suddenly snapped.

A gripping fixture using the location holes of the link and quick-fitting holding pins was specially designed. The software DataPlot-X was configured to start taking data when a small pre-load of 10 N was applied to the link (to take up any slack within the grip/link) and the test was conducted until the plastic link broke at forces in the region of 4000 N.

Test equipment

  • M5KNE Motorised Test Stand fitted with Digital Height Scale
  • S-Beam Loadcells 5 kN
  • AFTI Displays
  • Custom-made Gripping Fixtures
  • DataPlot-X Software and Interface Cables
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Mecmesin/PPT Group, UK