Today, test, measurement and inspection tools operate closer to production, which requires that they be more flexible, more portable and more rugged. Instron Corp.'s newest tool--a handheld mechanical tester that combines the functions of push-pull force measurement tests with those of tension-compression tests--was developed with those needs in mind.
The tester traces its genesis to a request to Instron (Canton, MA) from General Motors Corp (Detroit), which needed a tool to test weather stripping after it had been installed on a car. "If the weather stripping is not put on correctly, or if it is not what was specified, the door won't close when it is slammed," observes Lorenzo Majno, Instron business development manager. "This handheld tester collects force and deflection data from the weather strip on the vehicle. The data produces a characteristic curve that allows GM workers to check the quality of the products that their vendors are providing."