Force testers and material testers have expanded into industries such as medical, plastic, and aerospace to assure that strict product performance and reliability standards are met.
Deciding whether to purchase a force tester for basic testing or a material tester for advance testing could be a challenge based on the multitude of options and functions which are available today to meet your test requirements. Many parameters come into play when it comes to choosing the right tester for the intended purpose. In short, advanced functions and capabilities are what separates a force tester from a material tester but it is a bit more complicated than that. In this article, we will dive into the differences between the two to help you choose which one would be the right fit for your specific needs.
Force testers are commonly used in production environments for simple tests, while material testers are found mostly in quality control, research and development environments. A force tester is designed for basic testing where a very high accuracy of force measurement is not needed and position control is not required. Functionality is basic. Simple controls are used for jogging the cross head and adjusting travel speeds using software controls with minimum calculations and functionality. Force testers include a force gage which may have an integral or external loadcell that is simple to use and to run in production environments.