They’re as common as dandelions in the spring, and as universal as a Swiss army knife. Sometimes they gather dust, condemned to a dark corner, other times they’re polished to a mirror finish from intensive everyday use. We’re talking, of course, about universal testing machines (UTMs).

Force measurement, defined as the measurement of tensile or compressive loads acting upon an object, is an indispensable method of assessing and ensuring the quality of materials, components, and assemblies.

Why test compression force?

A truck driver, seeking to overtake another vehicle, flips his turn signal. A busy mom opens the door to a washing machine. A CNC machine operator presses the start button to begin a cycle.

Force gage may not be the most familiar term to engineers and quality control professionals.

In the defense and civilian aerospace industries, wire harnesses are liberally employed in aircraft fuselages, avionics, engines, ground support equipment, and other products.

Wire harness assemblies are used in numerous applications, from dishwashers to fighter jets.

The decision to purchase a piece of measuring equipment should never be taken lightly.