Shimadzu announces the HITS-TX high-speed impact testing machine, which can perform tensile tests of plastics and resin-based composite materials at a maximum speed of 20 m/s (72 km/h).

This instrument can perform high-speed tensile testing at a maximum speed of 20 m/s and a maximum testing force of 10 kN. The data processing method has been completely redesigned, making it possible to obtain waveforms having very little noise, similar to that of tensile tests conducted at regular speeds. When used in combination with Shimadzu’s Hyper Vision HPV-X2 high-speed video camera, which has a maximum recording speed of 10 million frames per second, both the data for the material impact properties and the data for the failure behavior can be acquired simultaneously. It includes support for the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive, and CE marking, which indicates compliance with standards; therefore, the product is being promoted not only in Europe, where automobile manufacturing is prevalent, but also worldwide.

In recent years, focused mainly on the automobile industry, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases where various parts are being replaced with ones made of plastic materials and highly functional resin-based composite materials, since they are lighter and offer superior workability. Since data related to impact characteristics and strength is used in safety simulations, increasing attention is being paid to high-speed tensile testing machines.

An officially recognized testing standard for high-speed tensile tests does not yet exist. For that reason, the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) has been deliberating the need for such a standard. Shimadzu has offered high-speed tensile testing machines since 2003. Consequently, we have been promoting the establishment of a testing standard that covers high-speed tensile testing, in collaboration with Japan’s materials manufacturers, for plastics and resin-based composite materials.

Given this background, Shimadzu hopes that research and development into plastics and resin-based composite materials will progress, and the importance of high-speed tensile testing will become more evident in Japan and throughout the world. It is for this reason that we have developed this product, which provides for the acquisition of data with little noise that can easily evaluated. Shimadzu plans to promote this product to automobile manufacturers, materials manufacturers, and contract testing laboratories.

This machine provides speeds from a maximum of 20 m/s (72 km per hour) down to a minimum speed of 0.0001 m/s, features a maximum testing force of 10 kN, and offers a maximum displacement of 300 mm. Accordingly, a great variety of samples, including plastics, resin-based composite materials, and metals, can all be tensile-tested using just this one machine. In addition, Shimadzu’s newly developed proprietary approach jig allows tests with superior reproducibility at a set tension speed.

Conventionally, it is difficult to obtain stable waveforms, since the higher the speed, the greater the tendency for noise to appear in the data. With this machine, however, the data processing method has been completely redesigned, making it possible to obtain waveforms having very little noise, similar to that of tensile tests conducted at regular speeds. This makes it easier for the data to be used for simulations or evaluations.

By operating simultaneously with Shimadzu’s Hyper Vision HPV-X2 high-speed video camera (sold separately), which can record at speeds of up to 10 million frames per second, strain measurement can be performed using a visualization of the ultra-high-speed failure behavior and DIC (digital image correlation) analysis. Such multifaceted evaluations, including physical properties and behaviors, provide new possibilities for the research and development of new materials, such as fiber-reinforced plastics.