Grips & Fixtures

How ASTM A615, A370, E8, E290 and E23 fit together for rebar and steel testing: full-section rebar tensile tests, bend pin diameters, guided bend methods, E8 strain rates, Charpy impact, and the grips and fixtures each test needs.

Which sandwich panel test measures what: core shear by C273 plate shear and C393 beam flexure, facing strength by D7249 long beam, flatwise tension C297, flatwise compression C365 and edgewise compression C364, with formulas, setups and fixtures.

Lap shear or block shear? How to run ASTM D1002 lap shear, D905 wood block shear and D4501 block shear: specimens, speeds, shear strength calculations, grip spacers, fixtures, failure modes and common mistakes, with videos.

How to choose tensile grips and fixtures that fit Instron, MTS, Shimadzu, ZwickRoell, Tinius Olsen and Mark-10 testing machines, from connection type to jaw faces.

Everything you need to run ASTM D412 on rubber and thermoplastic elastomers: Method A vs. B, Die A to F dimensions, specimen prep, step-by-step procedure, calculations with a worked example, tensile set, grips, extensometers, machines, D412 vs ISO 37 and 8 setup videos.

The difference between 3-point and 4-point flexural testing, with spans, speeds, formulas and fixtures for ASTM D790 (plastics), D6272 (4-point plastics) and C1161 (ceramics), plus common mistakes and videos.

A practical guide to ASTM D638 tensile testing of plastics: Type I, II, III, IV and V specimen dimensions, which type to use, test speeds, the right grips, extensometer requirements for modulus, cutting dies, common mistakes and D638 vs ISO 527.

The exact equipment configuration for tensile testing finished O-rings to ASTM D1414: frame and load cell sizing, the motorized spool fixture, the 500 mm/min speed requirement, software features, elongation calculations and D395 compression set.

A complete guide to textile testing on a universal testing machine: D5034 grab, D5035 strip, D751 coated fabrics, D3787/D6797 ball burst, tear, seam, yarn, webbing and geotextile tests, with the grips, fixtures and videos for each.

Aerospace and space programs are driving record demand for carbon fiber testing. See our D5379, D7078, D6641, D2344 and open-hole fixtures, programmable Galdabini UTMs, video extensometers, temperature chambers and high-temperature grips.

A detailed guide to every Universal Grip peel fixture: 90°, 180°, T-peel, floating roller, climbing drum, tape-roll and credit-card peel, plus why a Mark-10 is an economical way to peel test.

Which fixtures does a composites lab actually need? A practical guide to ASTM D3039 tensile grips, D5379 and D7078 shear fixtures, D2344 short-beam, D6641 CLC compression and open-hole fixtures.

Introduction In the field of textile and flexible material testing, understanding how a material behaves under multidirectional stress is critical for predicting real-world performance. Fabrics used in apparel, medical textiles, industrial materials, and geotextiles are frequently subjected to forces that do not occur purely along a single axis. Instead, these materials often experience localized pressure and multi-directional stress , which can lead to puncture or bursting f

Introduction to ASTM C1161 Advanced ceramics are widely used in applications where high stiffness, thermal stability, wear resistance, and chemical inertness are required. Unlike metals or polymers, however, ceramics exhibit little to no plastic deformation and fail in a brittle manner. Because of this behavior, traditional tensile testing is often impractical or unreliable for ceramic materials. Instead, flexural strength testing has become the primary method for characteriz

This article provides a comprehensive technical overview of ASTM D1781, including the principles of the climbing drum peel test, required equipment, specimen preparation, grips and fixtures, data analysis, and best practices for achieving reliable and repeatable peel adhesion results.

ASTM D5458 measures how strongly layers of stretch wrap film cling to each other, using a 20° inclined plane and a low-force tensile tester.

Selecting the correct grips for tensile testing is one of the most important — and most overlooked — decisions in any materials testing setup.