A fastener lab is not a single machine. It is a load frame, the grips that hold the fastener, the fixtures that load it the way the application does, and the measurement chain that records it.
This note describes how the instruments in our published range are combined into a fastener testing laboratory. It is a planning guide, not a test method.
Start from the tests, not from the machine
- Tensile and proof load tests on bolts, screws and studs.
- Wedge and axial fatigue tests on the fastener and the joint.
- Torque and preload measurement during tightening.
- Hardness and, where required, metallographic checks.
The load frame
The frame sets the ceiling for everything else. Choose the capacity from the largest specimen and the proof load, then check the stroke and the column spacing against the longest fastener and the fixtures it needs. A servo universal testing machine carries the tensile and proof load work; the rated capacity in our published range is stated per model.
Grips, fixtures and measurement
- Grips matched to the thread and the head form, so the failure is in the specimen and not at the grip.
- A wedge fixture where the standard calls for an angled load.
- An extensometer or a displacement transducer for the strain the report needs.
- A load cell whose accuracy class matches the report.
Environment and supporting checks
Some fastener programmes add corrosion and temperature conditioning. A temperature humidity chamber in our published range holds the specimen under a controlled profile before the mechanical test, so the conditioning is repeatable and recorded.
What we ask a buyer to send
- The specimen range: thread sizes, lengths, grades and materials.
- The test list and the standard behind each test.
- The load capacity and accuracy class the report requires.
- The floor space and the services available in the laboratory.