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CN-114252326-B - Apparatus and method for material testing

CN114252326BCN 114252326 BCN114252326 BCN 114252326BCN-114252326-B

Abstract

There is provided in accordance with an embodiment of the invention a material testing apparatus comprising a guide means, a sample holding means for holding a sample, a force applying means for applying a force to the sample, a lateral carrier head arranged to support at least a portion of one or both of the sample holding means and the force applying means, wherein the lateral carrier head is movable relative to the guide means, an automatic clamping means configured to apply a releasable clamping force between the guide means and the lateral carrier head to secure the lateral carrier head in a position relative to the guide means, and a controller configured to control the automatic clamping means to apply a clamping force between the guide means and the lateral carrier head.

Inventors

  • Andrew Kobe
  • Audrey Hepburn. Brio Dorin
  • EDWARD DEMPSEY
  • Graham mead

Assignees

  • 伊利诺斯工具制品有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20210917
Priority Date
20200924

Claims (10)

  1. 1. A material testing apparatus comprising: A guide device (110); A sample holding device (120) for holding a sample (130); -a force application device (140) for applying a force to the sample (130); a lateral carrier head (150) arranged to support at least a portion of one or both of the sample holding device (120) and the force application device (140), wherein the lateral carrier head (150) is movable relative to the guide device (110); -a self-clamping device (160) configured to apply a releasable clamping force between the guiding device (110) and the lateral carrier head (150) to fix the lateral carrier head (150) in a position relative to the guiding device (110), wherein the self-clamping device (160) comprises: At least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) arranged in contact with the guide means (110), wherein the clamping force is a friction force between the at least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) and the guide means (110), at least one portion (162 a,162 b) of the at least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) being arranged to protrude from the lateral carrier head (150) to act as a lever exerting a friction force between the at least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) and the guide means (110); A linear actuator (163) configured to apply a linear force F L generally perpendicular to the axis (450) of the at least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) to apply the clamping force, wherein the linear force F L from the linear actuator (163) is converted into a torsion force F T about the pivot point of the lever such that the applied friction force is dependent on the linear force F L , and -A controller (170) configured to control the automatic clamping device (160) to apply a clamping force between the guiding device (110) and the lateral carrier head (150).
  2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) is formed of an elastically deformable material.
  3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the linear actuator (163) comprises a motor (164) and a gearbox (165) arranged to produce a linear motion to apply the linear force F L .
  4. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising an opening (166) between at least one portion (162 a,162 b) of the at least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) and the lateral carrier head (150) to allow the rod to apply the torsion force F T in accordance with the linear force F L movement.
  5. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the automatic clamping device (160) satisfies at least one of: supported on the transverse carrier head (150), and Is arranged to maintain the clamping force without providing power to the robot clamping device (160).
  6. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following is true: the controller (170) is configured to automatically move the lateral carrier head (150) relative to the guide device (110) and control the automatic clamping device (160) to apply the clamping force to the guide device (110) in a single operation, and The guiding means (110) comprises two rail members (110 a,110 b) each arranged on a respective side of the lateral carrier head (150), and the apparatus (100) comprises a first clamping member and a second clamping member positioned on respective sides of the lateral carrier head to apply the releasable clamping force.
  7. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one clamping member (161 a,161 b) is at least partially formed as an integral component with the lateral carrier head (150).
  8. 8. A method of operating a material testing apparatus, wherein the material testing apparatus comprises: The guiding means are arranged to guide the guiding means, A sample holding device for holding a sample, A force applying means for applying a force to the sample, A lateral carrier head arranged to support at least a portion of one or both of the sample holding means and the force applying means, wherein the lateral carrier head is movable relative to the guide means, and An automatic clamping device comprising a linear actuator and at least one clamping member arranged to protrude from the transverse carrier head to act as a rod, and Wherein the method comprises the following steps: Contacting the guide means by the at least one clamping member; Applying a releasable clamping force between the guide means and the lateral carrier head using at least a portion of the at least one clamping member to secure the lateral carrier head in a position relative to the guide means, wherein the clamping force is a friction force between the at least one clamping member and the guide means, wherein applying the releasable clamping force comprises: applying a linear force F L generally perpendicular to the axis of the at least one clamping member using the linear actuator, and Converting the linear force F L into a torsion force F T about the pivot point of the lever such that the applied friction force is dependent on the linear force F L , and The automatic clamping device is controlled to apply the clamping force between the guiding device and the lateral carrier head.
  9. 9. The method of claim 8, comprising The clamping force is maintained (570) without providing power to the robotic clamping device (160).
  10. 10. Computer software arranged to perform the method of any of claims 8 to 9 when run.

Description

Apparatus and method for material testing The present invention relates to a material testing machine, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for operating a material testing machine. Background A material tester (sometimes also referred to as a structural tester) is used to test the physical properties of a material sample. The material testing machine uses a sample holder to hold a material sample. A transverse carrier head clamped to the rail is used to control the position of the sample holder. It is important that the clamping of the lateral carrier head to the rail is able to withstand large forces, as the sample will apply some force to the machine in response to the force applied to the material sample during testing. The prior art uses manual clamping controlled by a user operated handle to secure the lateral carrier head to the rail. However, as testers have been developed that are capable of applying greater force to the sample, the length of the handle must be increased to ensure that the clamp is able to withstand the greater force. Thus, the handle may become excessively long, which makes the clamping operation inconvenient. Furthermore, the prior art requires that the position of the transverse carrier head on the rail and the clamping of the transverse carrier head to the rail be set by the user as two separate operations. Thus, setting up a material tester can be time consuming and complex. It is an object of the present invention to alleviate at least some of the above problems. Disclosure of Invention According to the present invention there is provided a material testing apparatus comprising a guide means, sample holding means for holding a sample, force applying means for applying a force to the sample, a lateral carrier head arranged to support at least a portion of one or both of the sample holding means and the force applying means, wherein the lateral carrier head is movable relative to the guide means, an automatic clamping means configured to apply a releasable clamping force between the guide means and the lateral carrier head to secure the lateral carrier head in a position relative to the guide means, and a controller configured to control the automatic clamping means to apply a clamping force between the guide means and the lateral carrier head. Alternatively, the automatic clamping means may comprise at least one clamping member arranged to be in contact with the guiding means, wherein the clamping force is a friction force between the at least one clamping member and the guiding means, and optionally the at least one clamping member may be formed of an elastically deformable material. In some embodiments, at least one of the at least one clamping member may be arranged with at least a portion thereof extending from the lateral carrier head to act as a lever to apply a frictional force between the at least one clamping member and the guide means, and the automated clamping means may comprise a linear actuator configured to apply a linear force generally perpendicular to the axis of the at least one clamping member to apply the clamping force. Alternatively, the linear force from the linear actuator may be converted to a torsion force about the pivot point of the lever such that the applied friction force is dependent on the linear force. In some embodiments, the linear actuator may comprise a motor and gearbox arranged to produce a linear motion to apply a linear force. Optionally, the apparatus may include an opening between at least a portion of the at least one clamping member and the lateral carrier head to allow the bar to move in dependence on the linear force to apply the torsion force. In some embodiments, the robot may be at least one of supported on the lateral carrier head and arranged to maintain the clamping force without providing power to the robot. Optionally, at least one of the controller may be configured to automatically move the lateral carrier head relative to the guide device and control the automatic clamping device to apply a clamping force to the guide device in a single operation, and the guide device may include two rail members disposed on respective sides of the lateral carrier head, respectively, and the apparatus may include a first clamping member and a second clamping member positioned on respective sides of the lateral carrier head to apply the releasable clamping force. Optionally, the at least one clamping member is at least partially formed as an integral component with the lateral carrier head. In some embodiments, a method of operating a material testing apparatus is provided, wherein the material testing apparatus comprises a guide device, a sample holding device for holding a sample, a force applying device for applying a force to the sample, a lateral carrier head arranged to support at least a portion of one or both of the sample holding device and the force applying device, wherein the lateral carrier head is movable rela