 PRODUCT
TESTING
Product testing requires a full appreciation for the product's
operational environment, the characteristics of its materials, and
its manufacturing processes. Product test programs demand thorough
planning, selection of appropriate tests (standard and non-standard),
and careful analysis and reporting of test results.
Touchstone is uniquely qualified to perform end-to-end product
testing by virtue of its wide range of testing capabilities, and
the broad experience base of its personnel. Touchstone has performed
test programs for a wide variety of products including:
Touchstone tests automotive
air conditioning evaporators and condensers to measure corrosion
life, burst pressure, and fatigue life. Units are tested in as-manufactured
condition and as part of the HVAC assemblies to be installed in
automobiles. In addition to the evaluation of heat flow throughout
the service life, this testing is critical to compliance with EPA
requirements for resistance to leakage of fluorocarbons from refrigerant
systems.
Touchstone performed testing of the effectiveness
of a new product used to pre-clean automobile
bodies before waxing. Panels from late model cars were purchased
and evaluated to measure the before-and-after surface condition
using the following: glossmeter, macrophotography, coefficient of
friction, and photography. The testing found that use of this new
product significantly improved the surface condition with no detectable
damage or loss of paint during preparation.
A company which manufactures ornate bronze
castings hired Touchstone to test the durability of various
commercially available coatings. Accelerated life testing including
salt fog, humidity and Ultraviolet testing. Touchstone has developed
a heat-resistant paint testing apparatus which can approximate the
results of a much more expensive standard Underwriter's Laboratory
(UL) test. This test has aided in the screening and selection of
paint systems used for the interior of steel buildings. The test
performed by Touchstone is a "scaled down" version of
the UL test and allows lost cost testing of several candidate coatings
before a final choice is made for production. Final testing is usually
performed by Underwriter's Laboratories.
Touchstone regularly certifies insulated
crane hooks used in the aluminum industry
in direct reduction operations. The hooks are load tested to determine
capacity and electrically tested to 10,000 volts to assure that
the hooks are non-conductive. It is important to the safety of the
crane operator that the hooks be non-conductors.
Touchstone has been involved in testing
the "slipperiness" of roof decking
in an effort to develop roof decking that can be installed safely
in terms of resistance to slipping by the installers. A number of
roofing materials have been tested and compared.
A real estate development
company which builds tens of thousands of homes per year hired Touchstone
to perform accelerated life testing of various manufacturer's brass
door knobs, exterior lamp fixtures and door locks.
Substantial differences in the life of the brass coatings were found.
Choosing the a short life fixture can mean millions of dollars in
loss for a company which must replace corroded fixtures under warranty.
Touchstone has performed a wide variety
of tests on new wire concepts used as the load carrying core in
high tension power transmission lines.
Among the tests were corrosion testing, coupon level tensile tests
at room cryogenic and elevated temperature, dimensional measurements
and tensile tests with both 100 and 500 foot gage lengths. Failure
analyses were performed on the failed ends of the long tensile test
coupons. Touchstone has also been involved in testing new wire splicing
concepts which are used with the new high voltage wire concepts.
Touchstone has characterized. Total load to failure and failure
analysis of the splice were both involved.
Touchstone is currently able to perform
the following tests on gloves: pathogenic
resistance (NFPA 1999), dexterity (European Standard BS EN 420:1994),
comfort and efficiency (European Standard BS EN 420:1994), cut resistance
(ASTM F 1790), tear resistance (European Standard BS EN 388:1994
and ASTM D 2582), puncture resistance (ASTM F 1342), and hole test
(ASTM D5151).
Touchstone is able to perform the following
tests on handcuffs (all outlined in NIJ
Standard for Metallic Handcuffs): workmanship, mechanical strength
of individual side or longitudinal test of both sides, salt spray
resistance, and cheek plate tamper resistance.
A manufacturer of kitchen products contracted
Touchstone to test a new design of trivet used
to keep hot pots and pans from burning the surfaces they might otherwise
be set upon. Touchstone tested the maximum use temperature for the
company.
Touchstone tested and qualified several
non-metal products for use on the space shuttle's solid fuel rocket
booster to determine the effect of repeated launches in terms of
thermal degradation and the effect of salt water exposure. Materials
included nylon, Teflon, Nitrile rubber, epoxy enamel, polyurethane
enamel, adhesives, and dry film lubricants.
The various tests after thermal exposure included flatwise tensile,
Izod impact, bend test, hardness, standard tensile tests, TEE peel
adhesion tests, 180o Peel adhesion, shear adhesion tests.
A manufacturer of safety equipment hired
Touchstone do test its newly developed respirator
technology. In particular, the company asked Touchstone to
devise a test to determine whether the particulate filter used in
the respirator mask was capable of filtering out bacteria of a certain
size. The testing showed that the filters could, in fact, filter
out most bacteria.
Touchstone has performed comparative accelerated
life testing on most of the exterior walls and
roof materials used in the construction of steel buildings.
Tests have included salt fog, paint adhesion, humidity cycling,
and ultraviolet exposure.
Touchstone has tested materials used in
the manufacture of rubber diaphragms,
as well as the diaphragms themselves. These products are incorporated
in the air brake systems of commercial vehicles and school buses.
The tests include tensile tests of fabric reinforcement and mechanical
tests of finished product for tensile strength and puncture resistance.
As part of a product comparison, Touchstone
was hired by a shelving manufacturer to
independently evaluate and compare their shelves to most of the
metal shelving units in the US marketplace for a number of characteristics
deemed important to their customers. Among the tests were: ease
of assembly, corrosion resistance and measurements of load versus
deflection up to 1000 lbs. per shelf - loading 4 shelves simultaneously.
Touchstone also performed several product
comparisons to provide information used to select shoe
shim materials for the shuttle-to-fuel tank connections.
The materials were standard, polymer composite products from several
suppliers. The tests included compression, tensile, and creep compression.
Springs used
in an electrical switch gear were failing prematurely. Touchstone
developed a test fixture which duplicated the use conditions and
allowed the evaluation of springs made by several different manufacturing
practices. Selection of the best manufacturing procedure followed.
A market differentiator in steel
conduit is the internal friction of the walls of the conduit
in contact with the wires. The higher the friction, the shorter
the distance wires can be pushed through the conduit. Touchstone
developed an apparatus to make this measurement and evaluated various
commercial coating products to determine the best internal coating.
To help a manufacturer determine the best
product for various applications, many types of steel
culvert were evaluated to determine resistance to corrosion
when immersed in potable water and salt water. Four types were tested
including types I and II aluminized steel, Galfan coated and standard
zinc coated steel.
Touchstone tested the mechanical properties
of steel studs used by the housing industry
to determine whether the manufacturers raw material allowed production
of studs that met or exceeded BOCA requirements.
Touchstone has evaluated a number of automotive
trailer hitches of both new and older designs for their load
capacity and failure mechanisms.
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