From the instrument park: The Zwickline test instrument

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

A fun fact about the company that makes the Zwick is that they provide a greener alternative by offering to rebuild older machines to fit new specifications.

The Zwickline is a new instrument, but NIOM have made use of this facility to upgrade another testing machine. quired.  

 

Strength and elasticity of materials and of bonding are all important characteristics of dental restorative and prosthetic products. NIOM performs many tests and measurements that involve stretching or compression of test pieces. For polymer-based composite materials or ceramics, these tests will in future be performed on our newly acquired Zwickline 5.0. 

– The Zwickline is very useful and versatile. It enables us to do many accredited tests, including ISO 4049, Torbjørn Knarvang explains.

As Senior Engineer, he easily namedrops the number of the test standard for polymer- based restorative materials.

Testing and research
The machine can also be used to measure shear bond strength. It gets extensive use both in NIOM’s commercial testing, and in research projects.

– When we acquired the newest Zwickline last year, we made sure to include two load cells in the order, says Knarvang.

One cell goes up to 500 Newton. The other to 5000. Between them, NIOM can measure both harder and more brittle materials to close precision.

– We perform tests in liquids or dry. If the specimens need shaping, our in-house instrument workshop helps out, he says.

Guest researchers
The tests are analyzed by a computer program, where all necessary ISO specifications are coded into the software. This means the report for each test is specifically tailored. A great help both for testing and research projects.

– We have a guest researcher here from Finland, who is about to use the new Zwickline, Knarvang says.

The guest researcher will be getting guidance on how to best set up the machine for his project, and how to perform the actual measurements. As with the rest of NIOM’s instruments, NIOM’s Zwickline is available on a commercial basis for individual test assignments.

     Senior Engineer Torbjørn Knarvang in front of the Zwickline.

NIOM Newsletter February 2020

print