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Load Cells for Adhesive and Bonding Shear Testing

Thousands of adhesives and bonding agents are used to assemble parts and final goods. In addition to their bonding characteristics, they may be required to have a certain elasticity, resistance to chemicals, electrical conductivity, temperature coefficient, or other controlled parameters.

A shear testing machine uses a load cell to measure the shear strength of bonds and adhesives. A load cell transforms bond and adhesive tests from a subjective evaluation of adhesion strength into a precise and objective measurement tool. This allows various industries to make data-driven decisions regarding adhesive selection, formulation optimization, and quality control.

Specifically, adhesive or bonding shear force testing is used to evaluate the strength of a joint formed by an adhesive between two materials. It measures the force required to separate the bonded materials by a sliding motion parallel to the adhesive joint instead of pulling them directly apart to measure tensile strength or peeling them from one another, which defines the peel strength.

Benefits of Using Load Cells for Adhesive and Bonding Shear Force Testing

  • Material Characterization: Shear testing data helps characterize the shear properties of adhesives and the materials they bond. This information is valuable for selecting appropriate adhesives for specific applications and predicting their performance under stress. Read more in Interface Solutions for Material Testing Engineers.
  • Improved Design and Development: The data from shear testing informs researchers, product designers, product development teams, and engineering of new adhesives and bonded products. By understanding how different materials and adhesives perform under shear stress, engineers can optimize designs for better performance and durability.
  • Failure Detection: Product manufacturers can identify the bond’s failure mode by analyzing the force data. Did the adhesive itself fail? Did the bonded materials detach during the test? When did the failure occur? This quantifiable information helps understand the weak points and prepare improvements before assembly and product release.
  • Quality Control: Manufacturers must validate consistent bond strength across production batches. By performing standardized shear tests with a load cell, the data helps maintain product quality and prevent potential production, distribution, and use failures.

What is Peel Strength Testing?

The peel test is common for adhesives, adhesive-coated tapes, and paints. The test parameters are usually detailed in a government or industry specification, and the pull rate is often closely controlled. Adhesive-backed tapes are tested this way.

Many industries rely on standardized peel test methods for quality control. Load cells are used for reliable peel testing and quality assurance analysis. The load cell data can be captured electronically, allowing you to analyze the force variations throughout the peeling process, not just the peak force. This can reveal aspects like initial adhesion strength or how the force changes as the peel progresses.

During a peel test, you need a way to measure the force required to precisely separate two bonded materials. Unlike a simple hand pull, a load cell quantifies the peeling force. This allows you to analyze the results numerically and compare them to specifications or between different samples. This is an important step in R&D for all parts, components, and final products.

Building a Shear Testing Machine

The design of a shear tester is relatively straightforward if the following conditions are met:

  • The line of action of the primary axis of the load cell should be aligned with the contact point on the test sample to minimize moment loads on the load cell.
  • The linear bearing motion should be carefully adjusted to run exactly parallel with the primary axis of the load cell to avoid a side load into the load cell.
  • The load cell’s capacity should be at least twice the expected maximum load to be applied during a test cycle to provide enough extra capacity to protect the cell when a sudden failure of the test sample impacts it.
  • The linear drive should have a wide range of controlled speeds and a high-resolution displacement measuring capability, including an
  • Usan an automatic adjustable stop with fast braking to protect the load cell from damage. The usual system is a stepper motor drive with precision high-ratio reduction gear.

For additional information about shear testing, an illustration of the shear testing machine, and peel tests, please use the Interface Load Cell Field Guide.

If you have questions about choosing the right load cell for your machine or test, consult with our application engineers. You can also reference our easy-to-use Load Cell Selection Guide.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Why Machine and Equipment Manufacturers Choose Interface

Load Cells Built for Stress Testing

Force Measurement Testing Improves Products and Consumer Safety

Force Measurement is Fundamental in Material Testing

The Basics of Shear and Bending Beams

Interface Solutions for Research and Development

Among the many roles of force measurement in engineering and manufacturing, the role of force sensing in research and development may be the most exciting and important. Load cells and other types of force sensors qualify and collect data on exploratory projects across a wide variety of industries. These tests determine the viability of a potential project and eventually new innovations.

Research and development are core to most businesses to stay competitive. R&D is essential in creating new products and anticipating customer demands. Whether it is assessing the viability of a new IoT home technology for consumers or designing a component used in a new surgical medical device, research is core to the technical and technological development of most any product.

In an R&D environment, force testing helps to compare product materials, determine the strength materials and components, and evaluate environmental, ergonomic, and other features. Additionally, force testing is common across industries as a quality control measure to accurately check that a given group of products meet targeted design specifications, per performance, safety, and regulatory requirements.

Interface often works with engineers whose role it is perform research and development within their organization. R&D engineers use research theories, principles, and models to perform a variety of experiments and activities. Not only do R&D engineers create new products, but they often are responsible for the redesign of existing products.

Our goal at Interface is to help R&D engineers identify the best sensor-related products they can use to work through the problems they are seeking to solve. The products we provide validate findings through highly accurate sensor test and measurement data. There are some R&D applications that need just one or two load cells and basic instrumentation to conduct the project testing. Other times Interface is asked to create an application-specific engineered to order part or design a custom measurement solution to achieve the desired test and measurement outcomes. The later is often the case if a sensor is an actual part of the product design. Interface has helped R&D engineers assess all kinds of prototypes and early designs using our precision force measurement devices.

Force measurement is used throughout the product research and development lifecycle, from ideation and prototyping, to robust testing and eventual commercialization phases.

  • IDEATION: In the ideation phase, we provide force measurement solutions for testing materials for compatibility with the idealized product’s use cases.
  • PROTOTYPING: In prototyping, force sensors help engineers select a minimum viable product (MVP) design. Sensors are used in the lab environment to validate a product or component, or as an actual embedded sensors utilized for real-time feedback and performance monitoring.
  • TESTING: When a product moves into the testing phase, it ready for a more thorough batch of tests including cycle and fatigue testing. Our load cells, torque transducers and instrumentation are commonly used in these environments. Every product will require a sensor model that fits by specifications and capacity.
  • COMMERCIALIZATION: Finally, when a product is ready for commercialization, we provide products used to run a variety of tests to ensure the product is constructed in a way that is safe for the user and meets certain force related specifications for intended use.

To give you an example of how an R&D engineer utilizes force sensors, we have included a few application examples below.

R&D Testing for Bicycle Manufacturer

A bike manufacturing company R&D engineer created a new handlebar design. They need to test the handlebar concept for their bikes during the R&D phase to ensure they will perform for a rugged trail ride experience, while ensuring safety of the recreational equipment. The R&D team took the concept and conducted fatigue tests on their handlebars to observe its structure and performance durability before mass production.  Interface suggested using Interface Mini™ product SSMF Fatigue Rated S-Type Load Cells. Two of these s-type load cells are attached on either end of the bike’s handlebar stem, where it will measure the forces applied as the handlebar undergoes its fatigue test. Results can be measured, logged, and graphed with the SI-USB Universal Serial Bus Dual Channel PC Interface Module.

Research Rig Used for Testing Prosthetic Designs

Prosthetic limbs must undergo rigorous R&D testing prior to manufacturing. These critical apparatuses are tested for extreme loading that can occur during falls, accidents, and sports movements. Fatigue testing of prosthetic components determines the expected lifespan of the components under normal usage. R&D engineers use testing data to determine whether prosthetic materials and designs will withstand the rigors of daily use and occasional high load situations. For the R&D project, various configurations of compression and tension test machines can be used depending on the type of prosthetic device being tested. Often the same machine can be used for static and fatigue testing. For this application, an SSMF Fatigue Rated S-Type Load Cell is mounted between a hydraulic actuator and the device being evaluated. During static testing, loads are applied to the specimen using the load cell signal as force feedback control of the test machine. During a fatigue test, the actuator repeatedly applies and removes the force to simulate activity such as walking. Tilt tables may be used to apply forces at various angles to simulate the heel-to-toe movement of walking or running. The 9890 Strain Gage, Load Cell, mV/V Indicator with Logging Software was used to store the research data.

 

Electric Vehicle Structural Battery Testing for Prototype

Battery technology is critical to the evolution of electric vehicles, so there are a variety of tests performed on new innovations in EV battery technology. As electric vehicles push advancements in efficiency gains, structural battery packaging is at the forefront for optimization. This drives the need to validate structural battery pack design, both in terms of life expectancy against design targets as well as crash test compliance and survivability.  Interface’s solution for this challenge included 1100 Ultra-Precision LowProfile Load Cells in-line with hydraulic or electromechanical actuators in the customer’s test stand. Also utilized were 6-Axis Load Cells to capture reactive forces transmitting through pack structure. Multi-axis measurement brings greater system level insight and improved product success. The tests performed using Interface’s force measurement products were able to validate the battery packs strong structural design.

Proving Theoretical Cutting Forces Of Rotary Ultrasonic Machining

Rotary ultrasonic machining is a hybrid process that combines diamond grinding with ultrasonic machining to provide fast, high-quality drilling of many ceramic and glass applications. This new method has been theoretically proven using computer models. Rotary ultrasonic machining generates forces of an exceedingly small magnitude. To prove this theory, any load cell used for measurement must be sensitive, while at the same time retaining high structural stiffness within a compact, low-profile envelope. Interface’s 3A120 3-Axis Load Cell was installed in the rotary ultrasonic machine to measure the forces being applied to a sample part. With clear signals and minimal crosstalk, the applied forces are recorded and stored using an the BSC4D Multi-Channel PC Interface Module. The 3-Axis load cell provided excellent data helping uncover the relationship between machine cutting parameters and the forces applied on the component. Using this knowledge, the machining process was reliably optimized for new materials and operations.

The role of Interface as it pertains to R&D is constantly growing as engineers create new innovations to solve a myriad of challenges throughout the world. We provide the most accurate and reliable force measurement systems to help advance technology across industries.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE

Interface OEM Solutions Process

Interface Solutions for Machine Builders

Interface Solutions for Consumer Product Goods

CPG Bike Frame Fatigue Testing

CPG Treadmill Force Measurement

CPG Golf Club Swing Accuracy

Interface Sensors Used for Development and Testing of Surgical Robotics

Fitness Equipment Makers Require Extreme Accuracy

Interface Solutions for Machine Builders

No matter the industry, if products are being made chances are industrial machines are involved in some part of R&D, testing, production, and distribution.

Engineers involved in the design and manufacturing of these machines require the highest quality sensors, tools and equipment. In addition, humans often lean on machines for very precise or repetitive tasks, this means that precision and reliability is key for every aspect of these machines.

Machine builders are the backbone of product development and production. They are responsible for building, assembling, and integrating components for stand-alone and multi-station automated machine tools and systems. These automated machine-tool systems are used in all sectors of manufacturing, including assembly, processing, and fabricating systems.

Interface plays a critical role for machine builders, for those that design one machine or manufacture machines at scale for users around the world. We supply machine builders with precision load cells, torque transducers, instrumentation, data acquisition devices and accessories. They lean on Interface because of our experience in supplying the world solutions utilized for industrial product testing and production across all kinds of industries from agricultural machinery to medical testing machines.

The accuracy and quality of our products is why machine builders rely on Interface. In addition, our experience and diversity of product has led machine builders and engineers to choose Interface force measurement sensors throughout their careers. In fact, Interface has served machine builders for more than 50 years. It is a relationship and role we know very well.

The world of machine building has also changed over the years. In the past, machine builders used force sensors primarily to test products before going out to the market. This is still a prominent use case amongst product engineers. The fast-rising use cases over the past decade comes from the demand for smarter machines, automation and miniaturization of products.

Today, more machines builders and OEMs are designing force sensors directly into machines to allow users to activate components, monitor data on the machines in use for real-time feedback and adjustments. This type of innovation using sensors has opened opportunities for Industry 4.0 connectivity between machines.

To get a better idea of how machine builders are using force sensors, Interface has developed a wide range of applications notes to provide real world examples of force measurement in action in the machine building world. We have included a few of those examples below.

Metal Press Cutting Machine

A customer wanted to test the amount of force it takes to cut through different thicknesses of metal on their metal press cutting machine. They also wanted to ensure their metal press cutting machine is working properly and understand its maximum limitation. Interface suggested installing their 3AXX 3-Axis Force Load Cell underneath the plate where pieces of metal are placed to be cut, or punched holes in. When connected to the BX8-HD44 BlueDAQ Series Data Acquisition System, the force results of different metals being cut will be displayed, graphed, and recorded on the customer’s PC. It also has an analog output that can connect to the machines PLC in case of an overload. Using this solution, the customer was able to determine the different number of forces it took for their metal press cutting machine to cut through different types and thicknesses of metal. Read more here.

Snack Weighing and Packaging Machine

A snack manufacturing brand wanted to weigh the amount of their snacks that is automatically dispersed into the bags during the packaging process. In this case, they wanted to weigh their potato chips being packaged and ensure the potato chips are at the exact weight needed due to regulatory standards. Interface’s solution was to use multiple SPI Platform Scale Load Cells and install it to the potato multi-head weigher and packaging machine. The SPI Platform Scale Load cells were installed inside of the mount that attaches the head weigher to the packaging machine. Force results from the potato chips are read by the load cells and sent to the ISG Isolated DIN Rail Mount Signal Conditioner, where the customer is able to control the automated production from their command center. Using this solution, the customer was able to determine the weight of the potato chips being distributed into their bags with highly accurate results. They also were able to control the automated production process with the provided instrumentation. They will use this same weighing method for other snacks that need to be packaged. Read about this application here.

Tablet Forming Machine

A pharmaceutical company needs to precisely monitor the forces applied by the tablet (pill) forming machine to understand the relationship between raw material, die set, forming force, and motor cycle speed. Optimizing the equipment will improve productivity and efficiency of the tablet forming process, while reducing losses. For maximizing production and monitoring the process, Interface suggested a WMC Sealed Stainless Steel Mini Load Cell (10K lbf Capacity) be mounted in the section of the downward press bar. The load cell was then connected to a 9320 Portable Load Cell Indicator to collect the needed data. Read more here.

Machine builders require the best test and monitoring equipment. Interface has backed professional machine builders, machine design engineers, machine manufacturers and those that utilize the equipment for many years with top-of-the-line force sensing solutions.  Whether you are looking to build a machine, design machine tools and equipment or embed sensors into machines, we are here to help.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Proving Theoretical Cutting Forces of Rotary Ultrasonic Machinery App Note

Force Solutions for Testing Machines

Interface Sensors Used for Internet of Things

OEM: Industrial Robotic Arm

Fitness Equipment and Machines

Ice Machine Weighing

GS-SYS04 Gold Standard® Portable E4 Machine Calibration System

Laser Machine Cutting Force App Note

Setting the Standards in Innovation

Interface continues to advance our business to meet the growing demands and requirements of our expansive line of products. As it pertains to product development, the focus is heavily placed on innovating to enable our customers to depend on Interface solutions for evolving technology trends to design and test next-generation products. This fundamental prioritization at Interface over the past decade is centered on the way we serve our customers and by enhancing our product development process.

How does Interface take a customer challenge or key technology trend from an idea to a scalable product? 

Interface does not follow a standard product development process with a team dedicated to coming up with new ideas. New product development is a culmination of input from every facet of our company, from sales to engineers. We leverage the outstanding talent we have built at Interface across the board to identify what is next in terms of solving force measurement challenges.

New product ideas are mainly identified from three different areas:

  1. Trend Research: We are continually looking at technology trends to determine how we solve problems in an evolving technology world.
  2. Customer Requirements: Many product ideas are born from working face-to-face with customers to discover their precise needs. Occasionally, a custom product built for a specific customer will present a wider market appeal and turn into a larger product line.
  3. Product Gaps: We are always reviewing our core products to try and identify gaps in our ability to solve customer needs.

Once we have identified specific challenges that Interface can solve with a new solution, we begin to look internally to ensure that we have the right talent and expertise to deliver an industry-leading force measurement product.  If not, we may search externally for the right talent or partners to collaborate on the project.  We utilize tools like the SWOT analysis to evaluate our technical, business, and competitive position in the market.

Upon determining that the product is in high demand with our customers or in new markets, we then further define our product concept, as well as the business case for development and going to market. We perform thorough research to determine potential applications and conduct a risk analysis on the product. This is followed by a timeline for development and assigning resources to the development project.

Interface uses either an agile or phase-gate approach depending on the type of project. This allows Interface to make better decisions throughout the development process and quickly adjust when we determine there is a better or more efficient way of doing something.

If the technology we will be working with to develop the new product is something we have never worked with before, we assess the technology readiness level (TRL). This process helps to determine if we are equipped to handle the new technology or if we need to invest in additional R&D and, in some cases, expertise to carry out the project.

Following the detailed development plan, risk analysis, establishing a timeline and allocating resources to the development of the new idea, we begin the concept phase. This involves some discovery and often includes designing and manufacturing a prototype of the product, to begin testing with customers and gaining feedback for additional iterations.

These steps lead us to deciding if a minimum viable product (MVP) or minimum valuable product is the best way to proceed to market. Utilizing this approach, we can quickly develop a fully functioning product with minimal bells and whistles and get it into a customer’s hands. This also freezes the design and allows production to prepare for the product launch.

Concluding the process is a new product introduction (NPI) and lifecycle management. During NPI we are focused on two key aspects – internal planning and external communication. Our internal planning involves setting up manufacturing and educating the sales staff on the final product. External communication is the process of creating a marketing plan, developing content and data sheets, as well as planning events and demonstrations for exhibits.

During the lifecycle management phase, we are taking orders, managing service on the product, and evaluating both the product and the launch. All these initiatives help drive future product development and launch strategies for innovative solutions.

This part of the process is where our technical sales team is critical. These individuals, with strong relationships with our customers, are constantly collecting feedback and reporting back to our design and engineering teams. This helps us determine the best way to proceed in adding additional features and technology to the product.  This in turn, leads to post launch releases and enhancements to the product, which help fuel the product’s growth.

Our product development process is constantly evolving as we continue to add new capabilities and work towards providing our customers with an all-encompassing suite of force measurement solutions to handle the challenges of today and into the future. Interface has thousands of products, standard, modified, and custom.  It is critical in our approach to stay ahead of trends, predict needs, and most importantly listen to our customers to make sure our products are exactly what they need from a leader in force measurement.

To learn more about Interface and our industry-leading lineup of force measurement products providing premium accuracy and reliability contact our Application Engineer experts. Be sure to watch for new product updates by subscribing to our InterfaceIQ blog here: /blog/.

Contributor: Ted Larson, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing

Recent Articles: The Future of Force Measurement, Metrology News

New Strategic Selling Partnership to Offer Exclusive Bluetooth Solutions

Interface, Inc., the leader in force measurement solutions, today announced it has formed a strategic sales partnership with Mantracourt Electronics to offer innovative products that utilize Bluetooth® technology. New technology offerings will be exclusively available from Interface in the U.S.

“The partnership enables us to continue to advance our offerings with components that are designed for wireless applications,” said Ted Larson, vice president, Product Development at Interface.  “We have worked with Mantracourt’s team for years and believe that they are advancing new technologies in a way through online apps and Bluetooth that will enable our customers to advance the ways conduct test and measurement today.”

Interface partnered with Mantracourt based on its specialization in the design and production of unique electronic products. Both companies have rigorous standards for developing products that prioritize high accuracy, performance, and speed.

“Interface is a brand synonymous with high-quality force measurement and the ‘go-to’ supplier in the North American load cell market,” said Robert Willmington-Badcock, managing director at Mantracourt Electronics. “We have worked for many years with Interface and share the same vision of quality, reliability and performance and a shared ethos on customer support and service. It made perfect sense to Mantracourt that we should partner with Interface to offer an integrated Bluetooth solution for test and measurement customers in the USA. The partnership of mechanical and electronics provides a one-stop solution for anyone wanting short-range measurement direct to their phone.”

About Mantracourt Electronics, Ltd.

With over 40 years’ experience, Mantracourt have an un-paralleled expertise in the field of strain bridge measurement. Their instrumentation is designed and manufactured for load cells, strain gauges, pressure, torque, flow, temperature, and other ratiometric sensors. Mantracourt provide in-house design and manufacturing capabilities specializing in signal conditioning, display and control using analogue, digital or radio wireless telemetry techniques. Their solutions are proven, technologically advanced products that enable you to test the realms of possible. www.mantracourt.com

PRESS RELEASE

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by [licensee name] is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

Faces of Interface Featuring Ted Larson

When Ted Larson, VP Product & Project Management at Interface, has a passion for something he devotes his time and energy to mastering it, whether it is innovating industry game-changing products or discovering new tequila.

This pursuit of excellence has served Larson well during his 30-plus year career in product design and engineering. His expertise has helped Interface establish itself as one of the premier innovators in the force measurement industry. Larson credits his success to being mindful of customer needs.

“I believe the most important aspect of product development is listening to the customer and discovering the most difficult issues they face every day.” Ted Larson

Larson started his journey at the University of San Francisco in 1979 where he would go on to earn a B.S. in Business and Organizational Behavior. Shortly after graduating, he quickly realized that he had a desire to become an engineer and wanted to bolster his skills as a maker. In 1987, Larson earned a B.S. in Electronics from Chapman University in Orange, California.

His education and skillset boosted Larson’s career in the aerospace and defense industry where he held positions with Boeing and SYMVIONICS. Over the next 20 years, Larson would hold various management and executive level positions in manufacturing and engineering, initially starting in mechanical and eventually moving into electronics. He worked in a diverse range of industries including software, automotive, chemical and lighting.

In 2015, Larson joined Interface to head up new product development. This position was unique to Interface because in the company’s 50-year history its focus centered around improving its industry-leading load cells, as opposed to creating new products. Larson was tasked with creating products that take the company into its next 50-years, what Interface coins as the 2nd 50, as a leading innovator of force measurement technology solutions for the automotive, aerospace and defense, medical, industrial industries and metrology.

In the four years that Larson has been with Interface, the company has released some of the industry’s most innovative products including ConvexBT and AxialTQ. Larson’s propensity for fresh ideas and new ways of thinking have propelled Interface’s capability to solve complex customer problems.

“Engineers thrive when they are attacking a specific problem, and without customer input, new ideas wouldn’t change a thing.”

When Larson isn’t developing new ideas for Interface, he enjoys traveling to Mexico to be with family. In Mexico, he can spend time discovering and collecting new and delicious tequilas. Each year, Larson will bring back a few unique bottles of añjeo tequila to taste with family and friends.

For more information Interface’s new products and innovations, visit www.interfaceforce.com.