The cost of mechanical testers has prompted the rise of 'Do it yourself' (DIY) testers, consisting of reliable and accurate load cells. However, position accuracy, as well as motor reliability have proven to be problematic in many instances. In response to this, our group has designed a reproducible DIY mechanical tester, which uses the accuracy of a CNC milling machine to significantly enhance the reliability of collected data. In addition to this, we have included a graphical user interface, which combines every step of the project into one organized and easy to use window, where test parameters may be input.
Our website is the forefront of this project. On it you will learn how to set up a CNC mechanical tester, you will be able to download the programs needed to run mechanical tests, and you will have access to written and video tutorials explaining what to do at every step.
Visit our website at http://students.cooper.edu/isakov/CNCMechTest/HomePage.html for more information.