Physical

Physical Testing Methods

These testing methods involve the measurement of physical characteristics of a material. They are especially useful for emulating how a product will behave when it is being used by the end user.

About Physical Testing Methods

Physical testing methods can include dimensional analysis, determination of a material’s density or specific gravity, or measuring a material’s strength under a tensile load, for example.  These properties of polymers are key to specifying the correct resins and to verifying that the resin you received meets the specifications to which it was purchased.

Standard test methods are available for many of the physical tests. 

At SGS PSI, these include:

• Tensile (ASTM D638, D412, D882)
• Compression (ASTM D695)
• Flex (ASTM D790)
• Friction (ASTM D1894)
• Dimensional Analysis
• Hardness (ASTM D2240, E18)-includes Rockwell
• Density (ASTM D792, D1505)
• Tear (ASTM D1004)
• Lap Shear (ASTM D1002)
• Compression Set (ASTM D395)
• Izod Impact (ASTM D256 & D4812, ISO 180)
• Charpy Impact (ASTM D6110, ISO 179)

In some cases, a client wants to measure a physical property on their product rather than on a standard test piece.  At SGS PSI, we specialize in developing test methods to apply to your product.  Examples include friction and compression testing of implants along with tensile testing of a molded part which required embedding in an epoxy in order to grip without breaking.