Universal Testing Machine

“A universal testing machine is used to test the tensile stress and compressive strength of materials. It is named after the fact that it can perform many standard tensile and compression tests on materials, components, and structures.”  This is very true, but perhaps overly simplistic.  We’ll try to explain some more capabilities of these machines in this post.

Before we begin, we need to discuss terminology.  We’re amazed at the variety of terms in the industry that are used to refer to a UTM.  Most common are “tensile tester”, “compression tester” and “bend tester”.  There are also UTM’s that have been stripped of capabilities or marketed to a specific sector which have led to the development of specialized names such as “texture analyzer” for food, “top load compression tester” for packaging and pipe, and “peel tester” for adhesives, tapes, and labels.  Today, a UTM can perform all of these tests and more.  A UTM is a great multi-purpose instrument for an R&D lab or QC department.  In layman’s terms, here are a few examples of what a UTM can do: