The revolutionary design of Zwick's new Hit5.5P pendulum impact tester has won the Materialica Design Award
This award was presented by Munich Expo for the fourth time as part of Materialica, the international trade fair for material applications, surface technology and product engineering, which took place 10-12 October 2006 in Munich.
The Materialica Design Awards are given for design-orientated application of material applications and the successful combination of technical innovation and design quality.
Extensive testing has proved that the latest dual carbon rod system developed by Zwick for its impact tester reduces the internal mechanic vibrations, caused when a pendulum hammer hits an impact specimen, by almost 50 %.
The design ensures that virtually all of the kinetic energy of the swinging pendulum is transmitted to the specimen at the point of impact.
Because of this unique design and its associated technical advantages, the independent Materialica specialist jury presented the award to Zwick.
"We are honoured and delighted to receive the Materialica Design Award.
"During the development phase for the impact tester, it was always our goal to develop the worlds most advanced 5.5Joule impact tester and remove many of the limitations found in today's conventional products.
"On the basis of the success of the Hit5.5P we are increasing the range of machines up to 50 Joules later this year", explained Jan Stefan Roell, CEO of Zwick Roell.
In addition to the new pendulum system the Hit5.5P offers many unique advantages to customers who carry out impact tests on plastics: The base plate of the machine is manufactured from a vibration-damping cast material, and three heavy duty machine mounts with lock nuts provide a very firm base and leveling capability.
In order to meet the requirements of the ASTM and ISO standards, it is often necessary to change pendulum hammers, so Zwick has made this much easier for operators by eliminating tools or screws which saves time, effort, and improves reliability.
To reduce the likelihood of errors when changing pendulums, the Hit5.5P has an integrated pendulum recognition system.
This guarantees that no two pendulum sizes or tests will ever be confused with one another.
It also guarantees the traceability, reliability, and correct documentation of the test results whenever different pendulums are used.
The clamping force of the Izod vise may directly influence the test results.
Zwick has developed two solutions: a manual vice using a precision threaded spindle which ensures that the torque is transferred directly to the specimen without friction losses, and a pneumatic vise where the clamping force can be regulated and which is very comfortable to use.
These vices also incorporate a centering device to ensure that the specimen is positioned at the correct height.
In order to make sure that the radii and relief meet the very high tolerances required in the standards, Zwick manufactures the supports and abutments using a high precision CNC process in its own factory.
As with most other Zwick products, the market leading testing software Testxpert II, is totally integrated.
Test results can be automatically captured, statistically evaluated, presented as graphics or tables, and transferred to other computer systems or application programs.
In summary the Hit5.5P is an affordable - yet highly accurate and adaptable impact tester.
It has many unique and innovative design features which will greatly benefit users both in research and development as well as in production control environments.
This impact testing instrument covers the following standards for energies up to 5.5J: ISO 179-1, ISO 180, ISO 8256, ASTM D 256, ASTM D 4812, ASTM D 6110, ASTM D 1822, DIN 53435.
