We have today launched our latest model of our TruBurst instrument for testing bursting strength which has unprecedented functionality, enabling an extensive variety of tests to be performed on a wide range of materials.
TruBurst is enhanced by the our TestWise intuitive software, which is available in two versions, ‘TestWise Lite', which allows test results to be saved to a PC and printed and the advanced ‘TestWise Pro’ which enables access to more advanced features such as cyclic, rapid fatigue, extension and recovery.
It also allow the creation of user-defined tests, giving the user full control of the test parameters and opening up opportunities for research and development engineers and to laboratories who wish to offer a wider variety of tests.
MANY APPLICATIONS IN NUMEROUS SECTORS
TruBurst is approved by UK retailer Marks and Spencer for applications within the Textile sector, to test knitted products such as T-Shirts, casualwear and sportswear. The instrument is also used to test nonwoven materials including the strength of wet wipes and cleaning cloths.
However, TruBurst is not restricted to applications within the textile sector, it has many applications in a diverse array of other industries. One of these sectors is the medical industry for which TruBurst has been used to test the strength of knee and elbow supports, wound dressings, sutures, hernia patches, blister packs plus surgical gowns and masks. TruBurst has also been used to test mosquito nets, used by organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the strength and reliability of which literally becomes life or death to those to whom they offer protection.
The burst stretch of paper and plastic products are also items for which TruBurst is used including light weight paper, food packaging, bin liners, vacuum packaging and tin foil.
TESTWISE PRO - intuitive software with advanced features
As mentioned, TestWise Pro gives the user full control over the test parameters enabling user defined tests to be built. Complex exercise, recovery and fatigue tests can be easily and intuitively created. This ability for the user to configure their own tests will undoubtedly be invaluable to many companies.
These user-defined tests are created using 'Stages' - a new test sequence which can be simply built-up by adding 'stages' to a list.
Configurable parameters within the software can control the inflation to a certain pressure, to determine the rate at which the inflation occurs and the specific height to which the material is inflated. Burst detection is always active and will finish any test immediately once the material bursts. The time to hold the current inflation pressure or distension can be specified in Hours, Minutes and Seconds and this setting determines the number of times the material cycles. Holding at each cycle is also configurable within the software.
Live instrument data is a very useful function of the TestWise Pro software. This can show live graphing of Burst, Cyclic and Stretch & Recovery testing with distension, pressure and time recorded in real time. The material’s properties can be quickly visualised and the captured data can be saved for subsequent examination and analysis.
The software has intelligent export to Excel (.xlsx) and PDF which allow statistics and graphical analysis, tables of individual results and averages such as Distension vs Pressure, Distension vs Time and Pressure vs Time. The subsequent results shown include Inflation Rate, Correction Rate, Burst Detection, Clamp Pressure, Target Distension, Target Pressure, Time to Burst and Diaphragm Correction plus essential information such as date and time of test, standard title, specimen description and procedure settings.
In addition to the intuitive TestWise software, TruBurst has numerous benefits to aid the user, to make the process easier and to ensure the reliability and consistency of the results.
COLOUR TOUCH SCREEN
One of these benefits is the 7 inch colour capacitive touch screen, as used on a Smartphone. It is fast and very responsive with a clear and uncluttered display, which maximises user efficiency and minimises training time, as it is extremely intuitive for first time users. Using this touch screen, standards can easily be selected via the relevant icon and additionally the software has been designed to minimise the number of key strokes required to set-up and activate the test with many of the parameters are only one keystroke away. This contributes significantly to greater user and instrument efficiency. The screen angle has also been ergonomically designed to give the optimum "fit" between the users and the instrument.
Unlike other instruments of this type which require manual pressure adjustment, dome clamp pressure is set through the software, making the process very simple. The dome pressure used during the test is also recorded in subsequent reports. The on-board display software has a datalogger, running on Windows, to enable all test results to be saved and printed using TestWise Lite or TestWise Pro.
AUTOMATIC FLOW CONTROL CALIBRATION
TruBurst provides the unique feature of automatic flow control for M&S P27 and adidas 4.09, offering tremendous time-savings for the operator and creating opportunities for a greater number of tests to be performed. The time-consuming process involving pressure adjustments has been eliminated. Importantly, this feature also increases accuracy, consistency and reliability of the results. The James Heal TruBurst instrument is approved by UK retailer Marks & Spencer for bursting strength.
NON-CONTACT LASER DISTENSION MEASUREMENT
TruBurst is equipped with non-contact laser distension measurement which ensures precision accuracy and excellent repeatability of test results. This offers an advantage with regard to reliability and diaphragm life.
TOOL FREE DOME CHANGE
The instrument has five interchangeable domes, with the software automatically recognising the dome size. Additionally, to the user’s benefit, dome changing is tool free, which accelerates testing and reduces instrument downtime. Changing the diaphragms only takes seconds and is easily performed by the user without the involvement of a member of the maintenance team.
EASY TO FIT CLAMPING RING
The bottom clamp ring features a locating flat, which is now at the front of the instrument, enabling quick and easy assembly and eliminating the risk of misfitting the clamp ring.
DIAPHRAGM CORRECTION
Another features of the software prompts the user to action a diaphragm correction after tests on the specimens have been carried out. The user can then choose whether to proceed with this correction.
AUTOMATIC TIME TO BURST
For ISO 13938-2 and similar standards, the method requires the user to burst a specimen within 20s ± 5s. The James Heal TruBurst instrument will display a warning message if the specimen does not burst within the specified time. If instructed, the instrument will then automatically adjust to the correct pressure rate to give the correct burst time.
LIFTING SAFETY GUARD
The safety guard on the TruBurst is now an integral part of the instrument, sliding up to provide easy access which enables valuable laboratory bench space to be better utilized.
The extensive features of the new James Heal TruBurst, together with the advanced functionality and flexibility of the company's intuitive TestWise Pro software, will offer many industries an instrument with significant benefits in terms of time-savings and instrument efficiencies and accuracy, consistency and reliability of test results.