Material characterisation services upgraded

Major new investment in specialist materials characterisation laboratory aims to help OEMs select the right materials for performance throughout the product lifecycle.

nCode International has made a major new investment in its specialist materials characterisation laboratory to help OEMs select the right materials for performance throughout the product lifecycle.

nCode has relocated its laboratory into a new facility in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, adding both capacity and flexibility, as a direct response to the increasing demand for high specification characterisation tests.

The new facility adds over 50% more space for machines, as well improved environmental control and data acquisition.

The SoMat eDAQ-lite is the standard data acquisition unit across the lab.

nCode itself uses the nCode lab to provide validation data in support of its fatigue models in the ICE-flow GlyphWorks data analysis software and DesignLife FEA fatigue software.

According to Norman Thornton, Head of Test Facilities: "nCode's material characterisation services are an important part of the nCode product lifecycle performance philosophy".

"Understanding how a material behaves is critical to the long term performance of the product".

"Customers use nCode's services when it is important to get the right material data; and data that is statistically appropriate for use in downstream analysis".

"The new lab allows us to increase capacity, but we retain our unique, specialist approach, and the ability to support the complete testing process from specification to data".

"We are certainly not a high volume test house".

Lab customers include Messier Dowty, Aston Martin, Magna PowerTrain and Arcelor.

Angelo Fanourakis, Chief Engineer, GKN Autostructures, says: "nCode's lab is a unique facility for materials characterisation because the nCode team offers more than just testing; they help understand what data is actually needed, specify the tests, prepare samples and interpret the results".

"I feel confident that material characterisation data from the nCode lab can be used throughout the design process".

The nCode lab provides specialist characterisation services that include: support of PhD metallurgists and statisticians; development, in house, of equipment for both stress control and strain control testing; improving the accuracy of statistical and curve fit routines; new +/-5kN dynamic test equipment for non metallic materials; recording of residual stress changes during fatigue life testing; small force vibration test facility up to 250Hz for materials and components especially attractive for equipment mounted on vehicles; torsion fatigue testing machines; smart logging using SoMat eDAQ; and high alignment testing systems capable of offering specimen strain symmetry of better than 2%.

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