The CK10 is a small, Bench top, vertical loading compression testing machine. It has been designed to enable the easy testing of brittle engineering materials. The built in acoustic sensor enables the crack detection in ceramic and coated materials.
Load capacity up to 10 kN (1000 kg), in units of kg, N or lb.
Resolution down to 10 gm with 100 kg Load Cell.
The CK10 is currently out of production. Re-design is necessary because some of the parts are no longer available.
Testing Facilities
Brittle materials: detection of surface micro-cracks in the range 0.3 - 30�m by Hertzian Indentation testing
Edge toughness testing
The determination of Fracture Toughness (KIC)
Non-destructive proof testing of components for surface cracks and edge toughness
Determination of surface residual stresses in brittle materials
Basic hardness testing with the load & hold facility
Compression testing up to 1 tonne
Low cycle fatigue
Crack testing of coated surfaces in 3 or 4 point bending
Acoustic sensing facility is built in
The CK10 has been designed in collaboration with Oxford University Department of Materials, and with the aid of DTI funding from a regional development grant.
The CK10 construction is modular. The mechanical loading frame and motor are combined and mounted onto the baseplate. For efficiency, a recirculating ball screw is used to drive the crosshead. The electronic design ensures that a minimum of interconnecting wiring is used.
The main cover is made of 16 gauge steel and incorporates the main control panel and the printer. The load cell is purpose designed and built. A sliding drawer mounted on the underside of the bottom cover contains the handbook and some of the essential tools for use with the CK10.
The integral printer is flush mounted on the side panel of the main casing and the paper roll and ribbon occupy a space within the body of the printer. The roll and ribbon can easily be changed via the printer's hinged door which opens to expose these items.
Overload and over travel protection is incorporated into the control electronics. When the Load Peak Hold is in operation, fracture is detected when the instantaneous load detected by the load cell falls to a set % of the maximum (peak held) load which has been reached during a particular test.
Because the control system is microcontroller driven by software stored in an EPROM, software upgrades and special purpose test requirements can easily be implemented by changing the EPROM.