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most prominent among these is enhanc-
ing test efficiency. As metals producers
demand greater throughput, they seek an
increased return on assets and look to in-
strumentation suppliers for solutions that
will assist them in accomplishing more
with their testing systems.
“testXpert II was designed to maxi-
mize testing efficiency, to save time in the
setup process. For example, the test envi-
ronment is stored, so the user simply en-
gages the tools that are to be used and the
software automatically recalls the load
cell, grips or platens, movement direction,
extensometer, hard limits, soft limits, and
the test space,” says Goblirsch.
With more than 500 test programs
available, the software enables test per-
formance in compliance with over 900
standards. In addition, automatic unit
conversion ensures that the software
speaks the customer’s language—units
correspond with industry standards. The
software also features standard test pro-
grams, which pre-store protocols in ac-
cordance with specific standards. For labs
that run a wide range of standards, a mas-
ter test program is available to support a
host of standards for tensile, compression,
flexure, tear, cyclic, melt flow, pendulum
impact, and hardness tests.
The software can also perform com-
pliance testing on its own routines. A spe-
cialized function called
Tenstand
verification
can validate the procedure in
the software to demonstrate that the soft-
ware itself is meeting test requirements.
Learning new testing routines takes time
and requires a learning curve to achieve a
high level of competency. Incorporating a
consistent user interface allows standard-
ization of training and testing routines
from system to system around the world.
Support for regulatory compliance
As regulatory bodies continue to
focus on elevating safety and traceability,
testing and verification processes that
occur as part of product development and
quality assurance routines are emerging
as documentation centers. Measurement
and control software for materials testing
systems helps support the establishment
of audit trails and process controls. These
factors are particularly important in the
medical industry, where regulation has
undergone substantial change in the past
decade. Meeting stringent requirements
associated with FDA and EMA (European
Medicines Agency) regulations repre-
sents a significant and ongoing challenge
for participants in the medical products
industry.
Recordkeeping requirements are de-
scribed under FDA 21 CFR Part 11. This
mandate requires pharmaceutical and
medical device manufacturers, biotech
companies, and other FDA-regulated in-
dustries to implement controls, including
audits, system validations, audit trails,
electronic signatures, and documentation
for software and systems involved in pro-
cessing electronic data required to be
maintained by FDA predicate rules, or
A report generation function facilitates data export and organizes key information into a
simplified format.