November AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 2 2 TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT Instron’s Bluehill Universal software is displayed on a large format touch monitor and utilizes a flat intuitive user interface. FIVE TRENDS IN MATERIALS TESTING EQUIPMENT Automation, ease of use, safety, and data integrity are driving changes in the mechanical testing industry. Users can avoid typing errors by using a barcode to emulate a keyboard. Barcodes and QR codes can store information to automate many manual processes. I n addition to the evolution in tech- nology used to evaluate mechanical properties of materials, components, and structures, the people using the equipment and the processes sur- rounding the equipment have also evolved. Over the past few years, re- quirements from operators and lab managers across diverse industries have merged to reveal new trends and expectations in the field of mechanical testing. These trends broadly include adding automation to reduce operator errors, locking down system permis- sions to ensure data integrity, superior usability to reduce the demand for op- erator training, and safety. A closer look at these trends reveals that they heav- ily rely on the software platform used to control the testing system. From In- stron’s perspective, the most common trends in the industry are: 1. Barcoding 2. Integration with laboratory information management systems/ databases 3. Data integrity 4. Usability of the system and software 5. Safety BARCODING Barcoding specimens or batches of specimens aims to reduce opera- tor error caused by typing incorrect in- formation into the test system. Many software packages offer barcode scan- ning that directly inputs fields such as lot number and batch number into the software program. This is the most ba- sic sort of barcode functionality where the barcode acts as a keyboard emula- tor. However, many users want to take barcoding a step further by linking the barcoded information to test recipes or test methods. In these instances, most labs prefer to use QR codes because of the additional information that can be stored in the QR code format. The de- sired trend is to allow a technician to scan a barcode or QR code on a batch of specimens that would then open the correct software test method and popu- late all necessary fields. This allows the operator to scan a single field and im- mediately conduct a test, without the concern of making a simple human er- ror that could invalidate the test results. LIMS INTEGRATION While barcoding automates the entering of data into the software, many users also want to automate the pro- cess of extracting test results and raw data from the system. Most labs use a network drive or company database to store or back up the results and/or raw data fromtheirmaterials testing system. Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) are designed to store large datasets from multiple pieces of testing equipment in one place. How- ever, many LIMS are password protect- ed and come in a variety of shapes and sizes, making it difficult for a third-party equipment supplier to directly interface with them. For this reason, the current trend is to automate the process of ex- tracting data from testing equipment in completely customizable formatting. By offering a flexible export format, IT de- partments who manage the LIMS can easily pull the exported data into their LIMS as part of a weekly, daily, or hour- ly process. Many software programs can also run an executable file to trigger a data pull after every export, further au- tomating and simplifying the process of backing up the results of the test sys- tem. Some equipment suppliers may also have a separate tool that allows us- ers to export results to a database that lets them view those results over time. These types of data trend tracking tools can be used in combination with an export of results and raw data to a larg- er LIMS.