Mechanical Testing Lab
- Plastics
- Polymers
- Composites
- Elastomers
- Foams
- Metals
- Tensile
- Compressive
- Flexural
- Shear
- Fatigue
- Creep
- Stress Relaxation
- Cyclic Loading
- Impact
- Fracture
- High Strain Rate
- DMA
- Bulk/Volumetric
- Miscellaneous
- Test Methods
- Static, cyclic, dynamic, impact, and time-dependent testing programs
- Method-appropriate fixtures, specimen geometries, and strain or displacement measurement
- Ambient, conditioned, humidity-controlled, subambient, or elevated-temperature programs
- Multi-rate and high-speed testing where required
- Engineering test report (PDF) with digital data delivery
- Method-appropriate outputs such as stress–strain curves, modulus and strength values, cycles to failure, creep and relaxation curves, impact metrics, and viscoelastic response data
- Raw data exports available on request, where applicable
- Exact deliverables depend on the selected method family, specimen configuration, and test conditions
Get Started
Tell us about the material, application, environment, and any method, standard, specimen, or conditioning constraints.
We’ll align the appropriate method, specimen requirements, and deliverables to your objectives, then provide a quote and test plan.
Send the purchase order and arrange delivery of materials or specimens so the program can move into scheduling and execution.
You’ll receive an engineering test report with digital data delivery, along with any agreed raw data or method-appropriate outputs.
FAQs
Describe the material, loading mode, service environment, likely failure mode, and outputs you need back. We’ll recommend the most appropriate mechanical test family and method path.
This page functions as a commercial entry point for mechanical testing. It helps visitors start the discussion, while the Test Methods section below presents individual mechanical test method categories.
Mechanical testing spans plastics and other polymers, composites, elastomers, foams, metals, and other application-specific materials. Suitability depends on the test method, specimen form, and objective.
Yes—where applicable, programs can incorporate conditioning, temperature, humidity, static or cyclic loading, and multi-rate or high-speed testing.
They are presented in the Test Methods section of this page under each mechanical test method category. Click through on the test method of interest for the applicable methods and standards.
You receive an engineering test report (PDF) and digital data deliverables. Exact outputs vary by the selected method and may include curves, calculated properties, life data, or viscoelastic response data. Raw data exports are available on request where applicable.
Typical turnaround is five business days for standard testing. Turnaround can vary based on the selected method, conditioning requirements, run length, and test volume.
Tell us what you need back—properties, curves, cycles-to-failure, raw data, formats, environmental conditions, and any required method or standard. We’ll confirm the appropriate test path and deliverables in the quote before testing begins.
Mechanical Test Methods
Mechanical testing of materials plays a foundational role in evaluating how materials behave under a wide range of mechanical forces. It provides critical data on properties such as strength, stiffness, ductility, toughness, fatigue resistance, and deformation characteristics across multiple modes of deformation—insights that are essential for selecting appropriate materials, optimizing product designs, ensuring structural integrity, and predicting service life. Mechanical tests subject materials to controlled loading conditions representative of real-world applications, from static forces such as tension, compression, and bending to dynamic and time-dependent phenomena such as impact, fatigue, and stress relaxation. Standardized methods ensure accuracy, repeatability, and comparability of results across industries.
From traditional tests such as tensile and compression testing to advanced techniques such as high strain rate analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and volumetric stress-strain characterization, mechanical testing supports material development and application across fields ranging from aerospace and automotive engineering to biomedical devices and consumer products.
Tensile
| Relevant standards | ASTM D638 ASTM E8 ASTM D3039 ASTM D5766 ASTM D412 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Tensile strength, modulus, elongation, yield behavior, stress-strain curves, and failure observations. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers, metals. |
| Capability highlights | General tensile testing, including high-speed, composite, elastomer, elevated-temperature metal, open-hole tension, peel, and strain-measurement programs. |
| Common applications | Material qualification, product development, simulation support, design validation, quality control, and failure analysis. |
| Service page | View all tensile testing services |
Compression
| Relevant standards | ASTM D695 ISO 604 ASTM D575 ASTM D395 ASTM D6641/D6641M ASTM D6484 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Compressive modulus and strength, yield or ultimate strength, stress-strain curves, compression set, bulk modulus, and unloading response. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, foams, elastomers/rubbers, filled plastics, composites. |
| Capability highlights | General compression testing, including elastomer/foam, lubricated, confined, high-speed, combined-loading compression, and open-hole compression programs. |
| Common applications | Product design, structural evaluation, performance optimization, specification support, and failure analysis. |
| Service page | View all compression testing services |
Flexural
| Relevant standards | ASTM D790 ISO 178 ASTM D6272 ASTM D7264/D7264M |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Flexural modulus, strength, yield/peak/break strain, load-displacement curves, stress-strain curves. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers, metals. |
| Capability highlights | General flexural testing, including three-point, four-point, composite, high-speed, and multi-configuration programs. |
| Common applications | Material selection, product design, bending-performance evaluation, quality assurance, failure analysis. |
| Service page | View all flexural testing services |
Shear
| Relevant standards | ISO 15310 ASTM D732 ASTM D5379 ASTM D7078/D7078M ASTM D2344/D2344M ASTM D3518/D3518M |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Shear modulus, strength, stress-strain curves, short-beam strength, offset yield, strain at failure. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers, structural materials. |
| Capability highlights | Plate twist, punch shear, Iosipescu, rail shear, short-beam, lap shear, ±45° laminate, planar tension programs. |
| Common applications | Shear-load evaluation, composite characterization, material selection, structural safety, failure analysis. |
| Service page | View all shear testing services |
Bulk/Volumetric
| Relevant standards | DPL D-020 DPL M-214 ASTM D792 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Bulk modulus, specific volume, solid density, volumetric stress-strain curves, compressibility. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, thermosets, elastomers/rubbers, hyperelastic materials. |
| Capability highlights | Bulk modulus and volumetric stress-strain testing, including high-pressure, temperature-pressure matrix, and FEA-input programs. |
| Common applications | Hyperelastic modeling, seal and gasket design, energy absorption, simulation support, confined-environment performance. |
| Service page | View all bulk/volumetric testing services |
High Strain Rate
| Relevant standards | ASTM D638 ASTM E8 ISO 527-1 ASTM D412 ASTM D695 ASTM D790 ISO 178 ASTM D575 ISO 604 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Stress-strain curves, modulus, yield, ultimate properties, strain-rate sensitivity, rate comparisons. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers, foams, metals. |
| Capability highlights | High-speed tensile, compression, flexural, foam/elastomer compressibility, and very high-speed tensile programs. |
| Common applications | Impact analysis, crashworthiness, dynamic material modeling, high-speed manufacturing, failure prevention. |
| Service page | View all high strain rate testing services |
Fatigue
| Relevant standards | ASTM D7791 ASTM D671 ASTM D7774 Procedure A ASTM E466 ASTM E606 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Cycles to failure, S-N curves, E-N curves, load ratios, fatigue life, endurance behavior. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers, metals. |
| Capability highlights | Tensile fatigue, flexural fatigue, three-point flexural fatigue, strain-controlled fatigue, S-N and E-N curve programs. |
| Common applications | Durability assessment, fatigue-life prediction, structural integrity, material qualification, failure prevention. |
| Service page | View all fatigue testing services |
Creep
| Relevant standards | ASTM D2990 ISO 899-1 ISO 899-2 ASTM E139 ISO 204 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Creep strain, time to rupture, creep rate, creep modulus, isochronous stress-strain curves. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers, metals. |
| Capability highlights | Tensile, compressive, flexural, humidity-controlled, high-temperature, and creep-rupture programs. |
| Common applications | Long-term performance, material selection, design safety, service-life prediction, sustained-load evaluation. |
| Service page | View all creep testing services |
Stress Relaxation
| Relevant standards | ASTM D6048 ASTM D6147 DPL M-624 DPL M-625 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Stress-relaxation curves, residual stress, retention values, relaxation rate, long-term force decay. |
| Materials | Elastomers, rubbers, TPEs, viscoelastic polymers, sealing and force-retention materials. |
| Capability highlights | Short-term tensile/compressive, stepwise relaxation, long-term instrumented compression, temperature-conditioned programs. |
| Common applications | Seals, gaskets, O-rings, force retention, vibration damping, soft polymer performance. |
| Service page | View all stress relaxation testing services |
DMA
| Relevant standards | ASTM D5026 ASTM D5024 ASTM D5023 ASTM D5279 ASTM D7028 ISO 6721-4 ISO 6721-7 DPL M-615 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Storage modulus, loss modulus, tan delta, Tg, mastercurves, shift factors, creep-relaxation response. |
| Materials | Polymers, thermoplastics, composites, elastomers, biomaterials, soft solids. |
| Capability highlights | Tensile/compressive, flexural, torsional DMA; temperature, frequency, and time sweeps; mastercurve and TTS programs. |
| Common applications | Polymer characterization, transition-temperature evaluation, dynamic loading, material development, long-term prediction. |
| Service page | View all DMA testing services |
Cyclic Loading
| Relevant standards | DPL M-035 DPL M-036 DPL M-037 ASTM D412 ASTM D638 ASTM E8 ISO 527-1 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | True yield, cyclic stress-strain curves, hysteresis, damage, hardening/softening, repeated load-unload response. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, elastomers/rubbers, metals, alloys, composites. |
| Capability highlights | Plastic-point, hysteresis, cyclic damage, cyclic hardening, stress-strain, and stabilized-response programs. |
| Common applications | Plasticity onset, Mullins effect, damage analysis, damping, energy dissipation, simulation support. |
| Service page | View all cyclic loading testing services |
Impact
| Relevant standards | ASTM D256 ISO 180 ASTM D4812 ASTM D6110 ISO 179 ASTM D3763 ISO 6603-1 ISO 6603-2 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Impact strength, break type, maximum load, failure energy, deflection, load-deflection and energy-time data. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers, metals, alloys, glass, ceramics, packaging materials. |
| Capability highlights | Izod, Charpy, instrumented drop, falling dart, Dynatup, low-speed multiaxial, and multiaxial impact programs. |
| Common applications | Toughness comparison, failure-mode assessment, impact resistance, product durability, packaging evaluation. |
| Service page | View all impact testing services |
Fracture
| Relevant standards | ASTM D5045 ASTM E399 ASTM E647 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Fracture toughness, strain energy release rate, maximum load, crack length, crack-growth rate. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, metals, alloys, adhesives, structural materials. |
| Capability highlights | Fracture toughness, energy-release-rate, static fracture, cyclic crack-growth, and fatigue crack-propagation programs. |
| Common applications | Structural integrity, durability, crack-growth prediction, failure analysis, service-life prediction. |
| Service page | View all fracture testing services |
Miscellaneous
| Relevant standards | ASTM D1894 ASTM D4060 DPL M-067 ASTM D953 ASTM D5961/D5961M ASTM D2240 ASTM D624 ISO 34-1 ASTM E2218 ISO 12004-2 |
|---|---|
| Key property data | Friction, abrasion, bearing strength, hardness, tear strength, forming limits, wear index, mass loss. |
| Materials | Plastics, polymers, composites, elastomers/rubbers, metals, alloys, films, filaments, wires. |
| Capability highlights | COF, Taber abrasion, filament/wire abrasion, bearing response, durometer hardness, tear strength, forming-limit testing. |
| Common applications | Product development, quality control, failure analysis, friction/wear, elastomer durability, packaging films, sheet-metal forming. |
| Service page | View all miscellaneous testing services |
