Understanding the micro- and thermo- mechanical properties of materials is
increasingly important. Existing materials are being deployed in new environments
and exotic new materials are being developed to meet ever higher demands.

Advanced materials such as carbon fibre and graphene are becoming materials
of choice for high-end applications such as bike frames, cars, surgical implants
and aircraft wings. New materials are being developed to replace or support
human body parts such as artificial hips and artificial corneas. While these new
materials have many unique and exciting properties, allowing engineers to
design and make things that were not possible previously, It is still vital that
the physical properties of these materials are characterized and any failure
modes well understood.

The new Modular Force Stage (MFS) is a modular system designed to
characterise the mechanical properties of your samples. The system is a new
and improved version of the popular TST350 tensile stage with increased
sensitivity, resolution and a modular concept. The modular design allows
users to have an additional level of control over their experiments with the
ability to change grips, heater type and force ranges. The additional options
will accommodate a wide range of different samples and applications and be
able to test tension, compression and multi-point bending.

The Modular Force Stage can be used with reflected or transmitted illumination
as well as other techniques such as X-ray, Raman and FTIR. Its sample chamber
is sealed and can be gas purged via the built in valves. There are also options
for humidity control and electrical contact posts.

MFS on Imaging station, with a sample under tension across the 350°C heater block.

Features

• Compression and Tensile Force: Test the compressive and tensile properties
  of your sample relative to temperature and capture high resolution images
  of the structural changes.
• Multi-point bending measurements
• Wide range of control parameters: Speed of jaws, distance moved and the
  force applied can be varied relative to temperature.
• Interchangeable Heaters & Grips: The temperature can be controlled from
  –196°C up to 350°C depending on heater attached. Heaters and grips can
  be changed to accommodate a wide range of sample types.
• Electrical connections: Optional electrical connections enable electrical
  measurement on the sample during tensile testing.
• Humidity: Add the RH95 humidity unit to your system to accurately control
  the relative humidity around your samples.
• Encoded Distance Measurement: Built in high resolution encoder ensures
  precise measurement of changes in length.

Graphical Data

• Distance Resolution 1μm
• Tensile Force Range 0N to 20N, 0N to 200N
• Tensile Speed Range 0.1 to 5000 μm/s
• Maximum Travel 85mm
• Force Resolution 20N x 0.0001N；200N x 0.001N