Pneumatic Grips for Universal Testing Machines
Products > Tensile Grips > Pneumatic Grips
Overview
Pneumatic grips use air to actuate the grip jaws and provide a constant and repeatable lateral force on the sample specimen. There are many different types of pneumatic grips that are used for tensile testing including vise grips, wedge grips, and certain styles of rope grips. Pneumatic grip setups are ideal for production environments with high testing throughput requirements.
Using pneumatic tensile grips is easy and makes testing incredibly repeatable because the gripping force is the same for each test. Variance between technicians is eliminated. Pneumatic grips can also speed up the pace of testing in a lab because opening and closing the air-actuated fixture is quick. Robotic testing systems will commonly use pneumatic grips or hydraulic grips in order to secure the sample specimen.
Setting up your Pneumatic Grips is easy:
The most common pneumatic vise grip package includes 2 grips, 2 locking pins, 4 jaw inserts, a pair of switches (hand switches shown below), 20 feet of hose, 1 ultra quiet compressor, and all of the couplings and fittings required. Universal Grip sources premium pneumatic components from Festo and offers complete solutions for pneumatic grip setups.
Installing a pneumatic grip onto your Universal Testing Machine is very easy to do because we supply our customers with everything they need. Please watch the below videos for more information on how to get your tensile air grips up and running.
Switches
Pneumatic fixtures can have three types of switches which are used to open and close the pneumatic actuator. The first type of switch is installed at the base of the grip, this is the lowest cost option. Foot pedals are safest option because they can be placed on the floor, away from the tensile tester. The third and final option for pneumatic switches are hand levers. Below you can find pictures of each type of switch.
Pneumatic Hoses
The air hoses use an M5 connection. Teflon hoses are available for high temperature testing up to 280 degrees Celsius. The picture below shows the centric pneumatic grips which are installed with finger switches at the base. The video shows how to connect a pneumatic hose up to the air grips. UGC's product line includes over 100 different types of pneumatic designs to fit virtually any tensile strength testing application
High Capacity 100kN Pneumatic Wedge Grips
Accessories and Switches
Each order of pneumatic switches includes 20 ft. of hosing as well as a 1/8" quick disconnect pneumatic coupling which fits most compressors. Installing pneumatic grips is simple and Universal Grip will help you get up and running.
Quiet Compressor for Lab use
Universal Grip offers a great value quiet compressor which reaches up to 125psi or about 8 bar. The pump is extremely quiet at 60dB which makes it ideal for an office or R&D type environment. These compressors are easy to use because they are oil-less and therefore low-maintenance. They are also easy to transport at only around 40 lbs.
Tiny Pneumatic Grip - 100N
The tiny pneumatic grips are used to test microtensile samples such as in ASTM D1708. They can also be used for biomedical research applications and other specialized projects.
Small Pneumatic Grip - 200N
The design for the small pneumatic grip is slightly different and can hold wider grip inserts than the tiny version. The fixed grip face is adjustable.
Single Action Pneumatic - 1.2kN
The 1.2kN grip has a single actuator and the other actuator is adjustable. These grips are designed to be low cost and they are not very versatile.
Dual Action Pneumatic - 1.2kN
The dual action grips offer a slightly different design. These grips are much more versatile in terms of both the size of the grip insert being used, as well as the alignment. Different actuating pins can be used to change the location of where the grips will clamp together.
Pneumatic Tensile Grip - 2.6kN
The 2.6kN Pneumatic Grip is available with either 1 or 2 pneumatic drums. The two drums are not necessary, however some people prefer them. This item is kept in stock inventory.
Centric Pneumatic Grips - 2.4kN
The centric grip gives the user the clearance to position the grips as close together as possible. With other styles, the pneumatic drum prevents the grips from being able to get close to each other.
Pneumatic Grips - 7kN
Slightly larger grips to accomodate higher tensile loads.
Large Pneumatic Grips - 16kN
The large pneumatic grips are able to hold up to 16kN of force. Different sized grip face inserts can also be used with this larger design.
Big Pneumatic Grips - 30kN
The big pneumatic grips can be used for testing high strength textiles and geo-textiles. The jaw inserts are wide, however smaller inserts can be used for grab tests and similar procedures where specific sized jaws are needed.
Pneumatic Wedge Grips
The pneumatic wedge grips come in several sizes including 10kN, 20kN, 50kN, and 100kN. The jaw movement is such that it is self-aligning, and the clamping system intensifies throughout the test based on the wedge design.
Pneumatic Rope Grips
Pneumatic Rope grips are used to test wires, cords, ropes, webbings, and other flexible materials. They work off of a similar design as the wrap grips, with a pneumatic actuator that secures the sample in place. There are many different designs.