Customer
Our client is specialised in the making of sports rackets (tennis, badminton…), he designs frames and stringing (made of natural gut) for his products.
Tested product
Tennis racket frame
The racket’s frame is the circular part that holds the stringing of a racket together. This part is also called the « racket’s head ».
Objective
The frame is designed to support the stress caused by the stringing. However, it is not tested to external shocks (when the ball hits the frame or the racket falls down for instance). Our client contacted us for a vertical impact drop tester to test this phenomenon.
Problematic issues
Our client wants to test racket frames on different parts with shocks of variable energy. But those parameters are hardly possible with an impact drop tester. Safety is also a significant part of the project, taking into that, with a vertical impact drop tester, a mass is hung from above and is then untightened during the test.
Solution and result
LF Technologies designed a shock bench that can perfectly control the energy and position of the impact thanks to an adjustable support. This modular test bench is composed of an impactor which is shoot out at high speed by a linear actuator. Its advantage is its small volume.
This shock bench can run repeated cycle tests to measure the wear and tear of the racket’s frame as well as its resistance on the long term and with different uses. Breakage detection puts an end to the test or cycle.
Strength sensors on the racket’s support collect data to make measures and curves. They collect and send them to the built-in software that was designed specifically for this test bench. It automatically saves the measures and analyses them. It can also edit and print test reports. The software can program simple and intuitive test cycles and run them automatically
To ensure operator’s safety, testing area is equipped with a protective cover.
This test bench can be upgraded with various options such as dynamic action measurement or motorised adjustment for the impact’s position. Finally, the bench also has a static test option.
