Automatic control units : how to make the right choice ?

Like for compression frames, the offer on the market is quite wide, and buyer needs to have a wide knowledge of the profession, or a high degree of perspicacity to manage to make the right choice. How can one obtain the best compromise between price, performance, and ergonomics ?

How to choose ones control units ?

In the control units area, each manufacturer usually offers a choice betwenn 3 to 4 different control units in order to supply the compression or flexural frames. Historically, the first compression or flexural testing machines were equipped with an electrohydraulic group control units (piston type pump or injection pump). The load uptake speed was controlled by the operator thanks to a valve with manual load uptake, and one or two needle gauges equipped with a disc analogical cadencemeter. With the electronic advent, these manometers with “Bourdon” tube have gradually been replaced by digital displays, increasing substantially precision and life expectancy.

The load uptake speed control,  is now automatic, and this is one of the major headway in the testing machines area. Indeed, the loading uptake speed has a very sensible influence on results. Clearly, the operator’s influence on the “driving” of a machined equipped with a hydraulic group  with manual control, is such that a testing machine, even equipped with the best measurement devices (jack, pressure sensor, and good quality display), would see its precision distorted from 5 to 20 % simply by the fact that the operator had not followed the speed according to the standards.

Hence, hydraulic groups controlled with manual load uptake are now only used on site. For information, during the last 15 years, 3R has equipped more than 1.500 laboratories with automatic control unites and less than 10 « manual » ones.

3R proposes you to choose from 4 automatic control units :

1 – Quantris control units  :

It is the basic automatic control unit, very reliable and highly performant. It is aimed to concrete industrialists for whom measure reliability and durability in time are important criteria.

2 – Techtris control units :

With the same technical qualities of the Quantris, the automatic Techtris control unit offers the possiblity to memorize testing parameters of 100 different products. It is then the ideal tool for laboratories which have a many products to test : any type of  blocks, kerbs, pavement blocks, pipes, beams, slabs, infillor blocks, and so on. This unit control will allow the operator to gain a lot of time in executing the tests and to improve work quality by avoiding parametrizing errors between each product.

3 – Quantech control units  :

This automatic control unit is equipped with the latest industrial PC. Beneficiating from the same hydraulic devices that made the reliability fame of the Quantris and Techtris, the Quantech offers to the user the computer advantages : more complexe tests cycles, backup of all the data, sophisticated summaries ediiting,  curbs drawings, statistics and so on.

4 –  Quantium control units :

It is the most high performance and complete automatic control unit of the range. Equipped with the same industrial PC than the Quantech, the Quantium pushes back the limits of what is possible in technology and flexibility. Able to drive up to 8 different frames, to read up to 32 sensors (and 16 simultaneously), equipped with a servo-valve group, it is the  ideal tool for Research Centres and higher Education Institutions.

In brief, 3R proposes an homogeneous product range, fitted to the needs of each user from the exacting industrial buyer to the researcher concerned about performance.