Zwick supplies servo-hydraulic testing machine to DHBW

DHBW Stuttgart provides scientific and theoretical teaching plus important key qualifications for students on ‘dual study’ courses. To ensure their training program reflects actual practice as closely as possible, the Faculty of Technology at DHBW Stuttgart will in future use a Zwick servo-hydraulic testing machine for its courses.

With over 7,000 students, the Baden-Württemberg Co-operative State University (DHBW) in Stuttgart is one of the largest higher education establishments in the Stuttgart and Oberer Neckar region of Germany. DHBW is a pioneer at university level of the long-standing German 'dual study' concept, whereby academic institutes and employers collaborate to provide theoretical and practical training in alternating phases at the two establishments. To ensure that existing high training standards are maintained, the Faculty of Technology has acquired a Zwick servo-hydraulic testing machine for use in introducing students to the subject of fatigue strength.

The testing system employs a table-top testing machine from the HC range. The machine’s compact design, featuring an integral hydraulic power-pack, enables it to be incorporated into an existing training laboratory at the cost of very little space. The testing actuator, which is mounted in the upper crosshead, and the T-slotted plate (fitted as standard) allow flexure and component tests to be carried out in addition to standard tests. Control electronics for the testing machine are in the form of Zwick’s Control Cube, otherwise known as ‘the world’s smallest controller’. Operation is particularly straightforward when Control Cube is used in combination with Cubus testing software, enabling students to familiarize themselves quickly with the subject of fatigue testing and perform tests unaided after only a short time. With a control frequency of 4 kHz, 19-bit-resolution data-acquisition and expansion capability to 32 control channels, the testing system can also be used for complex applications whenever required.

“We were looking for a servo-hydraulic testing machine on which students could be shown standard fatigue tests as well as service load tests on components – Zwick offered us an ideal package,” stated Professor Harald Mandel of DHBW Stuttgart. Zwick offers universities special conditions for a wide range of testing machines, in addition to supporting academic training via the Education Module of its testXpert^®  II testing software.