Specialty metal requirements are tricky enough to address, but especially so when a company is collaborating with a vendor. Such was the case recently for Perryman Company, a Houston, PA-based global specialty titanium products provider, who worked closely with Tinius Olsen, the Horsham, PA-based supplier of materials testing machinery and systems, on some specialized testing challenges. Perryman’s products are used in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and recreational industries.

Perryman uses a Tinius Olsen electro-mechanical tensile test machine equipped with ball screws to perform two critical tests. However, because the nature of these tests varies significantly, employees lose time modifying the machine in between. According to Sy Sweet, chief metallurgist for Perryman, “When we perform tensile testing, we use manually actuated grips. But then, when we do a double-shear test, the grips are not involved. We have to put a shear die in between the base and the top cross member, which holds the bottom grip. This is a very time-consuming process to convert the machine. We are constantly removing and reattaching grips.”

A few years ago, Sweet and his crew saw the possibility to avoid the cumbersome setup between each test. He approached Tinius Olsen’s Bruce Engart about a single machine for both tensile testing and shear testing without major set-up time. “In the past, we would have to schedule shear tests during one half of the day and tensile tests the other half. It wasn’t the best way to work.”

In response, Tinius Olsen designed a special tool that fits around the bottom of the grip so that it bolts to the bottom cross member. This solution eliminated the delays. Notes Sweet, “Now, we’re set up to do tensiles on the top and when we want to do shears, we just run that center rail up a bit, put our die on the bottom and we’re ready to go.”

Sweet and his group were impressed by Tinius Olsen’s responsiveness. “They’re very helpful. Bruce Engart is extremely knowledgeable about the equipment. If there are ever any test questions, we call him. He’s very practical and knows all the adjustments on the machine. Within two minutes, he can have the solution.”

Affixing the grips in the proper position allows the operator to change quickly between tests. On Perryman’s Tinius Olsen machine, the operator uses grips and when pulling a tensile test, the grips are fixed from the center bar to the top of the cage. “We can have the machine set up to do both tests. We don’t have to tear the machine down or remove the grips. Everything is already in its proper place.” Tinius Olsen’s modified materials testing machine is working – Sweet reports a 30 percent increase in productivity.

Tinius Olsen has also automated the shear test cycle itself. “If you go too far in the shear test, you wedge a section between the bottom knives and it can damage the shear die,” says Sweet. “What you try to do is watch the load as you’re loading and once it peaks, you have to quickly unload the machine. Tinius Olsen has our machine programmed to sense when the load drops off, and unloads it automatically. It makes it much simpler and much less operator-dependent and rarely now do we break a sample.”

Perryman Company is a privately held company, founded in 1988 and owned by the Perryman family. It is the global quality leader in specialty titanium products for the aerospace, automotive, medical, and recreational industries. Its corporate goal is to create world-class specialty titanium products using the latest technology in automation and processing for the enhancement of our employees and customers worldwide. Headquarters are in Houston (near Pittsburgh), PA with 165,000 square feet of manufacturing and 21,000 square feet of offices and laboratory located there. Perryman is ISO 9001-2000 Approved and AS - 9100 Approved. Its focused manufacturing facilities produce: titanium precision finish coil; titanium center less ground bar; titanium drawn net shapes; titanium premium fine wire; and titanium hot rolled products.

Tinius Olsen is a global provider of materials testing solutions (equipment, software, and calibration services) with over 125 years of testing experience. For more information, contact: Tinius Olsen, 1065 Easton Road, Horsham, PA 19044 USA, (215) 675-7100, Fax (215) 441-0899, www.TiniusOlsen.com. Or: Perryman Company, 213 Vandale Drive, Houston, PA 15342, (724) 746-9390, Fax: (724) 746-9392, www.perrymanco.com.

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Press Contacts:

Wayne Hayward, Marketing Manager, Tinius Olsen
Phone: (215) 675-7100 Fax: (215) 441-0899
whayward@TiniusOlsen.com

Sy Sweet, Chief Metallurgist, Perryman Company
Phone: (724) 746-9390 Fax: (724) 746-9392
ssweet@perrymanco.com

Dan Ditzler, Newton Associates
Phone: (610) 964-9300 Fax: (610) 964-9306
dand@newtonassociates.com