MTS Series 609 Alignment Fixture - Manual (Page 57)

Installing a Gaged Specimen
Series 609 Alignment Fixture Product Information Alignment Procedure 57
Select force control as your active control mode. Select the most sensitive
operating range. Set and enable displacement interlocks to limit the
actuator’s movement. Or, select a channel-limited-channel control mode
that emulates the configuration described here.
3. Turn on high hydraulic power.
4. Adjust the actuator to near mid-displacement.
5. Position the crosshead so that there is room to install the specimen into the
grips. Lock the crosshead.
Note Always lower the crosshead to its final test position.
6. Position the specimen in the lower grip so that its number one gage faces
forward. Ensure that the strain gages’ leads are not inducing any bending
strain in the specimen. Clamp the specimen in the lower grip.
7. Adjust the actuator to install the specimen into the upper grip. Clamp the
specimen in the upper grip.
8. Adjust your test controller to apply zero force to the specimen.
9. Zero all the output of the specimen’s strain gages.
Note In the next two sections you will be improving concentric and angular
alignment. As you do this, check often to make sure the force applied to
the specimen stays at zero.