They determine the tensile, yield, and elongation properties of hundreds of samples, thereby eliminating testing backlog, speeding delivery time to customers, and reducing costs. Operators used to perform these tests manually on vertical universal testing machines. The machines often needed to be used in all three shifts, and operators still sometimes fell behind. Now a single operator can monitor all testing machines. Each robotic tester can handle up to 180 samples per shift.
Microcomputers run the tests, and results go into the lab's local area network.
After all the samples from a particular lot have been tested, information on the lot is sent to the plant's mainframe computer for wider use in the plantwide tracking system and management reports. By collecting data on how its products are performing in the tensile tests, Alcoa strives to improve the products whenever possible. Alcoa says that testing costs have been reduced by more than 50 percent. In addition, the annual return on investment is about 60 percent because of the manpower reduction and productivity improvement. The company also reports better reliability and more uniform testing.