{"id":345,"date":"2025-08-12T22:45:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T22:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/upgrade.t4tech.co.nz\/?p=345"},"modified":"2025-09-03T03:01:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T03:01:22","slug":"automated-stress-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/2025\/08\/12\/automated-stress-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Resene: Automated stress testing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Resene Paints: Automated Stress\u2011Testing System<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>

The Challenge<\/h2>

Resene Paints, New\u202fZealand’s biggest manufacturer of paints and building supplies, needed a faster, more affordable way to test the strength and durability of the substrates, glues, and insulation products it offers. Traditionally, these stress tests were performed by external laboratories\u2014a process that introduced long wait times, high costs, and fragmented data records. Each round of testing could take weeks, slowing the pace of research and development.<\/p>

\"\"<\/span><\/p>

Stress testing applies controlled force\u2014whether tensile, shear, or compressive\u2014until a material yields or fractures. By capturing how and when failure occurs, engineers gain the hard data they need to refine formulations and validate quality. Resene wanted that capability in\u2011house<\/strong>, so they could iterate quickly on new products while grounding every decision in sound science.<\/p>

T4tech\u2019s Solution<\/h2>

T4tech partnered with Resene to design and build a fully automated stress\u2011testing rig<\/strong> that brings lab\u2011grade capabilities onto the factory floor. Handling the entire project end\u2011to\u2011end\u2014from mechanical integration and electronics through firmware and data\u2011analysis software\u2014T4tech delivered a turnkey system that:<\/p>

  • Applies precisely controlled loads using a motor\u2011driven actuator and precision load cells<\/strong> with instrumentation amplifiers.<\/p><\/li>

  • Measures micro\u2011level deformation via a laser displacement sensor.<\/p><\/li>

  • Captures high\u2011speed video and integrates an infra\u2011red camera<\/strong> for thermal profiling.<\/p><\/li>

  • Houses samples in a custom temperature\u2011controlled chamber<\/strong>, enabling tests at user\u2011defined hot and cold extremes.<\/p><\/li>

  • Logs every sensor reading in real time and auto\u2011generates stress\u2013strain graphs and thermal plots for instant insight.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

    All this functionality is wrapped in an intuitive interface that lets technicians queue a test, walk away, and return to a complete, time\u2011synchronized data set\u2014video frames, temperature maps, force curves, and more\u2014ready for analysis.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stress_strain_graph\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
    Fig: Stress curve<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
    Fig: Thermal Camera Imaging<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    Results<\/h2>

    With their new in\u2011house rig, Resene can now:<\/p>

    • Slash turnaround times<\/strong> from weeks to hours, dramatically accelerating R&D cycles.<\/p><\/li>

    • Cut external lab costs<\/strong>, redirecting budget to product innovation.<\/p><\/li>

    • Build a centralized archive<\/strong> of stress profiles and thermal data for every formulation, driving data\u2011informed decisions across teams.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

      The project\u2019s success hinged on close collaboration. T4tech iterated prototypes alongside Resene engineers, tweaking load ranges, grip designs, and software dashboards until the system fit seamlessly into existing workflows.<\/p>

      Stress testing machinery:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

      Looking Ahead<\/h2>

      The collaboration doesn\u2019t end here. Planned upgrades include:<\/p>

      • Hydraulic\u2011press expansion<\/strong> for higher\u2011capacity loading\u2014ideal for larger or stronger substrates.<\/p><\/li>

      • Automated experiment replay<\/strong>, where scripted sequences (force ramps, temperature cycles, dwell times) run hands\u2011free, ensuring perfect repeatability across tests.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

        By transforming a costly bottleneck into an on\u2011site competitive advantage, T4tech\u2019s automated stress\u2011testing system empowers Resene Paints to innovate faster, validate with confidence, and keep pushing the boundaries of material performance.<\/p>

        \u00a0<\/p>

        \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Automated stress testing <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":610,"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/610"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/t4tech.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}