The Strike That Proves Your Plastic Survives a Sudden Hit
Impact Strength Testing for medical device housings, clips, and moulded polymer components at our Oragadam laboratory — notched, unnotched, and Charpy impact evaluation referenced to ASTM D256 and ISO 180.
Call 90876 86986 WhatsApp UsA plastic housing that survives a slow bend can still shatter instantly the moment it’s dropped, struck, or bumped during shipping and handling, a stress a bend test was never designed to catch.
Impact Strength Testing answers the question neither a tensile strength test nor a slow-rate bend test ever can: how much energy a specimen absorbs from a sudden, high-speed strike before it fractures. Our Impact Strength Testing programme at the Oragadam laboratory swings a calibrated pendulum into every specimen on an Izod/Charpy impact tester, recording the exact energy absorbed at the moment of fracture, referenced to ASTM D256 and ISO 180 — the two governing standards for pendulum impact resistance of plastics used across device housings, snap-fit enclosures, and rigid moulded components.
Notched impact strength measures the energy absorbed by a specimen with a precisely machined notch acting as a stress concentrator, reproducing the exact failure point a sharp corner, screw boss, or moulded rib creates in a real housing design. Unnotched impact strength strips that stress concentrator away entirely, isolating the raw toughness of the material itself so a design team can separate a genuinely brittle resin from a tough one that simply fails at its geometry’s weak points. Where the requirement calls for it, an Impact Test Charpy for plastics configuration supports the specimen horizontally at both ends rather than clamping it vertically, striking it at the centre — a distinct loading geometry from the Izod method that some international specifications require in place of, or alongside, ASTM D256 and ISO 180.
ASTM D256 testing defines the specimen dimensions, notch geometry, and pendulum energy used across the US medical device and plastics industry, while ISO 180 testing sets the equivalent internationally recognized method, and running both on the same specimen batch lets a single test report satisfy FDA submissions and CE-marked device files together. Energy absorbed at break is normalized per unit specimen width so results stay comparable across different material grades and wall thicknesses, giving a design team a single number to weigh brittle-failure risk against. Whether a specification calls for the Izod geometry or an Impact Test Charpy for plastics configuration, manufacturers bring their programmes to Kiyo R&D Lab because a single missed number on an impact report doesn’t surface as a data-sheet footnote — it surfaces as a shattered housing corner, a cracked clip, or a component that fails the very first time it’s actually dropped. Running the full Impact Strength Testing panel under one accredited scope at Oragadam, with reports formatted for direct regulatory submission, is what turns a raw pendulum swing into evidence your quality team can actually stand behind.
Four Properties Every Impact Test Reports
Part of a single pendulum strike, referenced to ASTM D256 and ISO 180
Notched Impact Strength
Energy absorbed by a pre-notched specimen struck by a swinging pendulum
ASTM D256 / ISO 180
Unnotched Impact Strength
Energy absorbed by an unnotched specimen, isolating pure material toughness
ASTM D256 / ISO 180
Charpy Impact Strength
Energy absorbed under horizontally-supported pendulum impact loading
ISO 179
Energy Absorbed at Break
Total fracture energy normalised per unit specimen width
ASTM D256 / ISO 180
How Our Pendulum Impact Process Works
Four steps, from sample intake to a validated report
Specimen Preparation
Bar specimens cut, notched, and conditioned to ASTM D256 / ISO 180 geometry.
Fixture Mounting
Specimen clamped vertically for Izod or supported horizontally for Charpy.
Pendulum Strike
Calibrated pendulum released, energy absorbed at fracture recorded.
Certified Report
Delivered digitally, ready for your validation file.
Standards Behind This Test
| PROPERTY | SCOPE | STANDARD |
|---|---|---|
| Izod Notched / Unnotched Impact | US-standard vertical pendulum method | ASTM D256 testing |
| Izod Notched / Unnotched Impact | Internationally recognized equivalent method | ISO 180 testing |
Kiyo R&D Lab – Oragadam
Our pendulum impact testing suite is based at No.13, Srinivasa Perumal Street, Panapakkam, Serapanacheri, Greater Chennai, Tamil Nadu 601301.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Impact Strength Testing actually measure? +
It captures notched impact strength, unnotched impact strength, Charpy impact strength, and total energy absorbed at break, referenced to ASTM D256 and ISO 180.
How is this checkpoint different from a tensile strength test on the same material? +
A tensile strength test pulls a specimen slowly to failure, while this checkpoint delivers a sudden pendulum strike, revealing brittle-failure behaviour under high-speed impact that a slow-rate pull would never expose.
When would I need an Impact Test Charpy for plastics instead of the Izod method? +
Some international specifications and material data sheets are built around the horizontally-supported Charpy geometry rather than the vertically-clamped Izod method, so an Impact Test Charpy for plastics run alongside ASTM D256 and ISO 180 covers both reference formats from one visit.
Why request both US and international pendulum methods on the same batch? +
Running both methods on the same specimen batch lets a single test campaign satisfy an FDA submission that references ASTM D256 and a CE-marked device file that references ISO 180, without duplicating the whole study for two different markets.
How do I get a quote for this testing? +
Call us at 90876 86986, message us on WhatsApp, or fill in the enquiry form below with your material and testing needs.
Related Testing Services
Book Your Impact Test Today
Talk to our Oragadam team about your polymer housing or moulded component — a full pendulum impact panel on the same specimen batch as your tensile or flexural programme.
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