Principle

The Vetterman drum and hexapod tumbler are two instruments used for fatiguing textile floor covering specimens and the production of changes in appearance in laboratory simulation of wear. Both instruments produce changes in appearance in all textile floor coverings due to changes in surface structure and colour produced by mechanical agencies.

Testing procedure

A steel ball or a hexapod with studs rolls randomly inside a rotating drum which is lined with the textile floor covering specimens.
After fatiguing, the change in appearance of the specimens is assessed in accordance with the applicable assessment standard.

Test equipment

vetterman

Vetterman drum tester

Vetterman drum tester

  1. extraction of fibres
  2. stainless steel stud
  3. steel ball
  4. vulcanized-fibre backing sheet
  5. metal drum
  6. vacuum cleaner
vetterman test equipment for carpets

Carpet samples of similar pile height are placed into a rotating drum.

Vetterman carpet wear test

The Vetterman drum test is performed by using a steel ball fitted with 14 studs equally spaced on the ball surface.

The ball tumbles inside the drum to simulate traffic and wear.

hexapod

Hexapod tumbler

Hexapod tumbler

  1. plastic drum
  2. polyethylene specimen backing sheet
  3. hexapod
hexapod stud

The Hexapod is a 50 mm mild steel cube with 25 mm thick plates welded to each face. The outside corners of the plates are rounded in such a way that when the studs are fitted and the hexapod placed on a flat surface, no metal touches the flat surface.

Send your samples to

Centexbel - Carpet Lab
Technologiepark 70
9052 Gent-Zwijnaarde
Belgium
+32 9 220 41 51
gent@centexbel.be