Chemical · Materials Science
Automated Material Hardness & Flex Tester
Intermediate 5 weeks 35-55 hours
Build a motorized rig that applies controlled load to material samples and logs deflection to rank stiffness/hardness. Test 3D-print infills, plastics, and metals. Great for materials/manufacturing roles.
Major
Chemical
Focus area
Materials Science
Total hours
35-55 hours
What you'll need
- load cell 5kg with HX711 amplifier weight sensor kit
- NEMA 17 stepper motor 2 pack for 3D printer CNC
- A4988 stepper motor driver module
- Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
- digital caliper 6 inch stainless steel measuring tool
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Steps
- Build a rig where the stepper motor pushes a probe onto samples through the load cell.
- Program the Arduino to move the probe in small steps and log force and displacement.
- Prepare samples of different plastics, 3D print infills, and thin metals.
- Test each sample and record force vs. deflection.
- Calculate stiffness and rank the materials.
- Chart the results and document the tester for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Tester rig build
- load-deflection curves
- material ranking chart
- stiffness comparison
- calibration data
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Designed and built an automated material hardness & flex tester using Materials testing, mechatronics, load/deflection measurement
Applied Arduino and data analysis to implement, test, and validate the system end-to-end
Skills you'll show off
Materials testingmechatronicsload/deflection measurementArduinodata analysis