Did you know that The Home Depot had aย Home Depot Product Quality and Engineering Laboratory? We didnโt, though; once we saw it, weโre not sure how any major retailer of power tools could do without one.
Startingย theย Home Depot Product Quality and Engineering Laboratory Tour
Our Home Depot Product Quality and Engineering Laboratory tour started off simply enough: We would see a ratchet strap failure. Engineers placed aย Husky ratchet strap into a TiniusOlsen universal testing machine and tested it to failure. We knew it was coming, but the sudden โSnapโ startled nearly everyone in the roomโฆ
In another test, theย universal testing machineย was used to determine at what force a Husky hammer handle would break. Incidentally, it took 440 pounds to fracture this Husky hammer handle. It took 6000 pounds to crush that husky 48โณ rolling toolbox youย see in the back of the following photo.
Editorโs Note on the TiniusOlsen Testing Machines
Back in 1880, aย Norwegian immigrant to Philadelphia (and engineer) named Tinius Olsen devised and patented what became known as the Little Giant. Modern versions of these machines can test tools and devices forย tensile, shear, and compressive strength. They also test forย flex, puncture, and burst resistance, tear strength, and peel strength. Thatโs not all, butย the remaining terms would be unfamiliar to all but the most ardent physics student or mechanical engineer!
Torque & Torsion Testing
The next phase of our Home Depot Product Quality & Engineering Laboratory tour involved torque and torsion testing of hand tools. An SMiPO ST-500 torsionย testing tool lets The Home Depotย how much torque a Husky wrench could handle. It also showed that, when over-torqued, the wrench bends rather than shattersโa good feature to look for.
Another torsionย tool tested usage cycles on a ratchet. This allows The Home Depotย to know the tool can be used to its full expected life cycle (or more). I could tell you what that is, but then Iโd have toโฆyou know the rest.
