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How long are your parts engineered to last?

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OUR MATERIALS TESTING CONSULTANTS CAN ENSURE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE

The Importance of Material Testing

Why should you test materials? What’s the purpose? Simply put, hiring an independent materials testing consultant is beneficial to a company for many reasons — some of which include meeting regulatory requirements, selecting the right materials and treatments for an application, analyzing product design and verifying a production process.

If a single component made of defective material goes into production, then the entire product may be compromised.

A seemingly miniscule deflection of just a few thousandths of an inch can produce showstopping scrap parts in a grinding machine. Likewise, manufactured fasteners and parts can play a pivotal role in maintaining the safety of planes, bridges, cars, nuclear reactors, military equipment and medical devices. In the medical field, for example, one inferior material used in a medical implant can spell life or death for thousands of patients.

Clearly, materials testing is essential. Yet it’s often one of the last steps in the manufacturing process.

Regardless of your industry, material testing and analysis is vital to understanding the integrity and performance of a material, ensuring the safety and satisfaction of all parties involved in the design and production of a plastic part or product.

At Plastic Expert Group, we provide comprehensive materials testing consulting services to a wide range of industries — from aerospace, manufacturing and medical companies to the energy and transportation sectors. We use state-of-the-art scientific research and the latest computer imaging equipment to accurately predict component lifespan based on its proposed application and prevent product failures.

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Why Hire Our Materials Testing Consultants?

Dr. Duane Priddy and his team of consultants specialize in the art and science of materials testing, analysis and design. Dr. Priddy is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on plastic technologies and he was recently interviewed by CBS News’ 60 Minutes about a national gynecological polypropylene mesh investigation.

Our network of testing laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and accredited and/or certified. In addition, our team is compiled of world-renowned scientists and authors, as evidenced collectively by the more than 500 scientific papers, 100 US patents, many books, and encyclopedia articles on plastics we’ve authored.

Dr. Duane Priddy

Our Clients

Trusted by nationally recognized industry leaders

Pulte HomesDupont
AdelphiaDow Jones
Kimberly ClarkFord
MarriottMilliken
Nova ChemicalsParagon
SabicSeyfarth Shaw
The Walsh GroupHewlett Packard
Volvo Walmart

Our Customer Reviews

Putting the needs of our customers first as evidenced by our client testimonials

My client is a manufacturer of high quality plastic plumbing products being sued for defective products. Plastic Experts determined that the failures were caused by defective installation and had nothing to do with manufacturing defects. Their expert report was professional and extremely compelling resulting in a favorable settlement for my client. — Colin Piercey, Product Defense Attorney
One of my clients is a group of home owners in a high rise condominium. Plastic Experts inspected the fire sprinkler system in the building and quickly and efficiently determined what was causing the failures and recommended the best way to remediate the problem. My clients are sleeping much better now. — Michael A. Hearn, Construction Defect Attorney

What is Material Testing?

Materials testing is a widely accepted technique for analyzing the physical and mechanical properties of raw materials and components made from rubber, metals, plastics and other substances. Companies and manufacturers frequently utilize this information to evaluate the capability of a certain material for its proposed application. Material testing professionals like Plastic Expert Group conduct extensive scientific research and use advanced computer modeling to predict how a material will perform over its projected lifespan. We use accelerated laboratory testing to estimate a product’s useful service life.

Materials testing also plays a critical role when conducting a forensic failure analysis to determine the root cause of defective products and inadequate materials. These test results can play an important part in product liability litigation and depositions.

A wide range of tests can fall under the umbrella of material testing. Common types of material testing include:

  • Adhesion strength
  • Bond strength
  • Break load
  • Chemical analysis
  • Coefficient of friction
  • Compression
  • Corrosion
  • Creep and stress relaxation
  • Crush resistance
  • Deformation strength
  • Delamination strength
  • Ductility
  • Elastic limit
  • Fatigue (load-controlled smooth specimen tests, strain-controlled smooth specimen tests, fatigue crack growth testing)
  • Flexure/bend strength
  • Hardness (scratch, indentation, rebound)
  • Impact (Izod, Charpy)
  • Nondestructive (NDT)
  • Peel strength
  • Puncture strength
  • Radiation
  • Rupture strength
  • Shear strength
  • Tear resistance
  • Tensile (Young’s modulus, elongation to failure, tensile stress, yield stress)
  • Toughness (fracture toughness: linear-elastic, K–R curve, elastic plastic)

HIRING A MATERIALS TESTING CONSULTANT FROM AN INDEPENDENT AND INDUSTRY-LEADING LABORATORY LIKE PLASTIC EXPERT GROUP ENSURES THAT YOU RECEIVE UNBIASED AND THOROUGH TEST RESULTS.

Materials testing is all about putting quality and performance at the forefront. Understanding a material’s properties can help you better predict the manufacturing outcome and detect costly variations before they become a major hit on your bottom line.

Need a materials testing consultant? Contact our experts to Request a quote or tell us more about your problem..


Case Studies

Continue reading our case studies to find out how we helped businesses like yours solve their plastic defect problems.

Prediction of Service Life for Plastic Parts

Prediction of Service Life for Plastic Parts

Scientific Methodology for Prediction of Service Life for Plastic Parts

Improved Fiber Optic Materials by Improving the Polymerization Process

Improved Fiber Optic Materials by Improving the Polymerization Process

Fiber Optic Not Resistant to Corrosive Chemicals

Fiber Optic Not Resistant to Corrosive Chemicals

Problem: Fiber Optic Not Resistant to Corrosive Chemicals and Abrasion

Plastic Expert Group & Failure Labs Copyright © 2025 Toll Free USA: (877) 668-4345   •   International: +1 (989) 281-4465

www.plasticpipefailure.com   •   www.plasticfailure.com

Plastic Failure Services:  Molding Defects   •   Pipe Failure Analysis   •   Materials Testing Consultants   •   Plastic Failure   •   PEX Failure   •   Polymer Consulting

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