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Field-Based Problem-Solving

Once equipment or structures are placed into service, the real-world often kicks in. When this happens, behavior often diverges from design and performance expectations. Industrial equipment that passes post-manufacturing inspections can begin to exhibit vibration, noise, fatigue, cracking, or degraded performance after installation or field usage. In many cases, the

Paper: The Engineer’s Guide to Experimental Modal Analysis

Unlock the Secrets of Structural Vibration. Download this Free experimental modal analysis paper.  Master proven methods and advanced case studies in Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA): from preparing a test to interpreting results and validating models. Senior management at SixDOF Testing & Analysis (6D) pioneered many of the modal testing techniques

Unattended Testing & Analysis: Breaking the Data Collection Barrier

On the surface gaining access to equipment operating data seems simple enough. Prepare the mining truck with strain gages, accelerometers and other sensitive data collection instrumentation, record the forces as the truck is filled with dirt, rocks, gravel or coal and run the analysis to determine the results. While this

Understanding Modal Analysis: How Vibration Testing Reveals Structural Performance

Every structure vibrates. From automotive components to aircraft assemblies and rotating machinery, vibrations reveal how a design behaves under real-world conditions. Modal analysis is the science that makes those vibrations measurable and meaningful. By identifying a structure’s natural frequencies, mode shapes, and damping, modal analysis helps engineers predict, control, and

Hidden Failure Modes (Almost) Every Engineer Misses – Until Physical Testing

Organizations that rely on digital workflows must contend with assumptions about geometry, material properties, boundary conditions, linearity, and other variables that rarely act exactly as expected in the real world. Physical testing supplies the practical data to correlate models, validate assumptions, and expose anomalies often overlooked by simulations. When applied

Is there Still a Place for Hands-on Mechanical Engineering Experience?

We live in a digital world. Design, analysis, and manufacturing applications automate and accelerate time-to-market. Artificial intelligence (AI), smart manufacturing, and robotics are increasingly common on the factory floor. Equipment monitors itself, schedules maintenance, and even triggers corrective action before failure occurs. Within mechanical engineering, automated systems collect and analyze

Strain Gauges: Best Practices

Laying strain gages correctly is critical for obtaining accurate and reliable test data in experimental stress analysis. Whether used in materials testing, structural health monitoring, or component validation, the quality of strain gage installation directly affects the quality of the data. Here are some best practices for laying strain gages.

Good Vibrations?

All rotating equipment vibrates. But excessive vibration can lead to a multitude of issues that compromise performance, safety, and longevity. Understanding these issues is critical to designing and troubleshooting equipment on the drawing board or in the field. Accelerated Wear and Tear Mechanical components subjected to continuous excessive vibration experience

Unattended Testing & Equipment Problem-Solving

Real-world operating data, collected in a product’s natural environment, is the best source of baseline information needed to validate designs and troubleshoot failure. For manufacturers and suppliers extended data sample sets provide a far more accurate representation of how a product will react to forces, vibrations, heat, fatigue, and the

Podcast: How 6D Works with Customers

In this short podcast, 6D Vice President, Garth Wiley discusses the company’s approach to training.  In addition to traditional methods, 6D offers remote and project-based hands-on training options. Listen here.

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