In-house Testing Lab

Dedicated In-House Testing Lab at our Liverpool Manufacturing Hub.

At Hemsec, we're passionate about the safety and quality of our insulated panels. Hemsec's in-house testing laboratory uses state-of-the-art equipment and software to test panels to ensure optimum performance, quality and safety.

Hemsec’s Insulated Panels Testing Regime

Hemsec has a dedicated team that is responsible for testing our range of insulated panels in our in-house testing lab.


There are two main production lines that are rigorously tested:

  • a continuous line making panels from steel and PIR foam
  • a discontinuous line making Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) from timber and PUR foam


The lab team looks at the manufacturing plan for both lines for the week ahead, as well as at the start of each day, and requests a panel to be made by the production planner. After production of the test sample, the panels are left for a minimum of 24 hours to ensure stability for testing purposes.


The properties in which we are testing are tensile adhesion, core compressive strength (across three axis) and core density.

By testing at regular intervals, we ensure our panels remain the best quality & performance. This gives our customers confidence that they are using high-quality panels and helps build trust in our products.


What type of testing do we do?

Tensile Testing


Also known as tension testing, our panels are subjected to controlled tension until failure.


Compression Testing


Used to establish the compressive force or crush resistance of a material, our foam blocks are compressed to 10% of its thickness.


Density Testing


Used to determine the density of the compacted foam.

In addition to the testing above, we also regularly carry out lambda testing to confirm our products performance and its ability to conduct heat.

What does this mean?


Tensile


For our tensile testing, we use an Instron calibrated tensiometer, with the latest software. This testing provides full traceability and is also third-party audited.


Testing the tensile strength involves stretching/pulling the panel apart to look at the cohesive or adhesive failure.


Compression


Our compression testing is also carried out using an Instron calibrated tensiometer, with the latest software. This testing provides full traceability and is also third-party audited.


Testing the compressive strength of the core material involves testing the sample in the opposite direction to tensile testing. This tests the 3 axes to test the cell orientation.

Density


Density testing checks the manufacturing settings for target density are met. This can influence the lambda performance of the panel, so it is an important test to be carried out.


Why testing is important for our clients

“We purchased SIPs from a number of UK manufacturers and Hemsec SIPs are by far the best. We use them for a number of reasons, such as consistency of sizing, which most other suppliers were not able to achieve. One supplier was 6 inches out over a 10m construction, which caused a lot of issues.”

Neil Farnworth, Apple Cast North-West

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