Flex Testing- Essential Testing Procedure For Quality Assurance Of Footwear

Footwear is an important part of fashion today. It is not only an integral part of fashion but also is essential for safety and comfort of feet. Footwear is considered to be an integral factor that defines one’s personality. Additionally, wearing right type of footwear is also directly related to health. If the quality of footwear is not good then it may lead to some health problems. As they are related to health, customers prefer to wear only the best quality footwear. Modern day customers want only the best regardless of cost and there is no room for lower quality products. If the manufacturers want to survive the fierce market competition, they have to provide quality products to the customers. It is the responsibility of the manufacturers to ensure the best quality of products that is provided to the customers.

There are many different types of quality testing procedures that are needed to be run on the materials as well as products in the footwear industry to ensure that the customers are provided only with the best quality products. One of the major issues face by footwear is the cracking problem at the soles due to flexing. When footwear is subjected to extensive and continuous flexing during usage, there are cracks developed on the soles which eventually lead to failure of the footwear. In order to ensure enough flexibility of the footwear, manufacturers must run proper quality testing procedures on the soles and other materials used in manufacturing of footwear.

An important test that is performed on the footwear is flexing test. A Demattia Flex tester is widely used in Footwear industry to test the strength of the footwear material and estimate its flexibility. The testing specimen is loaded on the machine and the machine is set according to the required speed, frequency and degree of flexing. The test sample is then subjected to horizontal flexing for a specific time. After the test procedure, the sample is analyzed for any sort of cracks or deformation and suitability of the sample is determined for a particular application. With Demattia Flex tester, test procedure can also be performed on different temperatures according to the requirements.

It is essential for the manufacturers to keep in mind that the test procedure must be performed according to the instruction set by the standardization authorities. For this, it is recommended that the testing instrument is offered by a renowned and reputed manufacturer.

With efficient testing equipments, it becomes very easy for manufacturers of footwear to provide best quality to customers.