A striker, the material to be tested, and a pendulum swing where the striker would be attached are all involved in the Izod Test. The striker is located at the far end of the pendulum. The material to be tested is fastened vertically, and is hit by the striker at the lowest part of the pendulums swing, leaving it free at the top of the swing.

The position of the notch is meant to concentrate the stress onto a specific location on the material, and provokes a delicate failure for testing purposes. It decreases both the distortion and the ductile fracture after impact. The test is done to conclude both the quality of a given material, and whether or not it has met the specific force of collision properties needed. It can also be used to check for the overall hardiness of the tested materials. This test does not apply for compound materials as inconsistent failure modes may influence the results.

The results of the test may be affected by the notch on the sample. For the notch production, its radius must remain constant. The radius has an effect on the effectivity of the test specimen to absorb collisions. Deterioration of the materials located on the surroundings of the notch can be caused by the blades inside of the notch, leading to inaccurate results. This method chooses a short projection, which is supported on one end, to produce improved tools for processing metal.

In comparison, the Charpy Impact Test includes a striker, impacting a test material, which is fastened at the other end of the pendulum. The test specimen is attached horizontally, being held in place.

This method utilizes a machined notch, which is located on the larger side. The notch can be of two types: The V-notch, or the U-notch. The former, also called an AV-Shaped notch, has dimensions of 2 millimeters in depth, along with an angle of 45 degrees and a radius of 0.25 millimeters, in line with the base. The latter of the two notches, U-notch or the “Keyhole Notch”, has dimensions of 5 millimeters in depth, with a radius of 1 millimeter located at the notch?s bottom end.

If one would need higher speeds and greater collision energy, they could utilize a vertical style of fall for those purposes. This method has been proven to be consistent in giving collision data for the materials being tested.