Any time you change grips or fixtures, treat it as a setup change to the load train. Before running production tests, re-establish a clean mechanical setup and confirm the machine is reading force and displacement the way your method expects, with the fixture installed and fully seated.

Common verification steps include:

• Inspect and re-seat the fixture, adapters, pins, and jaw faces, then torque and lock as required for the connection style.
• Re-zero force and position with the new fixture installed, and confirm any preload or slack compensation behavior is appropriate.
• Check axial alignment and specimen centering to minimize bending, especially when switching between tensile grips and bending or compression fixtures.
• Verify method settings that depend on the fixture, such as span, contact geometry, grip separation, and any extensometer mounting and travel limits.
• Run a short shakedown test on a sacrificial specimen to confirm clamping stability and repeatability.

If you are moving between very different fixtures or load ranges, many labs also schedule a periodic force verification per their internal quality system and test method requirements.

If you want to confirm the right fixture setup and verification approach for your specimens and test method, review the fixture options under learn more and share your application details to request a quote.