It delivers a controlled falling weight impact to a specimen and records how the material absorbs that energy. Drop height, impact speed and energy are all set on the machine, so the same event can be repeated across a test series rather than approximated.

Labs use it to compare impact resistance and damage tolerance between materials, production batches, weldments and finished parts, and to reproduce real events such as drops and collisions under conditions you can document.

The NG-FWT1 and NG-FWT2 cover impact energy up to 2000 J (1475 ft/lb), with the model chosen from the energy the method actually calls for rather than from the maximum available.