Materials Testing Laboratory
We find out what the material can actually handle
Material properties are crucial for safety, quality, and longevity. When materials need to be verified, a welding procedure qualified, or the cause of a failure investigated, the right testing method, experience, and materials engineering expertise are required.
Inspekt Molab AS is an independent and accredited materials testing laboratory in accordance with NS-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017, with more than 70 years of experience in materials testing. From our laboratory in Mo i Rana, we help customers in Sweden and Norway within industry, energy, manufacturing, construction, and welding with advanced materials testing, material analysis, and failure investigation.
We combine testing, materials science, and technical analysis to provide our customers with a clear and reliable basis for decision-making – ranging from individual test pieces and welded joints to components and complex materials engineering investigations.
Our material testing services
Mechanical and accredited materials testing
Verify the properties of the material
Mechanical testing is used to determine and verify how materials, welded joints, and components react to various types of loads and impacts.
Inspekt Molab is an accredited materials laboratory according to NS-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and perform a wide range of mechanical and materials engineering testing. With extensive experience, high material competence, and quality-assured testing methods, we deliver reliable and traceable results that provide our customers with a secure foundation for verification, qualification, and technical decisions.
Our testing includes tensile testing, bend testing, impact testing, hardness testing, metallographic examinations, corrosion testing, fatigue testing, and fracture mechanics testing, among other things.
We work with everything from individual test pieces and welded joints to components, production testing, and complex materials engineering investigations.
The accreditation means that the testing is performed according to established methods and under controlled conditions, with requirements for, among other things, competence, traceability, calibrated equipment, documentation, and quality assurance.
From testing to a reliable basis for decision-making.
Tensile testing
Tensile testing is used to determine the mechanical properties of a material and can provide information on, among other things:
- yield strength
- tensile strength
- term extension
- contraction
- the deformation properties of the material
Testing is performed, among other things, in accordance with ISO 6892-1.
Buck tasting
Bend testing is used, among other things, to assess the ductility of welds and identify any discontinuities.
The method is often used in connection with:
- welding procedure testing
- welder qualification test
- production control
- material verification
Testing is performed, among other things, in accordance with ISO 5173.
Impact testing – Charpy V
How does the material behave under sudden loading?
Charpy V-notch is used to determine the impact toughness and energy absorption capacity of a material at fracture.
The testing is particularly important for structures and components exposed to:
- low temperatures
- dynamic loads
- high security requirements
- risk of brittle fracture
Testing is performed in accordance with ISO 148-1.
Hardness testing
Hardness testing provides important information about material properties and can be used both in material verification and in the examination of welded joints and heat-affected zones.
Molab Inspector performs, among other things:
- Brinell
- Vickers
- Rockwell
The testing can, for example, be used to verify heat treatment, investigate variations across a welded joint, or as part of a larger materials engineering investigation.
Metallography
See what happens inside the material
The microstructure of the material can provide information that cannot be detected through mechanical testing alone.
Inspekt Molab performs both macroscopic and microscopic examinations of materials and welded joints.
Market research
Macroseismic survey is used, among other things, to investigate:
- welding geometry
- penetration
- binding
- pores and other discontinuities
- heat-affected zone
- construction of the welding machine
Microexamination
Through microscopic analysis, we can examine the structure of the material at a significantly higher level of detail.
It can be used, among other things, for:
- material characterization
- damage investigations
- analysis of thermal impact
- identification of structural changes
- investigation of cracks and fractures
We also perform determinations of, for example, ferrite volume fraction and grain size.
Corrosion testing
Assess the material's resistance to corrosion
Corrosion can significantly affect the lifespan of a component or structure.
Inspekt Molab performs corrosion testing to assess material resistance in demanding environments.
The testing includes, among other things, the examination of:
- pitting corrosion
- crevice corrosion
- corrosion resistance of stainless materials
- material impact after exposure
Testing is performed, among other things, in accordance with ASTM G48 and other applicable methods.
Fatigue testing
When a component has to withstand load – over and over again
Many components do not fail due to a single high load, but after a large number of recurring load cycles.
Fatigue testing is used to investigate how materials, welded joints, or components behave under cyclic loading.
Inspekt Molab can perform fatigue testing of both:
- material
- welded joint
- ski poles
- ready-made components
Results can be used in product development, qualification, verification, and damage investigation, among other areas.
CTOD – fracture mechanics testing
For critical structures, traditional strength testing may need to be supplemented with fracture mechanics investigations.
CTOD testing is used to assess a material's resistance to crack growth and fracture.
The testing is particularly relevant in areas such as:
- offshore
- energy
- process industry
- pressure equipment
- heavy industry
- critical welded structures
Testing of reinforcing steel
Inspekt Molab performs material testing of reinforcing and prestressing steel.
The testing may include, among other things:
- tensile testing
- bock tasting
- rebooking
- mechanical verification
The testing is used, among other things, for production control, material verification, and checking against specified material requirements.
Welding procedures and welder qualification testing
From weld test to verified result
The materials laboratory is an important part of Inspecta's combined expertise in welding and welding quality.
Inspekt can perform weld testing at the customer's site and subsequently handle the test pieces for required laboratory testing.
Depending on the requirements, testing may include, for example:
- tensile testing
- bock tasting
- impact testing
- hardness testing
- market research
- micro survey
- additional material analysis
This means that the customer can get welding expertise, testing, inspection, and laboratory services from the same organization.
Component testing
We are not just testing test strips
In some situations, it is not enough to examine a standardized material sample.
Inspekt Molab also performs component testing and can develop testing setups based on the component's function and the load to be verified.
This can, for example, involve:
- static load
- cyclic loading
- strength
- exhaustion
- design verification
- comparison between different materials or construction solutions
This makes the laboratory a resource also within product development and technical verification.
Damage investigations & accident analysis
What happened – and why?
When a component cracks, deforms, or fails, the most important question is rarely just where the damage occurred.
The real question is:
Why did it arise?
Inspekt Molab performs material engineering failure investigations where multiple analytical methods can be combined to identify probable damage and failure mechanisms.
An investigation may, for example, include:
- Documentation of component and damage pattern
- Visual inspection
- Material identification
- Macro and micro examination
- Hardness testing
- Mechanical testing
- Fractographic analysis
- Assessment of corrosion and other degradation mechanisms
- Analysis of results
- Technical report and conclusion
The goal is not only to document the damage – but to create an understanding of the cause behind it.
Sample Preparation & Precision Machining
The quality of a test result begins long before the testing itself.
Inspekt Molab has the capability to prepare and process samples prior to material testing and analysis.
Among other things, we handle sample preparation for:
- improvised comedy
- sample
- core sample
- hardness test
- macro and micro samples
- fatigue test
- customized material investigations
It gives us control over the entire process from received material to finished test result.
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