IDM Instruments Pty Ltd® are world renowned manufacturers of testing and measuring instruments. The extensive ranges of instruments are used within various industries, including plastics and plastic films, with tests covering coefficient of friction, heat sealer and impact testing.

The Falling Dart Impact Tester covers the determination of the energy that causes Polyethylene Film to fail under specified conditions, with the impact of a free-falling dart. This energy is expressed in terms of weight (mass) of the dart falling from a specified height, which would result in 50% failure of specimens tested.

The instrument is manufactured with reference to international standards ASTM D 1709, AS/NZS 4347.6 and ISO 7765-1, used for Flexible films. As specified in the standard, two test methods are achievable with the Falling Dart Impact Tester:

Test Method A: uses a dart with a 38.0 ±1 mm diameter hemispherical head dropped from a height of 0.66±0.01m. This method is generally used for films whose impact resistances require masses of about 50 g to 2 kg to fracture them.

Test Method B: uses a dart with a 50.0 ±1 mm diameter hemispherical head dropped from a height of 1.50 ± 0.03m. This method is generally used for films whose impact resistances require masses of about 0.3 kg to 2 kg to fracture them.