Industrial Testing Equipment · Material Testing Machines
Bench closure torque tester with adjustable chucks, upright or inverted clamping, four ranges and peak hold for cap tightening and opening force.
HT-10A (4 models) ·
A cap that is too loose leaks in transit; a cap that is too tight cannot be opened by the person who buys it. Both faults are invisible on a filling line, and both are decided by a torque measured on a sample, not by the capping head’s setting.
The tester is a bench body with two chucks on a slide. One holds the container, the other holds the closure, and a handwheel closes the gap between them. The load path runs from the closure chuck through a built-in sensor, so the torque applied by hand to the container, or by the container to the closure, is what the instrument reads.
The slide is what makes the fixture useful across a filling line. A bottle and a cap of different diameters are each held on their own axis, and the distance between them is set by the wheel rather than by a fixed frame. The container can be clamped upright for a tightening check or inverted for an opening check.
The sensor is a strain-gauge bridge inside the body, in series with the chuck that holds the closure. Turning the container against a restrained closure, or the closure against a restrained container, twists the bridge; the instrument converts the strain to torque in the selected unit.
Two modes cover the two ways the number is used. TRACK follows the applied torque as it rises, which is what shows where a thread starts to bind and how the torque builds before the seal breaks. PEAK holds the highest value, which is the single figure a specification is usually written against.
The upper limit is set from the specification. A reading above it lights the status lamp and sounds a long alarm, so a sample can be checked without reading the display. The stored settings hold the limits for a set of containers, and the interface lets a run be logged rather than written down.
Start with the closure, not the bottle. The torque needed to open a closure rises with its diameter for the same sealing force, so a wide jar lid and a narrow dropper cap sit at opposite ends of the range even when the containers are a similar size.
Then decide which of the two numbers matters. A filling line that controls its capping head needs closing torque; a packaging check that asks whether a customer can open the pack needs opening torque; a complaint investigation needs both, taken on the same sample.
Then look at the fixture. The chuck jaws have to grip the closure without deforming it, which is a different problem for a metal crown, a plastic screw cap and a tamper-evident band. A closure that is crushed by the jaws reads high and leaves the evidence on the sample.
Finally, decide how the result is recorded. A bench that reads and adjusts needs the alarm and the peak hold; a line that has to keep records needs the interface and the stores, and a bench that has to attach a printout to a batch needs the printer.
The reading depends on how the sample is held. A container that is squeezed by its chuck deforms the neck and changes the friction under the cap; a closure gripped off-centre applies the torque unevenly. Both effects are larger on thin-walled containers than on glass.
Opening torque is not a fixed property of a pack. It falls as the liner relaxes and as the thread creeps, so a measurement taken one minute after capping and one taken a week later differ while the pack has not changed. The interval between capping and testing has to be part of the specification for the numbers to mean anything.
For a closure that is applied by a machine with a torque-controlled head rather than by a fixed setting, the sample check still applies, but the instrument is not a substitute for the head’s own control loop. And for a pack that is opened by tearing rather than by turning, torque measurement does not describe the force that matters.
Every value below is taken from source documentation. Where a parameter is not stated in the available material it is marked as information required rather than estimated.
| Range, HT-10A | 0.015 to 1.000 N·m / 0.15 to 10.00 kgf·cm / 0.15 to 9.00 lbf·inStandard |
|---|---|
| Range, HT-50A | 0.15 to 5.00 N·m / 1.5 to 50.0 kgf·cm / 1.5 to 45.0 lbf·inStandard |
| Range, HT-100A | 0.15 to 10.00 N·m / 1.5 to 100.0 kgf·cm / 1.5 to 90.0 lbf·inStandard |
| Range, HT-200A | 0.50 to 20.00 N·m / 5.0 to 200.0 kgf·cm / 5.0 to 180.0 lbf·inStandard |
| Accuracy | ±0.5% within 10% of range ±3 digits; ±1.0% on HT-200AStandard |
| Sensor accuracy | Built-in sensor quoted at 0.5% of full scaleStandard |
| Overload | 120% of rangeStandard |
| Measurement modes | TRACK for live reading and zeroing; PEAK for the held maximumStandard |
| Units | N·m, kgf·cm and lbf·in, three-position switchStandard |
| Reference standard | Not stated in the materialInformation required |
| Chuck | Adjustable, 160 × 160 mm, for containers and closures of different sizes and shapesStandard |
|---|---|
| Clamping range | Printed as Φ5 to Φ10; the figure is doubtful and is covered in the notesInformation required |
| Test positions | Container upright or invertedStandard |
| Clamping method | Two chucks on a slide, closed by a handwheel; the container is held in one and the closure in the otherStandard |
| Display | Colour LCD with touch input on the fourth generation; character LCD on the earlier generationsStandard |
|---|---|
| Torque curve | Available as an added function on the colour displayOptional |
| Stored readings | Ten sets, numbered 0 to 9Standard |
| Over-limit alarm | Upper limit preset; status lamp and a long audible alarm when exceededStandard |
| Battery indication | FittedStandard |
| Auto power off | Five minutes without operation, can be switched on or offStandard |
| Built-in printer | Listed for the fourth generation in the generation guideOptional |
| Supply | AC 220 V, 50 HzStandard |
|---|---|
| Charger socket | Marked DC 12 V 400 mA on the rear panelStandard |
| Charger rating in the specification table | Input 220 to 240 V AC, output 7.2 V DC at 400 mAInformation required |
| RS232 | Fitted, for recording and printingStandard |
|---|---|
| Command set | SCPI, for remote control and data collection without the front panelStandard |
| Body | 330 × 190 × 190 mmStandard |
|---|---|
| Weight | 12 kgStandard |
| Sealing | Described as water resistant, without an ingress protection ratingInformation required |
| Standard accessories | LK26011 and LK26012Standard |
|---|---|
| Accessory content | Names, quantities and the closures each one fits are not stated in the materialInformation required |
| Model | Configuration | Key ranges | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| HT-10A | Fourth generation, colour touch display, AC supply | 0.015 to 1.000 N·m / 0.15 to 10.00 kgf·cm / 0.15 to 9.00 lbf·in | For small pharmaceutical and dropper closures |
| HT-50A | Fourth generation, colour touch display, AC supply | 0.15 to 5.00 N·m / 1.5 to 50.0 kgf·cm / 1.5 to 45.0 lbf·in | |
| HT-100A | Fourth generation, colour touch display, AC supply | 0.15 to 10.00 N·m / 1.5 to 100.0 kgf·cm / 1.5 to 90.0 lbf·in | |
| HT-200A | Fourth generation, colour touch display, AC supply | 0.50 to 20.00 N·m / 5.0 to 200.0 kgf·cm / 5.0 to 180.0 lbf·in | The size named in the source folder; quoted at ±1.0% rather than ±0.5% |
Certifications are only published once a certificate copy can be produced, so this section is deliberately empty rather than populated with assumed approvals. Tell us which approvals your application requires and we will confirm what is available for this instrument.
The following are required for a complete specification but are not stated in the documentation supplied to us. They are listed rather than estimated:
Both, and the distinction is made by how the container is clamped. With the container upright and the cap chuck turned by hand, the reading is the torque needed to tighten or to start the cap; with the container inverted, the same movement measures the force needed to break the seal and open it. The same instrument does both, but the two numbers are not interchangeable and should be recorded separately.
It depends on the closure diameter and on the application torque, not on the bottle size. A wide closure concentrates the same force at a larger radius and therefore reads higher torque. The practical test is to run the largest and the smallest closure the line uses on a representative sample and pick the size that keeps both readings in the upper part of its scale rather than at the very bottom.
The closure diameter and type, the torque the capping head is set to, whether opening torque has to be measured as well as closing torque, and how the result is recorded. The chuck jaws also have to suit the closure, and a closure with an unusual skirt or a tamper band needs that settled before the order.
Related products
HP-10S (5 models) · Material Testing Machines
Bench torque tester for setting the clutch of electric screwdrivers, with five ranges, three units, ten stored readings, peak hold and an RS232 link.
Send the configuration you need and we will confirm availability, lead time and terms. Minimum order quantity is 1 pc.
Request for quotation
Send the technical detail and we will confirm availability, lead time and terms. In-stock items ship within 48 hours; customized specifications typically take 2-10 days. Minimum order quantity is 1 pc.