What is a Retained Specimen?

TÜV NORD offers the possibility to safely store your specimens via iAM-approved. The storage is also referred to as a retained specimen. You don’t need to take care of the storage yourself. You have no storage or administration costs. If you add the product "Reserve" to your order, all specimens in your order are automatically qualified for provisioning. With the retained specimen there are two options:

1. You order a specimen with testing and have it put held. In this case, the sample will be tested immediately, you will receive the results and the tested specimen will be held for the storage time you requested.
2. You order a specimen without testing ("digital only") and send it in. In this case, the specimen will be put on hold for you, untested. You can add a test for your retained specimens at any time. The storage period for retained specimen is renewed as a subscription. You will be informed by e-mail before the storage period expires and can extend the storage as frequently as you like.

Select the tests you need for verification purposes in our webshop. You will receive the digital accompanying samples in STL format from us immediately by e-mail. These are manufactured by you, the customer, as accompanying specimens next to your actual components in your build job. The accompanying specimens are already clearly marked digitally beforehand to ensure problem-free testing, allocation and complete traceability for you. You simply send the accompanying specimens to us with the enclosed shipping label, and we carry out your desired test in accordance with the standard.

Conclusions about the quality of your build job can be drawn from the mechanical-technological properties of the specimen. For this, the sample must come from your build job. However, you actually only print the specimen. We take care of the post-processing, testing and (if desired) storage.

Until now, components had to be destroyed in order to determine their mechanical properties. With the help of the accompanying specimens, conclusions can be drawn about the mechanical-technological properties achieved in the build job without destroying the components. You can make the results of the tests available to your customers to increase confidence in your additive manufacturing and positively differentiate yourself from the competition.

Every ordered test includes the STL file of the specimen, which is immediately available to them by e-mail. In addition, you will receive a completed DHL shipping label, for return to us at no additional cost. We carry out the test to the extent you require in our accredited laboratory. You will receive the test report as a PDF file by e-mail.

Yes, this is possible. In this case, however, tests and post-processing must be carried out in your own laboratory. These samples cannot be sent to TÜV NORD.

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No, that is not possible. In order to be able to clearly assign each sample to its build job and thus generate correct results, each digital sample (each STL file) is clearly marked and can only be used once. Please do not use the same STL file twice in a construction job, as uniqueness is also required here with regard to build space position and alignment. The sample numbering is read out in the laboratory. Each sample is tested only once. Please purchase a separate digital sample for each sample you wish to have manufactured and tested.

The machine capability test is a useful element in the preparation for the certification of industrial additive manufacturing facilities according to DIN EN ISO / ASTM 52920. In the machine capability test, the spatial distribution of the actual, achievable mechanical-technological properties within the machine build space is determined. For this purpose, the build space is divided by a grid into segments, in each of which a test specimen is manufactured. The results of the tensile tests allow these properties to be analysed and assigned to the individual segments of the build space. For visualization purposes, a heat map can be created which shows, in colour, whether predefined limit values have been reached or not. Based on this, the machine can be adjusted. These specimens are not accompanying specimens. Complete the machine capability test in an independent build job.

The test report includes all the information about the test results and the applied testing processes. Which data and values are given in detail in the results depends on the selected tests. The test results comply with the requirements of the respective standard. More detailed information (or sample reports) can be found in the description of the respective test.

The samples are sent to you digitally by e-mail, no shipping costs are incurred. The shipping costs for returning the printed accompanying samples are already included in the price. You will receive a fully completed shipping label from us for dispatch to our laboratory. There are no additional costs for you.

Yes, this is required for a clear allocation.

If you have selected part accompanying tests, you can combine as many orders as you like in one build job. We recommend ordering the needed samples for a build job in one order.