Drop | EUROLAB

What Is Drop?

The drop test is a test in which the specimen is released in free fall from a defined height, onto a hard surface, in specified orientations, evaluating the resulting damage and loss of function.

Purpose of Drop

The purpose is to verify the product's resistance to drops during transport, handling and use, and to demonstrate the adequacy of the packaging design's protection.

Which Products Is Drop Applied To?

Electronic devices and handheld terminals
Packaged products and carton shipments
White goods and furniture
Battery packs
Hand tools

In Which Sectors Is Drop Used?

MetalSteelMachineryIndustrial EquipmentPlastics

Standards Related to Drop

IEC 60068-2-31drop and tipping test test
ISO 2248
ASTM D5276free fall test on packages test
ISTA series
UN 38.3 T.6

Drop Conditions

Drop height: Defined according to product mass and the specification
Surface: Rigid, flat steel or concrete floor of the defined mass
Orientations: Corner, edge and face drops; sequence defined in the standard
Repeats: The defined number of drops for each orientation

Equipment for Drop

Drop test machine or release rig
Rigid impact floor
High-speed camera (optional)
Function-check arrangement

Sample Requirements for Drop

The specimen must be the actual product, or the product in its packaging
Function must be checked before the test
In a packaging test, the real filler and product weight must be used
The number of specimens is set out in the specification

Duration of Drop

It depends on the number of drops; a typical set is completed in half a working day to one full day.

Drop Procedure

1The specimen is identified, and a function check and photographic record are made.
2The drop height and orientation sequence are determined according to the specification.
3The specimen is released in the defined orientation.
4Damage and function are checked after each drop.
5A final assessment is made after all orientations are completed.

Drop Acceptance Criteria

The acceptance criterion is defined in the specification: typically, preservation of the safety function, no impairment of enclosure integrity, and continuity of function. Whether cosmetic damage is acceptable is stated separately.

Evaluation of Results

Structural damage, loss of function and safety risk are assessed separately. In battery-containing products, leakage, deformation and heating are monitored in particular.

Drop Report

Standard applied
Drop height, surface and orientation sequence
Number of drops
Damage and function status at each stage
Photographic records

Accreditation

EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.

Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Scope and authorisations

Related Regulations

Packaging and transport specifications
UN 38.3 (battery transport)

Mekanik Testler — What Does This Testing Field Cover?

The section below describes the field that the Drop test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Mechanical testing measures how a material or a part behaves under force. The family ranges from static loading (tension, compression, bending) to time-dependent behaviour (fatigue, creep), and from hardness and wear to fracture toughness.

What these tests have in common is that the result is reported as a MATERIAL PROPERTY. Yield strength or hardness is not a conformity decision; it is numerical data against which the design and the product standard will compare. Mechanical test reports are therefore usually an input to an engineering decision rather than to a product approval — material selection, safety factor, life prediction.

The distinction between static and dynamic behaviour is the key to understanding the field. A part may appear entirely unstressed under a static load yet break under repeated loading; fatigue fracture occurs at stresses well below the yield strength and gives no warning. For rotating, vibrating or cyclically loaded parts, a tensile test alone is therefore not sufficient evidence.

Test conditions determine the result, and this is critical for the readability of the report: specimen geometry, loading rate, temperature, conditioning and the gripping arrangement. The same material gives different values under different conditions. In plastics the rate effect is very pronounced, in metals the temperature effect; in composites the specimen orientation changes the result entirely.

Hardness is the most misused measurement in the field. Because it is fast, close to non-destructive and inexpensive, it is often used in place of strength. Conversion tables from hardness to strength exist, but they are APPROXIMATE and depend on the material group; using them as the sole evidence in material acceptance is wrong.

The fracture mechanics side requires a specific competence. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rate measurements make it possible to calculate how long a cracked structure will last; they are the basis of damage-tolerant design in fields such as pressure equipment, aircraft structures and pipelines.

Method groups in this field

Static tests
Tension, compression, bending, shear and torsion. Yield and tensile strength, elongation and modulus of elasticity are obtained.
Impact tests
Charpy and Izod notch impact; the brittle-to-ductile transition behaviour of the material is determined as a function of temperature.
Hardness
Brinell, Vickers, Rockwell, Shore and micro hardness. Valuable for surface treatment depth and local differences in strength.
Fatigue
Force- and strain-controlled axial fatigue, fatigue in bending; S-N curves and the endurance limit.
Creep and stress relaxation
Behaviour under long-term load at high temperature; decisive for boiler, turbine and pressure equipment materials.
Fracture mechanics
Plane-strain fracture toughness, the J integral, CTOD and fatigue crack growth rate.
Wear and friction
Taber and rotating drum abrasion, coefficient of friction measurements.

Commonly confused in this field

Calculating strength from hardness is approximate; it cannot be used as the sole evidence in material acceptance.
Adequate static strength does not demonstrate fatigue strength; a cyclically loaded part requires a separate test.
If test rate and temperature are not reported, the result cannot be compared — especially for polymers and composites.
A test specimen and the actual part may not give the same value; moulding orientation, weld lines and differences in surface treatment all have an effect.
A strength value given for a composite without stating the specimen orientation is meaningless.
ASTM and ISO counterparts measure the same quantity but use different specimen geometries; the results are not treated as directly equivalent.

Which decisions these results support

Design verification and material selection
Incoming material control and supplier approval
Meeting the mechanical requirements of the product standard
Failure analysis, life prediction and damage tolerance calculation
Verifying heat treatment and surface treatment processes

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Frequently Asked Questions About Drop

What determines the drop height?

It is generally defined in the standard or the customer's specification according to the product's mass and use scenario. The height is lower for heavier products.