TMS wire shear probe and plate

The TMS wire shear probe and plate uses a cutting wire to slice through a sample at a low force in order to give an overview of its cross-sectional properties.

With the cutting wire attachment fixed to the travelling beam of the texture analyzer, the cutting base plate included allows the wire to pass completely through the sample.

The probe consists of a 0.3 mm diameter wire fitted between two rigid supports providing a 80 mm x 60 mm useable test area. The wire is held taught between two locking nuts and can therefore be easily replaced in situ by the technologist should it be damaged.

This fixture can be applied to the measurement of shearing and cutting forces in a wide range of soft solid foods and has particular conformance to ISO standard 16305:2005, Butter – Determination of firmness.

Applications

• Cheese testing - imitates wire cutting and provides hardness indicator
• Vegetable assessment – accommodates irregular geometries, enabling cross-sectional measurement of broccoli florets pre- and post-blanching
• Fruit texture measurement – accommodates non-homogeneous consistencies such as strawberries
• Pasta, nougat and other similar products
• Toughness of croissants
• Cross-section to measure softness of bananas
• Hardness to bite of hotdog for product comparisons
• Slice marzipan to assess softening properties

Contents and summary

Notes

This fixture is only recommended for texture measurement applications below 100 N.