HEAD PLATES
The simplest text fixture, our standard magnesium Head Plate, provides a universal mounting surface for test items. When used in conjunction with a horizontal slip table the Head Plate can provide 3 axes of vibration, without adding additional specimen mounting inserts to the horizontal slip plate.

Custom insert patterns and special machining is available to meet our customer’s unique testing requirements.

MAGNESIUM HEAD EXPANDERS
Our most popular test fixture, the standard magnesium Head Expander, provides a horizontal mounting surface that increases the shaker’s available surface area to allow testing of large test articles or multiple items. The original “truncated box” design of our standard Head Expander represents years of evolution in head expander design. This design encloses all open cavities of the Head Expander between its base and top mounting plate. This arrangement provides direct energy transmission between the shaker and the perimeter of the top mounting surface. The truncated box design also provides added strength and rigidity, while allowing the use of thinner, lighter weight internal gussets.

Baughn Engineering’s “Q-Damp” damping process is incorporated into all our standard magnesium Head Expanders, except low frequency designs, to provide improved dynamic response characteristics during high frequency testing. This process guarantees controllability of all of our standard high frequency Head Expanders, up to 2000 Hz.

Head Expanders are available in our standard shapes; round, square, and octagonal, as well as special shapes such are rectangular or triangular.

We also offer optional features, including removable extensions that provide a temporary increase in the top mounting surface to mount the occasional test specimen that requires a larger mounting surface area. Also available are thermal barriers, raised mounting inserts, special machining, custom finishes, and multiple shaker armature mounting patterns.

Our standard Head Expanders are available in all sizes up to 60.0″. Special larger sizes are also available. Our custom designs have included: dual shaker designs, square mounting surfaces up to 108″ across the flats, combination vertically/horizontally guided systems, and many others.