Triax ASTM F1292 User manual

TRIAX TOUCH WIRELESS SURFACE IMPACT
TESTER
USER’S MANUAL
REVISION 0.9 September 18, 2020
Sales and Technical Support
Alpha Automation, Inc.
127 Walters Avenue
Trenton, New Jersey 08638
United States of America
(V) 609.882.0366
Paul Bamburak
(E) [email protected]
Jon Aubel (Technical Support)
(E) [email protected]
Matt Appleby (Sales)
(E) [email protected]
Training and Standards
Canadian Playground Advisory, Inc.
1097 West River Road
Cambridge, Ontario N1R 5S5
Canada
Rolf Huber
(v) 647.212.5661 (E) [email protected]

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction 2
2.0 System Components 3
3.0 Hand Held Unit 5
4.0 “E” Missile 14
5.0 Tripod 15
6.0 “E” Missile System Use 20
7.0 Report Generation PC Application 22
Appendix A: Verification and Calibration 30
Appendix B: Memory Card 33
Appendix C: “A” Missile System 36
Appendix D: Troubleshooting 43
Appendix E: Missile Specifications 44
Appendix F: Critical Fall Height modes 45
Appendix G: Warranties and Representations 47
Appendix H: FCC Rules 48
Certificates of Compliance 49

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Triax Touch “E” missile system is intended to be used to measure the impact attenuation of
surfaces under and around playground equipment in compliance with worldwide standards
including but not limited to:
ASTM F1292 ASTM F355 En1177 AS/NZS 4422 ASTM F3313
The use of Triax “E” missile system is applicable to a wide range of additional standards including:
Wall / Feature Padding ASTM F2440
Pole Vault Landing Systems ASTM F1162
Pole Vault Box Collars ASTM F2949
Engineered Wood Fiber ASTM F2075
Outdoor Fitness Equipment ASTM F3101
Soft Contained Play ASTM F1918
Aquatic Play Equipment ASTM F2461
Loose Fill Rubber ASTM F3012
Poured in Place Surfaces ASTM F2479
Home Play Equipment ASTM F1148
Climbing Crash Pads UIAA 161
Rugby Turf Fields ASTM F3146
World Rugby Regulation 22
The Triax Touch “A” missile system is intended to measure the impact attenuation of artificial and
natural turf playing surfaces in compliance with standards including but not limited to:
ASTM F1936 ASTM F355
The use of Triax “A” missile system is applicable to a wide range of additional standards including:
Wrestling Mats ASTM F1081
Trampoline Courts ASTM F2970
Consumer Trampolines ASTM F381
To promote effective use a Triax Touch system must be properly configured and used by a properly
trained operator.
The designation “E” and “A” refer to the different missile shape and corresponding support
mechanism, and are described in ASTM F355. The “E” missile is hemispherical with a weight of
10.1 pounds and is supported by an adjustable height tripod. The “A” missile is cylindrical with a
weight of 20.0 pounds and is dropped in a guide tube from a fixed height of 24 inches. See
Appendix F for more details about missile dimensions. “A” missile drop heights of 36” and 1 meter
are also available. The missile is also commonly called the head form.
Throughout this document and the referenced standards the terms “head form” and “missile” will
be used interchangeably.
ASTM standards are available from ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA,
19428-2959, United States 610.832.9585

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2.0 SYSTEM COMPONENTS FOR TRIPOD SYSTEM
The Triax Touch “E” system consists of the Triax Touch hand held controller, a hemispherical
missile and a support tripod. Also included with the Triax Touch “E” system are an 8” x 8” rubber
reference pad, battery charger, manual drop handle and fitted carrying cases.
The hand held controller is powered by an internal rechargeable NiMH battery, and records the
results of drop tests. The LCD display will show the Peak G, HIC, angle of impact and time and
date, while the impact velocity and HIC Interval (Delta T) are shown optionally. A memory card
is used to store the results of up to 1000 drop tests, and allows the user to copy the drop test results
to the included proprietary application program running on a Windows compatible platform for
report generation and archival purposes.
Internal to the head form is a tri-axial sensor (accelerometer) which produces electrical signals
proportional to the G value of the head form’s impact with the surface being tested. Circuitry
inside the head form measures these voltages, calculates Peak G, HIC, impact angle and impact
velocity and wirelessly transmits the results to the hand held for display. Affixed to the head form
is a normally on electromagnet.
This magnet allows the head form to be suspended from the lifting cable of the tripod, allowing
the user to set exact drop heights above the surface to be tested. The normally on nature of the

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electromagnet requires no battery power to be used while the user prepares for the test preventing
the head form from falling unexpectedly should the batteries grow weak.
CAUTION: To prevent injury never allow any person to stand beneath the missile when it
is suspended from the tripod, nor anywhere in the possible drop path of the missile.
The head form is powered by an internal rechargeable NiMH battery. Nickel Metal Hydride
(NiMH) batteries are of a lower power density than Lithium Ion batteries thus allowing the Triax
system components to be transported by aircraft if required. Typical battery life on a full charge
exceeds two months of substantial daily use.
The Tripod is used to support the E missile and provide a repeatable drop height and drop location.
A steel cable is used to support a steel block to which the E missile’s electromagnet is attached.
The height of the missile above the surface can be adjusted by lowering or raising the steel block
by adjusting the position of the steel lifting cable.

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3.0 HAND HELD UNIT
Photo 1 –Triax Touch Hand Held
Photo 2 –Triax Touch Hand Held
Side view
Photo 3 –Using a pen or pointed object, press the SD card in until it clicks. To remove,
press SD card in and it will protrude.
Power push button
Micro SD Card slot

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PHOTO 4 –Triax Touch easily fits in the pocket

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3.1 Power ON/OFF
Press the Power push button as seen in photo 2 to turn the hand held on. The following screen
will appear.
Press confirm to begin testing.
To power system (hand held and head form) OFF, press and hold the OFF button. The operator
will need to return to a drop screen to see the OFF button. Hand held will automatically turn off
after 5 minutes of no use.
3.2 Hand Held to Missile Communications and conducting drops
The Triax Touch uses wireless communication between the hand held and missile. As shipped
from the factory each hand held is paired with a unique missile. A Triax Touch hand held is factory
set to pair with both an “E”(hemispherical) and an “A”(cylindrical) missile. After pressing the

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power button the head form and hand held will pair. The START key will show up when this is
complete and the system is ready for testing
The range of the Triax Touch wireless communications is about 20 feet. Should the user try
operation beyond this distance the communications between the missile and hand held will cease
and the system will appear to be non-operational. Moving back into range will allow
communications to resume after an approximately 30 second delay.
Some wireless devices such as laptops and tablets might show the Triax system in their respective
discovery modes. The Triax Touch system does not support apps or communications with devices
other than the missile and hand held, and any attempt to pair other devices could disrupt the factory
pairing resulting in an inoperable system.

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After powering on the Triax Touch hand held and confirming the initial screen, the following
screen appears:
Press the power button on the head form and it will pair with the hand held.
Prepare the drop by pressing START
Press RELEASE to release head form from magnet. To save a drop, press SAVE AND NEXT.