ASTM D1149 A1 Specimen Cutting Die

ASTM D1149 A1 Specimen Cutting Die (CCSI-D1149-A1-N)

The CCSi ASTM D1149 A1 Specimen Cutting Die produces the strip specimen used in Method A1, the tensile elongation procedure under ASTM D1149 for evaluating how vulcanized rubber resists cracking when exposed to ozone under dynamic strain — separate from the UV or sunlight-driven degradation covered by other weathering tests.

Method A itself splits into two procedures sharing the same underlying ozone exposure: A1 stretches and holds the specimen under tension inside the chamber, while A2 (the belt flex test, covered by a separate die) flexes it repeatedly instead. The A1 die cuts a strip at 10 × 127 ± 0.03 mm — notably longer than the 100 mm the written standard technically calls for, because CCSi has found that shorter length doesn’t leave enough material to mount securely in the stretching apparatus without compromising the test setup.

Results from this test are comparative rather than absolute: they tell you how one compound’s ozone resistance stacks up against another’s under identical accelerated aging conditions, which is exactly what formulators need when screening candidate compounds for outdoor or ozone-exposed service.

CCSi also supplies the OREC™ Ozone Chamber used to run this test, along with dies for other ozone exposure procedures. For the flex-based A2 procedure sharing this same ASTM standard, contact CCSi for that die’s specifications.