ISO 20344 Safety Shoes Testing Equipment List | Unuo
ISO 20344 Full List Testing Equipment – Unuo Instruments
Personal Protective Equipment — Test Methods for Footwear | Complete Standard Equipment Reference Guide
This blog is mainly about the method and the equipment to test footwear according to ISO 20344 personal protective equipment. This blog will list the required footwear testing equipment, clause reference, and test purpose for whole footwear, uppers, linings, insoles, outsoles, and protective toecaps.
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1.Whole Footwear Testing Equipment
| Testing Equipment | ISO 20344 | Standardized Test Method |
| Upper/Sole bond Strength | Clause 5.2 | A tensile testing machine grips the upper and outsole interface of a prepared test specimen, pulling them apart at 100 mm/min to record the maximum bond separation force per unit width. |
| UI-FT02 Footwear Impact Resistance Tester | Clause 5.3 | A weight of 20 kg (± 0.2 kg) with a steel striker drops freely from a specified height to deliver an impact energy of 100 J or 200 J onto the protective toecap of the whole footwear. Plasticine cylinders are placed inside to measure clearance. |
| UI-FT03 Footwear Compression Resistance Tester | Clause 5.4 | A static compressive force of 10 kN or 15 kN is applied to the toecap at a constant rate of 5 mm/min ± 2 mm/min using parallel steel platens until the prescribed load is reached. |
| UI-FT04 Leak Proofness Tester | Clause 5.7 | An automated testing system that submerges safety footwear in water and applies internal air pressure at 10 kPa to detect structural leaks via continuous bubble generation. |
| UI-FT03 Penetration Resistance Tester (Nail Piercing) | Clause 5.9/5.10 | A standardized test nail (3.05 or 4.5 mm diameter with a truncated tip) is pushed through the footwear outsole/insert at a constant speed of 10 mm/min until penetration occurs, recording maximum force. |
| UI-FT05 Safety Shoe Insert Flexing Tester | Clause 5.12 | Flex the insert at a speed of 16 cycles/s（960cycles/min) to test safety insert flexing resistance. |
| UI-FT06 Footwear Electrical Resistance Tester | Clause 5.13 | Uses dry/wet conductive media (steel balls) inside the shoe and an external electrode, applying a test voltage (100 V DC) to measure electrical resistance. |
| UI-FT100 Whole Footwear Slip Resistance Tester | Clause 5.4 (ISO 13287) | The footwear is mounted on a mechanical foot form, pressed against a test surface (ceramic tile or steel plate with glycerol/lubricant) with a known normal force, and moved horizontally. |
| UI-FT08 Hot Insulation Tester | Clause 5.15 | The shoe is filled with copper/steel balls and placed in a heated sand bath (150°C) or cold chamber (-17°C). Internal temperature sensors monitor temperature change over time. |
| UI-FT09 Thermal Insulation Tester (Cold) | Clause 5.16 | |
| UI-1100 Energy Absorption of seat region | Clause 5.17 | Applies a compressive load at (10±3)mm/min up to 5000N to the heel/seat region of footwear using a load cell and force-displacement recording system, evaluating the energy absorption capacity via force-deformation integration.
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| UI-FT11 Dynamic Footwear Water Resistance Tester | Clause 5.19 | The footwear is placed in a shallow water bath and subjected to repeated flexing at a constant speed (60 flexes/min). Sensors or visual inspection detect water penetration. |
| UI-FT02 Impact Tester | Clause 5.20/5.22 | Merararsal Protection Impact Test Drops a steel striker with a 90 angle from a specified height delivering an impact energy of 100J onto the metatarsal protection area to measure the remaining clearance after impact. |
| UI-FT02 Impact Tester | Clause 5.22 | Applies a compressive force up to 5000N at 10±0.2J to the heel area using a load cell system to evaluate energy absorption capacity via force-displacement integration. |
| UI-FT73 Safety Glove Cut Resistance Tester | Clause 5.23 | Rotates a circular steel blade back and forth across footwear upper or safety glove samples under a standard load to evaluate blade cut resistance by determining the cut index. |
| UI-FT19 Martindale Abrasion Tester | Clause 5.24 | Subjects footwear lining, insoles, or uppers to multi-directional friction under a defined load following Lissajous patterns to assess material abrasion and wear resistance. |
| UI-1100 UTM with grip | Clause 5.25 | Applies a constant tensile separation force using specialized tensile grips to test the seam strength of footwear upper or lining assemblies. |
2. Upper, Lining, Tongue and Insole Testing Equipment
| Testing Equipment | ISO 20344 | Standardized Test Method |
| UI-FT43 Thickness Gauge | Clause 6.1 | Measure thickness with specified load and press foot |
| UI-1100 Universal Testing Machine | Clause 6.3 | Tear strength of the upper, lining and tongue |
| UI-1100 Universal Testing Machine | Clause 6.4 | Tensile properties of upper |
| UI-FT15 Vamp Flexing Tester | Clause 6.5 | Rubber upper material specimens are folded and clamped, then subjected to continuous, rapid flexing cycles 300±30 cycles/min. |
| UI-FT16 Water Vapour Permeability Tester | Clause 6.6 | Specimens are sealed over jars containing a desiccant, placed in a constant humidity and temperature environment |
| UI-FT16B Water Vapour Permeability Tester | Clause 6.6 | Specimens are sealed over jars containing a desiccant, placed in a constant temperature and humidity chamber, machine is made with temperature and humidity control |
| UI-FT18 Water Vapour Absorption Tester | Clause 6.7 | Specimens are clamped over a water-filled vessel for a specified duration, and weight gain/transmission is measured to compute the Water Vapour Coefficient. |
| pH Value | Clause 6.9 | Chemical extraction apparatus and calibrated pH meters extract soluble matter from leather uppers/linings to measure pH and difference value. |
| UI-E14 Temperature and humidity chamber | Clause 6.10 | Hydrolysis of upper Exposes upper material samples to controlled high-temperature and high-humidity environment to evaluate their resistance to hydrolysis aging. |
| UI-FT19 Martindale Abrasion Tester | Clause 6.12 | Abrasion resistance of lining and insock, Subjects footwear lining and insock materials to multi-directional friction under specified pressure to assess their wear and abrasion resistance. |
| UI-FT20 Bally Leather Water Penetration Tester | Clause 6.13 | The material would be partially put in water and the bally water penetration tester would flex the sample in the water under certain speed to simulate material water resistance in daily work. |
3. Insole, Insock and Footbed Testing Equipment
| Testing Equipment | ISO 20344 | Standardized Test Method |
| UI-FT43 Thickness Gauge | Clause 7.1 | Measure thickness with specified load and press foot |
| UI-FT22 Water Absorption and Desorption Tester for Insole and Insock | Clause 7.2 | A test piece is positioned on a wet base plate and is submitted to repeat flexing under a given pressure (in the same manner as the insole of a shoe during walking). The water absorption at the end of test and the water desorption following the tests are determined. |
| UI-FT23 Veslic Rub Fastness Tester | Clause 7.3 | The test piece is rubbed with pieces of wet, white wool felt, covered with the abradant fabric, under agiven pressure, with a number of to-and-fro motion cycles. The test is carried out on conditioned insole material, and abrasion damage is assessed by measuring the change in thickness of the insole. |
4.Outsole Testing Equipment
| Testing Machine / Equipment | ISO 20344 | Standardized Test Method |
| UI-UTM | Clause 8.3 | Tear strength of outsole |
| UI-FT24 DIN Abrasion Tester (Rotary Drum) | Clause 8.4 | A cylindrical rubber test specimen is moved across a rotating drum covered with standard abrasive paper under a specified vertical load (5 N or 10 N) over a distance of 40 meters. |
| UI-FT25 Shoe Stiffness Rigidity Tester | Clause 8.5 | This test will be used as a screening test to decide whether the determination of flexing resistance of the outsole has to be performed. |
| UI-FT26 Bennewart / Whole Sole Flexing Tester
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Clause 8.6 | Outsole specimens with a small pre-cut pierced in the center are repeatedly flexed over a guide roller at 90° angle for 30,000 cycles. |
| UI-E14 Hydrolysis Chamber | Clause 8.7 | PU (Polyurethane) outsole specimens are aged in a humid environment for a few days |
| Oil / Fuel Resistance Tester | Clause 8.8 | Outsole test specimens are immersed in standard 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (isooctane) at 23°C for 22 hours; volume and hardness changes are measured. |
| UI-FT28 Hot Contact Resistance Tester | Clause 8.9 | A copper block heated to 300°C (± 5°C) is brought into contact with the outsole surface under a specific pressure for 60 seconds. |
5. Essential Auxiliary Equipment & Tools
| Testing Machine / Equipment | ISO 20344 | Standardized Test Method |
| UI-FT30 Shore Hardness Testers (Shore A / D) | General | Durometer hardness gauges (Shore A for soft rubber/PU, Shore D for hard plastics/toecaps) pressed against the material surface. |
| UI-FT85H Pneumatic Specimen Punch / Cutting Dies | General | Precision steel cutting dies (dumbbells, circles, trousers) paired with a pneumatic or hydraulic clicker press. |
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