Instron Adds High-Temperature Testing to Bluehill
The optional add-on extends temperature-compliant testing across multi-furnace workflows in Bluehill Universal software.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Software
Instron has announced a high-temperature testing add-on for its Bluehill Universal materials testing software. The add-on brings temperature and materials data into a single test record and extends integrated ASTM E21 and ISO 6892-2 compliance to multi-furnace workflows.
Why it matters
Furnace heating and soak times often create a throughput bottleneck that exceeds the duration of the mechanical test itself. Supporting multiple furnaces on one test frame aims to reduce that delay for laboratories running high-temperature materials tests.
The add-on is delivered as an optional feature in the latest version of Bluehill Universal and is designed to meet ASTM E21 and ISO 6892-2 test standards. Specific throughput improvements, pricing, and performance benchmarks were not disclosed in the announcement.
The players
Instron
Instron is a materials testing equipment manufacturer known for universal testing machines and the Bluehill software platform used in engineering and materials science laboratories.
The details
Users can set target temperatures and soak durations, define acceptable overshoot limits, and track multiple thermocouples for secondary soaking configurations within the software. While one specimen is being tested, additional specimens can heat and soak in other furnaces mounted to the same frame, with all furnace and mechanical data captured in a single specimen record.
Timeline
• November 6, 2026: Instron announced the Bluehill Universal High-Temperature Add-On.
The Tech Race
The release extends Instron's Bluehill Universal platform, which already integrates test data management, into high-temperature workflows that competing materials testing vendors must also support. It positions Instron to compete on combined mechanical and thermal test data capture rather than on hardware alone.
Materials laboratories running high-temperature tensile tests could shorten the wait between specimen preparation and testing by loading additional furnaces on one frame. Testing teams would also keep temperature and mechanical results in one record rather than reconciling separate files.
The takeaway
Combining furnace control, thermal data, and mechanical results in one software record can make high-temperature material testing easier to audit against ASTM and ISO standards. Labs evaluating testing workflows should weigh throughput gains against the cost of the optional add-on.
Further reading
For more on the tools behind this release, explore Software coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by AZoM.
