ISO 17693 Resistance to Damage on Lasting Test | Footwear Upper Lastability Test Machine‑UnitedTest

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ISO 17693 Footwear Upper Lastability Tester | Resistance to Damage on Lasting | UnitedTest

ISO 17693 footwear test evaluates upper lastability and resistance to damage on lasting by multi‑directional distension stretching. UnitedTest manufactures ISO 17693 compliant footwear upper testing machines for shoe material QC and end‑use suitability assessment.

ISO 17693 is the international footwear standard defining laboratory test procedures for measuring the lastability of shoe uppers and full upper assemblies, regardless of raw material types. The core metric known as resistance to damage on lasting describes a material’s capacity to undergo simultaneous multi‑directional distension stretching without generating cracks, tears or other physical damage, simulating real‑world mechanical stress during the shoe lasting manufacturing process.

This test verifies whether footwear upper materials can withstand the complex stretching forces applied during shoe production, helping footwear manufacturers perform material screening, incoming batch inspection, product development, and end‑use performance qualification. It applies to leather, synthetic leather, fabric and composite shoe upper materials widely used across footwear factories and third‑party testing labs.

UnitedTest designs and produces high‑precision ISO 17693 compliant footwear upper testing equipment. Our test machine accurately simulates multi‑axial distension stretching conditions, delivering repeatable test results to evaluate upper lastability and resistance to lasting‑induced damage for footwear R&D, production quality control and material certification.

Test Principle:

A circular specimen is firmly clamped around its edge. A spherical metal plunger ball pushes against the reverse side of the specimen to produce omnidirectional biaxial distension (stretching). Two key damage events are observed:

1. First damage point: The distension value when surface cracks or internal layer permanent damage first occurs.

2. Grain crack (leather only): Visible cracking on leather grain surface.

3. Bursting point (optional): Distension when the ball penetrates fully through the sample.

During the whole test, plunger travel (distension) and applied force are continuously recorded to generate force‑distension curves if requiredISO. This simulates multi‑directional stretching stress uppers receive during shoe lasting production.

ISO 17693 Puncture test for Footwear Uppers Resistance to damage on lasting

Test Equipment of ISO 17693 Puncture test for Footwear Uppers Resistance to damage on lasting

Component	Specification
Universal Testing Machine	Recommend UnitedTest WDW series universal testing machine. - Movable plunger fitted with 6.25 mm ±0.05 mm diameter spherical ball. - Drive system: Plunger moving speed controlled at 0.20 mm/s ±0.05 mm/s. - Displacement monitor: Measures plunger travel with accuracy ±0.05 mm. - Force sensor: Measures plunger force within 0‑800 N, accuracy ±10 N.
Clamping fixture	Holds specimen edge, leaves an exposed circular free test area of 25.00 mm ±0.5 mm diameter. The clamp must prevent specimen slipping; it cannot stretch or compress the central test zone during clamping.
Cutting tool	Press knife or cutting tool for preparing test specimens.

Component

Specification

Universal Testing Machine

Recommend UnitedTest WDW series universal testing machine.

- Movable plunger fitted with 6.25 mm ±0.05 mm diameter spherical ball.

- Drive system: Plunger moving speed controlled at 0.20 mm/s ±0.05 mm/s.

- Displacement monitor: Measures plunger travel with accuracy ±0.05 mm.

- Force sensor: Measures plunger force within 0‑800 N, accuracy ±10 N.

Clamping fixture

Holds specimen edge, leaves an exposed circular free test area of 25.00 mm ±0.5 mm diameter.

The clamp must prevent specimen slipping; it cannot stretch or compress the central test zone during clamping.

Cutting tool

Press knife or cutting tool for preparing test specimens.

Test Specimen Information:

Sample quantity: Minimum 3 valid replicates per material.

Sampling rules:

- For leather: Sample from butt region according to ISO 2418 leather sampling standard.

- For non‑leather woven/coated materials: Cut samples from different sheet positions; avoid two specimens containing identical warp or weft threads.

- Specimens shall exclude seams, perforations, local thickness variation zones. Do not take samples from toe/heel high‑strain lasting zones on finished shoes.

- When lining is permanently bonded to upper, test the complete upper assembly (upper + lining + interlining, adhesive, foam, membrane, reinforcement; exclude toe‑puff and stiffener components).

- If adequate‑size specimens cannot be cut from small finished shoes e.g. children footwear, test raw bulk material instead of finished shoe parts, do not reduce specimen size.

Details Test Procedure of ISO 17693 Puncture test for Footwear Uppers Resistance to damage on lasting

Retract plunger back to zero starting position; reset force pointer if fitted.
Flat‑mount and firmly clamp specimen. The spherical ball acts on the reverse/flesh side of test piece (for grain leather, ball presses flesh side). Adjust clamping force: higher force for thick materials; avoid edge cutting for thin materials.
Start plunger penetration at constant speed 0.20 mm/s.
Record first‑damage force and distension:

Leather: Continuously observe top grain surface. Record values at first surface cracking; continue and record grain‑crack point. For patent leather, watch for film surface indentation or force drop signals for hidden grain cracking; cracking of patent top film also counts as grain crack.
Non‑leather coated fabrics: Watch force curve. Record distension and force at moment force stops rising or momentarily drops, indicating internal layer failure even without visible surface damage.

Optional: Continue test and record bursting‑point force and distension when ball breaks fully through specimen.
Retract plunger, remove specimen. Inspect clamped edges. If slippage or clamped‑edge tearing occurs, discard this result and run new specimen.
Repeat full procedure for all three specimens.
Calculate arithmetic mean for 3 replicates for first‑damage point, grain crack (leather), bursting point (if tested).

Test Parameters and Stipulations:

Central free clamping diameter	25.00 mm ± 0.5 mm
Plunger ball diameter	6.25 mm ± 0.05 mm
Plunger speed	0.20 mm/s ± 0.05 mm/s
Distension measurement accuracy	± 0.05 mm
Force range / accuracy	0–800 N / ± 10 N
Number of specimens	3 (minimum)
Clamp ball diameter tolerance	± 0.025 mm (dimensional drawings)

Industrial Application Fields

Footwear manufacturing – quality control of upper materials (leather, coated fabrics, synthetic composites) before and during production.

Material R&D and benchmarking – evaluating new upper materials or complete upper assemblies for lastability.

Supplier qualification – verifying that incoming upper materials can withstand the mechanical stresses of the lasting process.

Independent testing laboratories – accredited conformity assessment for brands, retailers, and regulatory compliance.

Product types covered: casual, fashion, sport, work, and children's footwear – irrespective of upper material.

⚠️ Lasting is a critical manufacturing step in shoemaking: the upper is stretched over a last (the foot‑shaped form). If the material lacks sufficient lastability, it will crack, tear, or suffer hidden layer damage, leading to premature product failure.

Related Standard:

ISO 3379	Leather — Determination of distension and strength of surface (ball burst method)
QB/T 2712	Leather-Physical and mechanical tests-Determination of distension and strength of grain-Ball burst test
DIN 53325	Testing of leather; ball compression test for determination of grain expansion capacity and the force of fracture with the lastometer
BS 3144	Methods of sampling and physical testing of leather Section 8 Measurement Of distention and strength of grain by the ball burst test
SATRA TM166	Slide fastener burst strength
SATRA TM24	Lastometer ball burst test
ASTM D2210	Standard Test Method for Grain Crack and Extension of Leather by the Mullen Test
ISO 17693	Footwear - Test methods for uppers - Resistance to damage on lasting
ISO 17694	Flex resistance for uppers and linings;
ISO 17696	Tear strength of uppers, linings and insocks;
ISO 17697	Seam strength of footwear components.
GB/T 3903.38	Footwear - Test methods for uppers - Resistance to damage on lasting
EN 12747	Footwear - Test methods for insoles - Abrasion resistance
EN 13520	Footwear - Test methods for uppers, lining and insocks - Abrasion resistance;
ISO 3376	Leather — Determination of tensile strength and elongation

Keywords: ISO 17693 footwear upper test, footwear upper lastability tester, resistance to damage on lasting test machine, shoe upper multi‑directional distension stretching equipment, ISO 17693 shoe material testing rig, leather synthetic leather upper lastability analyzer, footwear lasting damage resistance tester, shoe upper assembly performance test instrument, footwear manufacturing material qualification tester, UnitedTest ISO 17693 compliant footwear testing machine, shoe factory QC upper distension test device, footwear material end‑use suitability evaluation equipment

WDW Series Computer Control Electronic Universal Testing Machine made by UNITEDTEST range from 100N to 600KN load capacity with various models like single columns, table type, door frame type etc., is used to perform tension, compression, flexure/bending, shearing, peeling etc., test for metal and nonmetal specimens. Matched with UNITEDTEST design and produced various test fixture, like peel, flexure, puncture, tear, pneumatic grip, belt tension etc., this UTM can be used to almost all materials include but not limited to steel rod, rubber, steel wire, plastic, seat belt, textile, wood, panel etc., mechanical performance inspection.

ASTM D3787 Ball Burst Puncture Test Fixture is a standardized attachment for constant-rate-of-traverse (CRT) tensile testing machines, used to determine the bursting strength of textile fabrics by forcing a polished steel ball through a clamped specimen at a constant rate until rupture.

Q1. What is the ISO 17693 test?

A: ISO 17693:2004 (Footwear – Test methods for uppers – Resistance to damage on lasting) is an international standard published by ISO/TC 216. It specifies a laboratory method for determining the lastability of footwear uppers or complete upper assemblies – i.e. the ability of a material to be stretched in all directions during the lasting process without cracking or suffering internal damage.

Q2. Why is the ISO 17693 test important?

A: Lasting is the shoemaking operation in which the upper is stretched over a last to form the final shoe shape. If the upper material cannot endure this multi‑directional stress, it will crack, delaminate or fail in the finished shoe. The ISO 17693 test predicts manufacturability before production starts, helping manufacturers:

Select the right leather, coated fabric or composite upper material

Reduce rejection rates, rework and warranty claims

Provide objective, comparable data for supplier qualification

Demonstrate compliance with international footwear quality benchmarks

Q3. Which materials can be tested under ISO 17693?

A: The method applies irrespective of the material. It covers genuine leather, synthetic leather, coated fabrics, textile laminates and complete upper assemblies (including linings, adhesives, membranes and reinforcements, but excluding toe puffs and stiffeners).

Q4. How does the test work?

A: A circular specimen is clamped around its edge, leaving a central free area of 25.00 mm ± 0.5 mm. A plunger with a 6.25 mm ± 0.05 mm spherical ball is driven through the specimen at 0.20 mm/s ± 0.05 mm/s. The machine continuously records:

First damage point – initial surface crack or internal layer damage

Grain crack point (for leathers) – cracking of the grain or surface finish

Bursting point (optional) – when the sphere breaks through the specimen

Force (0–800 N, accuracy ±10 N) and distension (accuracy ±0.05 mm) are monitored so that a force–distension curve can be plotted.

Q5: What is “complete upper assembly” defined in ISO 17693? Do we include toe‑puff and stiffener?

A: A complete upper assembly means finished seamed/laminated uppers including main material, linings, interlinings, adhesives, foam, membrane and reinforcement layers. Toe‑puffs and stiffeners shall be excluded from the test specimen. If lining is permanently bonded onto upper shell, you must test the full composite assembly instead of single‑layer upper material.

Q6: My test result is invalid, what is the most common cause?

A:Specimen slippage inside clamping fixture** is the top invalid‑result trigger. After each test, inspect clamping ring marks on sample edges. Blurred clamping‑ring impression or edge tearing proves slippage. Discard this dataset and re‑run test with new specimen. Adjust clamping force: higher clamping torque for thick materials; reduce clamping force to avoid cutting thin‑material edges.

Q7: Can I use ISO 17693 test for all footwear upper materials?

A: Yes. It applies to full‑grain leather, patent leather, nubuck, synthetic coated fabrics, woven textiles, laminated composite upper assemblies with linings, foam and adhesive layers. It is widely used for raw‑material incoming QC, new‑material development, third‑party lab verification for footwear manufacturers.

Q8: Why cannot regular tensile test replace ISO 17693 lasting‑damage test?

A: Standard tensile test only applies uniaxial one‑direction stretching. Footwear lasting creates biaxial multi‑directional stretching stress. Many composite upper materials pass one‑direction tensile test but crack/delaminate under simultaneous multi‑direction distension, which only ISO 17693 ball‑burst distension test can replicate.

Q9: Why Choose UnitedTest ISO 17693 Tester?

A: ISO 17693 Footwear Upper Resistance‑to‑Damage‑on‑Lasting Tester from UnitedTest

UnitedTest is professional manufacturer of ISO 17693:2004 test machine (also complying with original European standard EN 13511:2001). This laboratory testing equipment is designed for footwear factories, material suppliers, third‑party testing laboratories to evaluate **lastability / resistance to damage on lasting** for shoe uppers and complete upper assemblies.

Our ISO 17693 lasting damage tester replicates multi‑direction biaxial distension stress that shoe uppers receive during shoe‑making lasting process. It measures distension value and force at first‑damage point, grain‑crack point (leather), and bursting point. The machine monitors plunger displacement and force output in real‑time, helping quality engineers identify surface grain cracking and hidden internal‑layer delamination for leather, patent leather, coated fabrics, textile‑laminated composite uppers.

Standard‑compliant geometry – 25.00 mm ± 0.5 mm clamping aperture and 6.25 mm ± 0.05 mm spherical‑ball plunger, exactly as prescribed by ISO 17693.

Accurate, repeatable data – plunger speed controlled at 0.20 mm/s ± 0.05 mm/s, force measured over 0–800 N with ±10 N accuracy, distension resolved to ±0.05 mm.

Multi‑material capability – test genuine leather, synthetic leather, coated fabrics, textile laminates and complete upper assemblies (excluding toe puffs and stiffeners).

First‑damage, grain‑crack & burst detection – the system records the exact force and distension at the first damage point, the leather grain‑crack point, and the optional bursting point, and can output a full force–distension curve.

Integrated conditioning compliance – works hand‑in‑hand with EN 12222 conditioning chambers to ensure specimens are tested at the required temperature and humidity.

User‑friendly software – intuitive interface for operator setup, real‑time graph display, automatic calculation of the arithmetic mean of three specimens, and one‑click export of the ISO 17693 test report.

Robust construction – built for continuous laboratory and production‑floor operation, with calibration traceable to international standards.

UnitedTest Advantage

With decades of experience in footwear and leather testing equipment, UnitedTest delivers instruments that combine precision mechanics, advanced sensor technology and compliant software in a single, easy‑to‑operate package. Our ISO 17693 testers help you:

Reduce production defects caused by poor‑lastability uppers

Speed up material selection with quantitative, comparable data

Meet international buyer specifications that reference ISO 17693, EN ISO 17693 or GB/T 3903.38

Strengthen your laboratory’s accreditation portfolio (ISO/IEC 17025‑ready).

We offer customization to meet your specific needs. Our expert team will collaborate with you to develop the perfect product for you