Reproduce real manufacturing heat and force in the lab
Gleeble thermal-mechanical simulators replicate the exact thermal and mechanical conditions a material sees in welding, rolling, forging, and casting, so you can develop alloys and fix processes before committing to production.
- Since 1957The original physical simulator
- 500+Systems installed worldwide
- 30,000+Research citations
- −150 to 3000 °CTest temperature range
What is physical simulation?
Your production process, recreated on a lab specimen
Physical simulation reproduces the exact thermal and mechanical history a material goes through during manufacturing or service. Instead of running costly full-scale trials, you test the process itself, on a small sample, with full control and full data.
- Lower costsCut development, processing, and energy spend
- Faster developmentShorten time to market and R&D cycles
- Better processesDevelop new procedures and troubleshoot existing ones
- Better materialsDevelop new alloys and applications
- Higher outputReduce scrap and improve efficiency
- Consistent qualityImprove product consistency and performance
Why Gleeble
Precision you can program, measure, and repeat
Direct resistance heating and servo-hydraulic control work together, so thermal and mechanical loads follow your schedule exactly, every test.
Direct resistance heating
Current passes through the specimen itself, giving heating rates and temperature control a furnace can't match.
- Heating rates from 0.01 to 10,000 °C/s
- Ultra-high-temperature testing to 3000 °C
- More energy-efficient than furnace heating
Servo-hydraulic control
Programmable mechanical loading for standard metallurgical tests and complex thermal-mechanical cycles.
- Wide range of achievable strain rates
- Standard tests and custom schedules
- Real-time feedback during testing
Advanced data acquisition
Thermal and mechanical data captured together, so you see exactly how the material responded at every moment.
- Synchronized multi-channel acquisition
- Integration with custom measurement systems
- Digital image correlation available
Precise thermal cycling
Reproduce complex heating and cooling histories for process simulation and heat treatment studies.
- Vacuum, inert, or oxidizing atmospheres
- Rapid quenching
- Controlled cooling paths
Process simulation
From continuous casting to the final weld
Hot rolling
Multi-pass schedules with controlled inter-pass cooling
Forging and extrusion
High-strain, high-temperature deformation studies
Plane strain compression
Flow stress and microstructure for rolling models
Welding and joining
Heat-affected zone simulation, where Gleeble began
Continuous casting
Solidification, cracking, and hot ductility behavior
Strip annealing and heat treatment
Annealing, galvanizing, and heat treatment cycles
Systems
Find the right Gleeble for your lab
Gleeble 3000 Series
Fully integrated thermal-mechanical systems for the widest range of physical simulation and materials testing, with Gleeble Touch Control.
Compare 3000 Series modelsGleeble 500 Series
Dedicated simulators built for a single process.
Mobile Conversion Units
Add new test capabilities to an existing system.
UHTC System
Ultra-high-temperature testing for refractory and advanced materials.
View UHTCSpecialty systems
Purpose-built configurations for specialized research.
Gleeble Touch Control upgrade
Bring an existing Gleeble up to current control technology.
View the GTC upgradeIndustries
Trusted where material behavior decides the outcome
From university labs to steel mills, Gleeble systems produce the data that alloy design, process models, and qualification programs depend on.
- Steels and metals processingRolling, forging, casting, and heat treatment
- Automotive and transportationAdvanced high-strength steels and lightweight alloys
- Aerospace and defenseSuperalloys, titanium, and high-temperature materials
- Energy and power generationWelding, creep, and service-condition studies
- Academic and research institutionsTeaching, published research, and new materials
Support
Support for the life of your system
Learn
Build your team's expertise.
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Protect accuracy and uptime.
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Used by leading universities, national labs, and manufacturers worldwide
Have a materials problem standard testing can't solve?
Tell us about your process, alloy, or simulation requirement. Our applications team will help you define the right test, system, or service.