Piece holder and support system for impact excitation measurements

An impact excitation (IE) measurement system for measuring a vibrational response of a solid piece to an impulse impact, comprising:

• an impactor for providing the impulse impact to the solid piece;
• a sensor for obtaining the vibrational response of the solid piece to the impulse impact;
• processing means configured to analyze the vibrational response by extracting a set of eigenfrequencies and a set of damping parameters;
• a support system for supporting the solid piece during providing the impulse impact and obtaining the vibrational response;
• a piece holder configured to receive the solid piece in a predetermined holder position with respect to the piece holder;
• an actuator operably connected to the piece holder and configured to:
• transfer the piece holder with the solid piece in said predetermined holder position to the support system;
• and
• place the piece holder and the solid piece on the support system in a predetermined support position such that the solid piece is supported solely by the support system during providing the impulse impact and obtaining the vibrational response
• wherein the support system comprises a top part which comprises a flatbed support comprising an elasticity which is larger than the elasticity of the solid piece.