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| Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association, Inc. 111 Deer Lake Road, Suite 100 Deerfield, IL 60015 888/480-9138 Fax: 847/480-9282 |
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MFMA PUR STANDARDS Introducing the Since 1897, the members of the MFMA have been dedicated to producing the highest quality northern hard maple flooring and sports flooring systems in the world. More than 100 years later, MFMA continues to attract new members who subscribe to the same high standards for which the association has become known. Through consistent enforcement of strict manufacturing, grading, packaging, shipping and installation, MFMA has become synonymous with quality. As the most recognized name in sports flooring, the experience of MFMA Mill Manufacturer and Sport Floor Contractor members is unmatched. Within the last 20 years, there has been a movement within the industry to quantify performance characteristics that best define “a good sports floor.” As a result, our industry has hundreds of different sports flooring systems each with varying levels of performance. Within this range of system options, there are some common performance characteristics that the industry has recognized as being most desired and important. MFMA’s PUR Standards focus on shock absorption, vertical deflection, area of deflection, ball bounce, and surface friction. These standards have been designed, utilizing exacting testing methodologies, to ensure that customers receive a reliable, well performing, competitive sports surface. No one knows more about how a good floor should perform and how it should be installed than the MFMA members. As an organization representing the worldwide sports flooring industry, our goal is to balance technical standards with practical flooring system design in order to create uniform standards of performance for competition sports floors. When a specific flooring system is a MFMA PUR Compliant floor, it is understood that testing is on a strict pass/fail evaluation. In order to minimize confusion that exists around floor testing, the MFMA will only allow the use of the term “compliant” as it pertains to its PUR testing; either a floor is compliant and passes the standards or it does not. Like all performance standards, there are tradeoffs between individual standards depending on the intended use. Carefully selected criteria will help you choose the characteristics that are most appropriate for the activities being performed on your floor. For additional information on MFMA testing procedures, contact MFMA Headquarters or any of the MFMA Mill Manufacturing members on their system(s) that have been tested in accordance with the MFMA PUR Standards. Download the PUR Standards Guide Individual Performance Characteristics 
Shock AbsorptionMeasures the flooring system’s ability to absorb impact forces generated by the athlete. Read more. As an athlete impacts a sports surface, the impacting force is translated into two resultant forces: one absorbed by the floor and the other absorbed by the athlete. While hard surfaces such as concrete and asphalt provide little or no force reduction for the athlete upon impact due to running, jumping or falling, MFMA sports floor systems absorb these impact forces (shock) and are rated by the percentage of force reduction they provide as compared to hard surfaces. In general, a sports floor with a force reduction value of 60% will absorb 60% of the impact force and the remaining 40% is absorbed by the athlete.
Areas of DeflectionMeasures the floor system’s ability to contain the deflected area under an athlete’s impact, measured at 20” (500 mm) from the point of impact. Read more.
The area of deflection is a measurement of the surface of the floor that is deflected during impact. Area of deflection is based on the relationship between vertical deflection at the point of impact and the deflection at 20” (500 mm). A person jumping on a trampoline, for example, creates a very wide area of deflection. Someone jumping on sand creates a very limited area of deflection.
Vertical DeflectionMeasures the floor system’s downward movement during the impact of an athlete landing on the surface. Read more. This characteristic is the measure of the floor system’s ability to provide vertical displacement at the point of impact. For example, a person jumping on a concrete floor would result in zero vertical deflection, while that same person jumping on a trampoline would create a vertical deflection of many inches.
Basketball ReboundMeasures the basketball’s rebound response off the sports floor system as compared to the ball’s rebound response off concrete. Read more. At 100% rebound, the basketball returns to a height equal to its rebound off concrete.
Obviously, ball bounce may not apply to all sports activities. 
Surface FrictionMeasures an athletic flooring finish’s ability to control the sliding of athletes on a sports surface. Read more. The surface friction must be low enough to permit sliding when a large amount of horizontal force is applied to the floor surface and high enough to prevent uncontrollable sliding. Surface friction is a function of the specified floor finish. Why Is Performance Important ? The MFMA Mill Manufacturing Members have been designing sports floor systems for generations. With the evolution of the understanding of the scientific relationship between the athlete and the sports surface, MFMA Mill Manufacturing Members have engineered flooring systems to meet the demands of today’s athletes. These standards reflect the competitive nature of today’s athletes and provide them with the tools to succeed. Performance Requirements.
Contact any MFMA Manufacturer Member for performance data on their individual sports flooring systems. Why Is Uniformity Important ?
The MFMA, the sports flooring authority for over 100 years, recognizes the importance of a sports surface’s uniformity and consistent game play for a high quality floor. Therefore we have established the following uniformity requirements. Uniformity Requirements.
Contact any MFMA Manufacturer Member for performance data on their individual sports flooring systems. Test Methods
Shock Absorption Using a test device, a series of 3 drops is made on each test point. A 40 lb weight is dropped onto a stiff spring over a load cell that is connected to a solid foot. The weight is dropped from a set height and strikes the top of the stiff spring/load cell/solid foot which is set onto the floor surface. The load cell receives the impact and transfers the impulse to a computer. It is then processed onto a percentage of what the same impact would have on concrete.
Areas of DeflectionTest Method: DIN 18032, part 2 This test uses a test device to measure the deformation of the surface at 50 cm away from the point of impact. This test follows the same procedure used for Vertical Deflection except the probes rest on the surface of the test floor. This parameter is measured in mm but the result of each drop is expressed as a percentage of the previously determined Vertical Deflection of the relevant test point.
Vertical DeflectionTest Method: DIN 18032, part 2 Using a test device, a series of 3 drops is made on each test point. A 40 lb weight is dropped onto a stiff spring over a solid foot. The spring passes the impact through a solid test foot to the surface. The deflection of the surface is recorded by two probes which rest on an extension of the test foot. The probes are connected to a computer which records the deflection in millimeters
Basketball ReboundTest Method: EN 12235/C1 Determination of Vertical Ball Rebound Behavior. In this test the center of a Spaulding® composite leather basketball is drop from a height of 6’8-1/4” onto a concrete surface. The time between the first rebound and the second rebound is recorded. The ball rebound is tested ten times on the concrete surface. The process is then repeated on the floor surface. The basketball rebound is expressed as a percentage of the ball’s rebound height on concrete.
Surface FrictionTest Method: ASTM D 2047 Since this is really a function of the particular floor finish applied to the sport flooring surface this test involves the floor finish product applied to three 9 x 9 inch maple panels instead of the actual test floor. Using the James Machine, run 4 cycles on each panel, turning the panel 90° after each cycle. The surface friction value is determined by averaging the values of all 12 cycles.
Approved Testing Facilities for all MFMA PUR Standards United States Sports Surfacing Laboratory ASET Services, Inc. Guillaume Loubersac Approved Testing Facilities for Surface Friction Case Consulting Laboratories, Inc. Rolla Coatings Inc. Disclaimer: The MFMA PUR Standards are designed to provide general performance, uniformity and playability information to architects, specifiers and consumers. MFMA, its members, officers and agents disclaim any responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy or applicability of these standards under all circumstances and conditions. |
