referring now to fig1 and 2 , there is shown a measurement device 10 comprising a substantially horizontally disposed base plate 11 on which a sample 12 of the material to be tested is placed . a ‘ fixed ’ clamping member 13 and a ‘ movable ’ clamping member 14 are mounted on respective supports 15 , 16 and are movable by respective stepper motors 17 , 18 from their respective sample material release positions as shown downwardly towards the base plate 11 to clamp the sample 12 . at this initial stage the ‘ movable ’ clamping member 14 and its ‘ movable ’ support 16 are in the ‘ datum position and the end of the sample 12 is aligned with the end 19 of the base plate 11 . mounted on a head support 20 is a head assembly comprising a slide part 20 a which is movable by means of stepper motor 21 and lead screw laterally of the sample 12 in slideways 22 and a sensing part 20 b which is movable by means of a stepper motor 23 vertically in slideways 24 . the sensing part 20 b has a sensing device 25 which incorporates load sensing means 26 and a surface characteristics sensing means 27 . a position sensor 28 is provided on the support 20 to measure the height of the head assembly 20 relative to the base plate 11 . the ‘ movable ’ support 16 is mounted on the base plate 11 in low friction slideways 29 disposed remote from the axis 30 of movement of the ‘ movable ’ support 16 to minimise the effects of friction on the operation and measurement sensitivity of the measurement device 10 . the ‘ movable ’ support 16 is movable by means of stepper motor 31 and lead screw 32 away from and towards the ‘ fixed ’ support 15 , and a position sensor 33 indicates the position of the ‘ movable ’ support 16 relative to a datum position . the upper part 16 a of the ‘ movable ’ support 16 is movable in slideways 34 in lower part 16 b by stepper motor 35 laterally of the base plate 11 . a position sensor 36 indicates the lateral position of the ‘ movable ’ support 16 relative to a datum central position . in fact , the ‘ fixed ’ support 15 is also mounted on the slideways 29 and is movable from its datum position 16 under the effect of a change in the tension in the sample 12 . any such change in tension is detected by load cells 37 , 38 . the ‘ movable ’ support 16 may be extended as shown to support the sample 12 when it is moved towards the edge 19 of the base plate 12 for the bending test described below . located adjacent the edge 19 of the base plate 12 is a beam transmitting device 39 and a beam sensing device 40 operable to receive the transmitted beam 41 and detect when the sample 12 interrupts the beam 41 . the beam transmitting device 39 is mounted at the edge 19 and the beam 41 is directed downwardly towards the base plate 11 at an angle of 41 . 5 ° to the horizontal . a control device 42 , including programmable means 43 , is provided to control automatically the operation of the measuring device 10 , which is as follows . the prepared sample 12 of the material to be tested is placed in the measuring device 10 on the base plate 11 so that the end of the sample aligns with the edge 19 of the base plate 11 . the control device 42 is activated and the clamping members 13 , 14 are lowered by their motors 17 , 18 to clamp the sample 12 . load cell 37 , having a range of measurement appropriate to the measurement of tension in the sample 12 is brought into operation by the control means 42 and the other load cell 38 is taken out of operation . the motor 31 is then operated to move the ‘ movable ’ support 16 from its datum position in a direction away from the ‘ fixed ’ support 15 . this movement applies a tensile load to the sample 12 , which is measured by the load cell 37 . a shallow recess 44 in the base plate 11 under the sample 12 reduces the effect of friction between the sample 12 and the base plate 11 . the distance moved by the ‘ movable ’ support 16 is measured by the position sensor 33 , so that a ‘ load - extension ’ relationship for the sample 12 can be determined . the control means 42 reverses the motor 31 to return the ‘ movable ’ support 16 to its datum position . the load sensor 37 is taken out of operation and the load cell 38 , having a range of measurement appropriate to the measurement of buckling load in the sample 12 , is brought into operation . further movement of the ‘ movable ’ support 16 towards the ‘ fixed ’ support 15 enables the load in the sample 12 as it buckles to be measured by the load cell 38 . the ‘ movable support 16 is then again returned to its datum position . the sensing part 20 b of the head support 20 is then lowered by means of the motor 23 until contact between the sample 12 and the surface characteristics sensing means 27 . the height of the surface characteristics sensing means 27 above the base plate 11 is indicated by the position sensor 28 so as to determine the thickness of the sample 12 . further lowering of the sensing part 20 b will apply a compressive load to the sample 12 , as determined by the load cell 26 . correlation of the readings of the load cell 26 and the position sensor 28 will provide a ‘ load - compression ’ relationship for the sample 12 . the sensing part 20 b is then raised to the position of contact between the sample 12 and the surface characteristics sensing means 27 . lateral movement of the slide part 20 a along slideways 22 by means of motor 21 causes the surface characteristics sensing means 27 to measure the friction between it and the sample 12 and also the surface roughness of the sample 12 . the sensing part 20 b is then raised to its original position . the control means 42 then activates motor 36 to move the upper part 16 a of the ‘ movable ’ support 16 laterally of the base plate 11 . this induces a shear in the sample 12 , and the shear load is indicated by a further load cell 45 . correlation of the readings of the load cell 45 and the position sensor 36 will provide a ‘ load - shear ’ relationship for the sample 12 . to determine the bending characteristics of the sample 12 , the control means 42 now activates motors 17 and 18 to raise the ‘ fixed ’ and ‘ movable ’ clamping members 13 , 14 to release the sample 12 . motor 31 is then activated to move the ‘ movable ’ support 16 and the sample 12 away from the ‘ fixed ’ support 15 . during this movement the sample 12 is supported by the extended support 16 c . this causes the end of the sample 12 to cantilever over the edge 19 of the base plate 11 eventually to bend and hang downwardly 50 as to interrupt the beam 41 . the position sensor 33 indicates the amount of sample 12 extending over the edge 19 of the base plate 11 when the beam 41 is interrupted , this amount being dependent on the stiffness of the material of the sample 12 . if not all of the above measurements are required , suitable programming of the programmable means 43 can cause the control means 42 only to activate the relevant motors for the measuring device to perform the required operations . furthermore , if the effect of the speed of application of any load to the sample 12 is required , the programmable means 43 can be programmed to alter the speed of operation of the relevant motor or motors . as a further benefit of the measuring device 10 , cyclic loading of the sample 12 may be effected by suitable programming of the programmable means 43 . alternative embodiments of the measuring device according to the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art . for example , as an alternative to stepper motors , the movements of the movable parts of the measurement device may be effected by pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders or by linear motors . as another alternative construction , the slide and sensing parts 20 a , 20 b may be mounted on the upper part 16 a of the ‘ movable ’ support 16 . by means of the present invention measurements of tensile , shear , buckling , and compression strengths , sheet thickness , bending stiffness and surface qualities such as friction and roughness can be made on a single sample of a limp sheet material in a single measuring device , thereby reducing the time involved in performing the tests and the initial cost of purchasing the necessary equipment . fig3 to 5 of the drawings illustrate a fabric sample 311 with a seam 312 giving rise to seam pucker undulations 13 in the fabric either side of the seam 312 — held by a clamp 314 on a support base 315 inclined steeply so the fabric rests on the base rather than hangs freely , but otherwise without any constriction that would give rise to specious undulation or flattening and of any pucker that might be present . a bridge 315 a on the support base 315 restricts movement of the sample 311 during monitoring . the base 315 is removable from an enclosure in which the assessment is carried out and may be used as a template in cutting a sample for assessment from a larger piece . two parallel line beam lasers 316 , 317 are directed at the sample 311 so that they illuminate lines 318 either side of the seam 312 . as seen in fig4 these lines take on a undulating appearance because of the seam pucker . the sample is imaged by a ccd camera 319 , which is arranged at such a distance from the sample that the distortions due to seam pucker in the lines 318 are visible in the image . the whole is enclosed , for the assessment , in a box , and should , to prevent laser light escaping that might damage eyes be viewed directly , there being an interlock arrangement to ensure the lasers cannot operate unless the box is closed . the image from the camera 319 is fed to a computer 321 , fig5 with a vision card 322 and software capable of analysing the image by suitable routines to assess the degree and spatial frequency of any undulation caused by seam pucker . clearly a similar set - up can be employed to assess other types of surface irregularity . the apparatus may readily be miniaturized and presented as a hand - held arrangement for portable use .