This thesis presents a body of work undertaken to develop a new contact test rig for the Tribomechadynamics Lab. Motivated by a continued interest in the design and modeling of joined structures, the need for a mesoscale contact testing capability is uncovered by a discussion of several research areas. Built upon the science of instrumented indentation, the test rig is capable of a maximum applied load of 4,000 N over a contact displacement of less than 90 microns. Resolution in the load - displacement data is 2 N and 100 nm, respectively. Interchangeable contact tips and a custom built height positioning stage contribute to the flexibility of the tool. The accompanying controller and user interface allow for high test throughput by even inexperienced users. The construction, validation, and initial testing of the rig are described in depth. The development of the post-processing methods and derivation of several material properties from the load-displacement data are covered as well.

The functionality of the rig is illustrated by the results of three unique applications: an indentation and flattening study on multiple materials, a study of the influence of coating thickness on the properties of layered solids, and a proof of concept for a future rough contact study. Data from high fidelity surface characterization is integrated with the contact data. A tool for maximizing productivity and capability by stitching surface scans into a complete surface of interest is developed as well. The promising results of the initial testing motivates a discussion of future additions to the rig and applications not yet explored.