Machinery & Equipment: Top Drawer Testing
By Michael Legault
Customer expectations, as well as ISO- and QS-9000 standards, have ratcheted up testing requirements for processors. New, easier-to-use testing equipment is making it more feasible to do much of this ...
Customer expectations, as well as ISO- and QS-9000 standards, have ratcheted up testing requirements for processors. New, easier-to-use testing equipment is making it more feasible to do much of this testing in-house, eliminating the need to use costly and inconvenient contract testing services.
The affordable 16S Solar UV Simulator from Solar Light Co. uses a xenon lamp to create a UV spectrum very similar to sunlight. The high intensity of the simulator’s UV allows a plastic part or test plaque to receive a dose in 24 hours that is equivalent to 20 weeks of clear sunshine exposure, much more rapidly than testing with fluorescent lamps. The simulator’s radiation is almost all UV, minimizing thermal heating. The test is not intended as a substitute for standardized weathering testing, but provides guidance for plastic resistance to UV under known conditions, and can be used to evaluate the addition of UV inhibitors in a coating or part.
Atlas Electric Devices Co. has recently rolled out its UV2000, an easy-to-use fluorescent UV condensation weathering instrument. It comes with a breakthrough power supply system designed to increase bulb life, eliminating the need for bulb rotation while generating steadier output. Equipped with a state-of-the-art Siemens controller, the UV2000 is outfitted with a low water level alarm, a countdown timer to control the duration of a test and independent UV and condensation cycle switches. A spray for thermal shock or water-initiated erosion is optional with the device.
The QUV is the world’s most widely used weathering tester, according to manufacturer Q-Panel Lab Products. The QUV gives the operator the flexibility of setting up alternating cycles of UV, moisture and high temperature to simulate the effects of sunlight, rain and dew. It operates automatically, 24/7. Fluorescent lamps can be specified to meet the testing requirements of a particular material.
The Focus Countour Projector from Optical Gaging Products Inc., raises the standard for low cost comparators by including features usually found only in larger, more expensive systems. The projector is the lowest priced motorized comparator ever offered by OGP. The Focus has true telecentric optics and an underscreen Frensel lens for the highest precision. The corrected image provides flat field, superb contrast and sharp images right to the edge of its full viewing area for accurate measurement and inspection.
The VacTest (VT1100) is a vacuum tester ideal for plastic containers used in hot-fill applications. The tabletop device, from Agr*TopWave LLC, allows an operator to quickly and easily determine the maximum level of vacuum a container can withstand before it becomes distorted or fails. Bottles with standard as well wide-mouth finishes (up to seven inches) can be tested. A digital readout provides continuous vacuum data as a container is tested, with the peak value retained upon failure.
Panametrics’ advanced new ultrasonic thickness gauge makes it much easier to make accurate measurements of critical barrier layers in multi-layered plastic parts such as gas fuel tanks and bottle preforms. The Model 25 Multiplus uses special stored setups for each layer in a multi-layered part, giving the user the ability to calculate and display up to four measurements at once: one to three individual layers, plus the total thickness of selected layers.
Keeping color and flow true-blue
Datacolor’s new portable Mercury Color Measurement System utilizes advanced, proprietary sensor technology that doubles the resolution of current lab-grade instruments. The instrument features a touch screen interface, is user configurable, and introduces the Palm O/S technology directly into the spectrophotometer. The instrument is designed to deliver 100 percent color consistency under a broad range of measuring conditions and on all types of surfaces. Full-featured software permits alphabetical searches and storage of up to 30,000 standards and batches. Users can up- and down-load colorimetric data from the instrument to the PC with a single button operation. Data can be exported into other third-party software packages.
The ColorQuest XE from HunterLab is suited for quantifying container appearance attributes such as reflected color, transmitted color, whiteness, yellowness, opacity and transmission haze. The system can be used to measure raw materials, preforms, bottles and closures. The instrument provides enhanced ability to measure both reflectance and transmittance and obtain spectral data to detect UV inhibitors and tristimulus data for visual color.
The new modular MP600 Melt Flow Indexer (MFI) equipment is specifically designed to meet the resin flow-rate measurement requirements of quality control engineers working in the polymer industry. Supplied by Hounsfield Test Equipment Ltd., the MP600 is designed to be robust and reliable in a manufacturing or laboratory environment. Technicians can accurately monitor the quality of a wide variety of resins used in blow, injection or extrusion molding processes by conducting a quick, simple test. The MFI’s dual zone heating system guarantees precise control of the bore up to 450 C with an accuracy of 0.1 C.
The Sentinel C-20 is the latest pressure decay leak detection instrument made by Cincinnati Test Systems, Inc. The Sentinel C-20 offers a quick-test feature which enables a shorter test cycle time by detecting obvious accept or reject parts early in the test cycle, shortening the test portion of the cycle by as much as 80 percent. A standard feature is a four-part program that includes timer, pressure, leak rate and part change that can be stored and selected from the menu buttons.