Make way for lots of new testing instruments.

Many manufacturers of testing, measuring and Q-C equipment have been busy lately coming up with new products and introducing them at some of the many plastics shows and conferences we've had this year, among them the SPE ANTEC, Plastics USA, and the Plastics Fairs in Boston and Cleveland. Here's a sampling of new color and appearance testing equipment we've run across lately. Next month we'll talk more about viscosity analysis, mechanical properties testing, parts measurement and the like.

FOR COLOR ANALYSIS

A line of portable spectrophotometers has been introduced by Datacolor International of Lawrenceville, N.J., to bring laboratory-quality color measurement to the manufacturing floor. These "Microflash" instruments feature lightweight, palm-fitting probes for precise positioning when measuring any type of surface--including curved or recessed ones. Connected to the prove via fiber-optic cables, the Microflash's analyzer unit offers pulsed xenon flash, dual-beam optics, and graphic display of measurements. The analyzer, which runs on a rechargeable battery or a-c current, also contains on-board quality-control software. The unit can perform pass/fail, standard and batch sampling, and it can interface with Datacolor's color-analysis software.

The probes provide direct sample viewing and fingertip selection of specular included or excluded measurements for gloss compensation. The probes are also interchangeable to offer a choice between large-area and small-area viewing, as well as several different measurement geometries.

A small spectrophotometer for color measurement in the automotive industry, and a bench-type glossmeter, have been introduced by Byk-Gardner, Inc., Silver Springs, Md. The new Color-View instrument's electronic and optical design enables this instrument to measure high-gloss, high-chroma, low-reflectance automotive paints and coatings; plastic soft trims; and interior textiles with excellent precision, the company says.

A new model of the Diano ColorMate spectrophotometer in a modular, "sensor-only" unit has been introduced by Milton Roy Co., Rochester, N.Y. The company says the new unit can be integrated into a current Diaano ColorMate computer system to upgrade testing operations for quality control, color matching and formulation requirements. The new unit's software package allows users to perform comprehensive color formulation prediction and correction, advanced quality-control inspection, and statistical analysis.

HunterLab Inc., Reston, Va., has introduced a new dedicated color measurement processor, the DP-9000, which is said to withstand harsh production environments. This unit is resistant to heat, power variation, oil, and dust. Full-featured for accurate color measurement, DP-9000 also can be used in the Q-C lab.

Ball Corp.'s Industrial Systems Div., Mogadore, Ohio, is now offering a new high-speed, computer-controlled photosensing device for printing process verification and inspection, which monitors color quality (hue, intensity, chroma), registration, and detects flaws on printed objects or surfaces on high-speed, high-volume production lines. The Colorfast Decorator Defect Detector is typically mounted on the production line with a field of view covering the area to be inspected. It first gathers data on what the user considers to be good product; then it monitors the production line for any changes in color value in relation to the data previously collected.

SURFACE APPEARANCE

HunterLab also has introduced a portable goniophotometer for evaluating the quality of high-gloss finishes. The Dorigon II measures distinctness of image and specular reflectance, and performs narrow-angle (2|degrees~) haze measurement. The unit has built-in microprocessor control with menu-driven software. It also features automatic peak sensing, averaging and storage of up to 3000 samples, RS-232 serial interface, data output to computer or printer, and both metallic and non-metallic coating reference files.