Testing & QC.

New test instruments offer more automation and versatility for off-line and on-line measurement.

A wide range of testing and quality-control instruments will make their debut at NPE '97. Included are fully automated on-line and laboratory-grade instruments that measure rheological properties of polymers and instruments for determining a variety of physical and thermal properties.

There will also be new introductions in color and appearance measurement a different type of moisture analyzer, and an instrument that measures oxidative stability of polymers.

Several new instruments for off-line measurement and inspection of medical devices, film, and sheet will be on hand. Also look for a slew of on-line measurement instruments, ranging from polymer web inspection to spectrometers that analyze melt composition and additive levels.

NEWS IN RHEOMETERS & MELT INDEXERS

Dynisco/Kayeness Polymer Test Systems, Sharon, Mass., will introduce the FCR dual-capillary on-line rheometer for continuous rheological characterization of a material as it is being compounded or extruded.

The company will also feature the Rheotruder automated capillary rheometer for real-time viscosity measurement. It integrates a small, single-screw extruder and a lab rheometer. New MIworks Windows-based software for melt-index testing will also be featured.

Haake of Paramus, N.J., will demonstrate Polylab, a new laboratory processing and characterization system designed to function as both a rheometer and a tool for quickly predicting the processability of materials and optimizing mixing and extrusion conditions.

C.W. Brabender Instruments, Inc., South Hackensack, N.J., will show recently introduced software for the PlastiCorder torque rheometer. Winmix and Winext are Windows-based, 32-bit processing-evaluation packages. New Wincorr polymer-analysis software can statistically analyze numerous compounds under diverse processing conditions.

The new Rheo-Index from Ceast U.S.A., Inc., Fort Mill, S.C., not only performs standard tests to measure melt flow rate (MFR) and melt volume rate (MVR), but also allows automatic testing of materials with up to four different weights during a single test.

Rheometric Scientific, Inc., Piscataway, N.J., will feature the Ares Polymer Analyzer, a new laboratory dynamic strain rheometer designed to characterize rheological properties of molten and solid polymers. It comes with Windows 95-based Orchestrator software. An updated version of the company's PCR 600 process-control rheometer for on-line melt-index measurement will also be highlighted.

Goettfert of Rock Hill, S.C., will launch Viscorobo, a fully automated capillary rheometer and melt-flow indexer. The instrument measures MFR and apparent viscosity (using either the controlled-rate or controlled-stress mode). It also measures die swell, automatically taking the weight of the sample into account.

A melt viscometer capable of measuring intrinsic viscosity and a melt indexer are part of a line of Davenport test instruments from Lloyd Instruments of the U.K. that are newly available here from John Chatillon & Sons, Inc., Greensboro. N.C.

THERMAL & MECHANICAL TESTING

GRC Instruments, Santa Barbara, Calif., will launch the Viscoanalyzer, a new dynamic mechanical analyzer that provides an absolute measurement of the Young and Shear moduli in both the rubbery and glassy regions. (Most DMAs provide inaccurate measurements below the glass transition, GRC says.). This instrument reportedly allows characterization of large variations in mechanical properties during a single experiment (e.g., polymerization of a thermoset resin.).

GRC will also showcase the new TC Probe, a highly sensitive, portable benchtop instrument that is said to be faster and easier to use than the hot-plate method for measuring thermal conductivity of solid materials. It takes less than 30 sec rather than several hours to produce a measurement.

Testing Machines, Inc., Islandia, N.Y., will introduce the Lab Master slip and friction tester with a high-speed data-acquisition system to locate and capture the static peak.

Ametek, Inc.'s U.S. Gauge Div., Paoli, Pa., will introduce the EZ-250 programmable test stand, a motorized test instrument for performing tension and compression measurements with up to 250 lb of force on specimens up to 20 in. long. It is said to be highly accurate, with platen positioning to within 1 mil.

Tinius Olsen Testing Machine Co., Willow Grove, Pa., will feature the new S-Series of benchtop universal testers for determining tensile, flexural, shear, compression, and other physical characteristics. Key features include highly accurate, interchangeable load cells and microprocessor control of test conditions and data acquisition.

Also new from Tinius Olsen is the UTM for Windows software for test control and data acquisition. It can be used with all the company's instruments.

Ceast U.S.A. will feature its new DAS4WIN Windows software for instrumented impact tests (pendulum and falling weight). Ceast will also introduce the Cryo Box, a new cold box for subambient Izod and Charpy impact tests.

Chatillon is offering instruments for testing HDT, Vicat, impact, and friction properties as the new U.S. distributor of Davenport polymer testing equipment from the U.K.

OFF-LINE MEASUREMENT

Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Co., North Kingstown, R.I., will debut the Chameleon coordinate-measuring machine that combines single-point measurement and multi-point scanning for fast and accurate dimensional measurements of any type of 3-D part. It has a 750 x 650 x 500 mm measuring range and can be equipped with a touch-trigger probe, laser probe, or an analog scanning probe that performs both tactile scanning and high-precision single-point probing.

Romer Inc., Carlsbad, Calif., will introduce the Romer 1000 series portable, articulating-arm coordinate-measuring system, which weighs only 14 lb. The articulated joints reportedly allow unhindered inspection in fight or hard-to-reach places.

Nikon, Inc., Melville, N.Y., will introduce VM-250, the newest addition to its Veritas line of microscope video measuring systems. It is said to offer a larger stage size (10 x 8 in.), allowing users to measure larger parts or more small parts at one time. The new unit also has higher stage speed (100 mm/sec).

ON-LINE INSPECTION SYSTEMS

New entries for in-process quality assurance will include camera-based systems that check for defects or correct label placement and others that examine melt composition fluting extrusion or compounding. (On-line rheometers are discussed above, and a new in-process color sensor appears in the section following this one.)

Adaptive Optics Associates, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., will feature the newest version of the Advisor web-inspection system, said to provide 100% real-time detection of defects smaller than 0.001 in. as well as characterization of types of defects. Available at a starting price of $64,500, the Advisor uses line-scan cameras, high-output lights, and an integrated software package.

Packaging Technologies & Inspection, Tuckahoe, N.Y., will feature the new LIS-101 label-inspection system for small cosmetic and personal-care bottles, capable of checking up to 800 bottles/min and separating bottles with missing or misplaced labels.

Dynisco/Kayeness will show the new Priros on-line infrared spectrometer for comprehensive polymer melt additive and composition analysis.

COLOR & APPEARANCE MEASUREMENT

Exemplifying the trend to sophisticated hand-held color-measuring devices, Color Instruments, Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., will introduce the Colorport, a portable "true-grating" spectrophotometer with 10-nm resolution over the visible spectrum. It's said to provide laboratory-quality measurements and can store data on 1000 samples.

HunterLab, Reston, Va., will introduce the OLT 2000, an on-line color analyzer for continuous, real-time color monitoring.

Tricot Systems, Inc., Elgin, Ill., will introduce Model 805A, a PC-based, high-resolution video-imaging system that measures gloss levels regardless of sample shape, texture, or color. It also measures "orange peel," distinctness of image, and haze index - and it characterizes texture, too.

OTHER TESTING INSTRUMENTS

Here are some other new entries that test special properties of plastics:

* Oxidative stability - Arias Electric Devices Co., Chicago, has a new instrument that evaluates thermal oxidative stability of polymers by measuring chemiluminescence, or light emission caused by thermal oxidation. The CL400 ChemiLume instrument is said to offer superior speed, sensitivity, reproducibility, and simplicity in comparison with traditional methods (oven stability, DSC, oxygen uptake, and infrared spectroscopy).

* Moisture analysis - Arizona Instruments Corp., Phoenix, will launch the Computrac 3000 moisture analyzer for plastics. It is a faster and chemical-free alternative to the Karl Fischer titration method. With a range from 10 ppm to 1% moisture and a detection limit of 10 micrograms of water, it is said to produce test results in as little as 3 min.

* Leak testing - ATEQ Corp., Canton, Mich., will showcase a new portable leak tester specifically designed for plastic medical components. (Bottle leak testers are covered in the Blow Molding show report.)

* Density - Density-gradient columns are part of the line of Davenport testing equipment from England that is newly available from Chatillon.

What to Look for:

* Melt indexer allows automatic testing with four different weights in one test.

* DMA unit measures Young and Shear moduli in both rubbery and glassy phases.

* Measure viscosity, additive levels, color, and film defects on-line.

* 'Chemiluminescence' tests thermal oxidative stability quickly and simply.