QUV/spray with solar Eye irradiance control
The QUV/spray is an accelerated weathering tester.
Weatherability is a necessary quality for paints, plastics, textiles, inks and other materials, especially those used outdoors (however even indoor lighting can degrade some). The most important causes of damage to these materials are light, high temperature and moisture.
The QUV/spray uses fluorescent UV lamps to reproduce the damaging effect of sunlight. Although UV light makes only about 5% of sunlight it is responsible for most of the sunlight damage to polymer materials exposed outdoors.
Rain and dew are stimulated by a condensation system and a water spray system. Studies have shown that condensation in the form of dew is responsible for most outdoor wetness. Dew is more damaging than rain because it remains on the material for a long time, allowing significant moisture absorption. The QUV/spray uses a hot condensation cycle and reproduces the outdoor moisture phenomenon far better than other methods such as immersion, or high humidity. Also, to stimulate damage caused by rain such as thermal shock or mechanical erosion, the QUV/spray is fitted with a water spay system in addition to the condensation mechanism.
Exposure temperature is automatically controlled, as is the daily sequence of UV, spay and moisture periods.
In a few days or weeks the QUV/spray can reproduce damage that might occur over months or years of outdoor exposure. Deterioration includes fading, chalking, crazing, hazing, blistering, gloss loss, strength loss and embitterment. The QUV/spray conforms among others in the following standars:
ASTM 4587 , ASTM G-154, ASTM-4799, ISO 11507, ISO 4892
High Temperature furnace
The furnace is used for the testing or heating treatment of materials at various temperatures. In our laboratory we mainly use it for baking frits and ceramic pigments. It is suitable for specific research and development as well as for simulations of production applications.
The maximum internal temperature is 1340oC. The furnace is regulated by a program controller.
Elcometer 1720 Tester
Abrasion and wash-ability tester
It enables testing to be carried out on a wide range of materials including paint, lacquers coatings, inks, plastics, printed materials, etc.
All test tools are held in a carriage which moves back and forth over a specimen of the material being tested. Stroke length and speed of the carriage are adjustable. The number of cycles is adjustable. A counter records the total number of cycles performed. The tester includes a liquid reservoir and pump which provide an adjustable dose of liquid per cycle.
The main standards used for testing the scrub resistance of coatings are:
ASTM D2486 ISO 11998 and DIN 53778
Spectromatch
Is a portable spectrophotometer. It provides high precision measurements based on 10nm spectral resolution. It is used in many applications from laboratory analysis to on-site quality control. Two different geometries can be used 45/0 and d/8. The instrument measures color and 60o gloss simultaneously. It allows to select the color system and the color difference equations, the observer 2o or 10o and the light source (maxi 3 illuminants simultaneously), as well as to perform color strength ands opacity calculations. It shows the metamerism.
Also, advanced software is available in our laboratory which allows the creation of color databases, the generation of new colors by combination of colors already existing in our databases, or by other colors that can be searched in databases existing in the internet.