INSTRUMENTATION | COLOUR MEASUREMENT
Right: The SpectroSave spectrometer is a differential device, which is claimed to minimise any negative temperature and humidity effects
wanted to switch from colour A to colour B and back to colour A with minimisation of waste,” he says. “Equitech is helping the plastics industry address the most important issue that plastic producers’ CEOs are worried about at the moment: plastic waste. Increased production rates, overall lower production cost and improving operator awareness and intelligence of the process are also benefits of using this technology.”
Differential measures Also working on in-line control is Israeli company Liad Weighing and Control Systems. Joint General Manager Uri Eisenstein says the company’s patented SpectroSave takes a “revolutionary” approach to colour measurement. “It is a differential spectrometer, which means it has two branches in its probe that are measured by the same optical device,” he says. “The fact that there is one optical device for two branches ensures that if there is any temperature or humidity influence on measurement it affects both tests, so the difference in measurements, especially the ΔE, is very small.” SpectroSave is a compact unit that can be
Below: ColorLite’s ColorTube benchtop spectro-
photometer offers an 80mm measurement area and d/0° measuring geometry
placed at the extruder (or beside an injection moulding machine), making possible a range of high-demand and real-time QA applications. Applications include digital setting of a pass/fail criteria, in-line testing of product colour, real-time analysis of masterbatch dispensing, and automatic colour shade adjustment. The equipment can be operated in either differential or absolute modes, enabling measurement of new-product colour differences with either a reference part or coordinated L*a*b*. Eisenstein says the SpectroSave unit can work either as a standalone QA machine or with an interface to a gravimetric or volumetric feeder, also supplied by Liad. “As a standalone its dry contact pass/fail output can be used, for example, by the robot to put the part in one place if it passed or in another place if it failed,” Eisenstein says. When SpectroSave works with Liad ColorSave gravimetric
PHOTO: LIAD WEIGHING AND CONTROL
or volumetric feeders, it sends feedback about the ΔE to the feeder and adjusts the setpoint according to the measurement. Transmitted colour, opacity, reflected colour shade or haze can be measured according to QA requirements, with easy switching between probes within the same spectrometer, Eisenstein says. The patented optical design for the probe on the SpectroSave is said to make it impervious to distance, surface texture, and lateral or angular positioning. It also provides resistance to vibrations, varying temperatures and typical manufacturing environments. “In addition, the design allows easy ‘plug-and-play’ installation and operation, without special alignment procedures or complex calibration routines, Eisenstein says.
Precision focus Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany-based ColorLite was established around the dawn of the LED lighting revolution and focuses on development and manufacture of high precision spectrophotometers, with a product line including portable, bench-top and production line models. The instruments are designed to meet processing, testing and quality control requirements. Solutions offered by the company for measuring colour in granules include the ColorCube MA80, ColorTube, and the sph9i inline system. The ColorCube MA80, which won a Red Dot
Design Award in 2016, is a benchtop spectrophotometer with a d/0° measuring geometry and a large measuring area of 80mm, which makes it possible to measure even inhomogeneous samples with very good reproducibility. ColorLite says the instrument, which has a minimalist design and just one control button, is very easy to use and highly accurate. It uses LED illumination technology to guarantee an extremely long life and long-term stability. Launched earlier this year, the ColorTube is the company’s most recent development. Another benchtop spectrophotometer, it is a standard two-channel system suitable for use with solid samples, although it can also measure granules in
42 COMPOUNDING WORLD | July 2019
www.compoundingworld.com
PHOTO: COLORLITE
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