INSTRUMENTATION | COLOUR MEASUREMENT
Right: The Aeros system from HunterLab provides reliable
performance on granular samples
it simple to begin formulation immedi- ately. Schmollgruber says X-Rite’s Color iMatch software helps identify the best candidate formulas, offers recipes that use the colorants on hand, and gives the option to include leftover materials to work off wasted material from past jobs. “Once formulation is complete, the masterbatcher can create a sample plaque, measure it with a spectrophotometer to ensure it is within colour tolerance, and send the digital colour data to the customer for approval, eliminating the expense and time delay of travel and shipping samples back and forth,” he says. “When it comes to digital workflows,
we are also seeing a need to capture not only colour but the full material appearance consisting of colour, gloss, transparency, opacity, surface structure, sub-surface effects, etc. This is important for special effects finishes. Colour measurement devices such as X-Rite MA-T multi-angle spectro- photometers help to quantify colour and appear- ance such as sparkle and coarseness,” he adds. Schmollgruber says the company is now working
Below: X-Rite’s Color iMatch system uses digital standards to speed up formulation development
to make it easier for players all along the manufac- turing and supply chain to transform digital colour standards into digital material files. For example, the latest release of its Pantora appearance software allows users to capture colour and appearance data using Ci7000 Series or MA-T12 spectrophotom- eters to render a digital material file for 3D design, production, and quality control teams. This mini- mises the need to ship samples between various members of a development project. “The past year has accelerated the move to digital workflows and impacted operational
budgets for many suppliers. X-Rite now offers subscription-based pricing for Color iMatch formulation software that makes budget planning easier. We also offer a range of online colour education and virtual training,” he says. “Colour trends are always evolving.
There is also a shift towards more recy- cled, sustainable plastics. This creates new challenges in delivering fast, accurate and consistent colour from batch to batch. Digital standards and processes allow plastic suppliers to connect measurement devices/data with formulation, QC and analytic software,” Schmollgruber says. “The result is a more streamlined
and sustainable process that helps producers get colour right every time.”
Granular approach The Aeros unit from HunterLab can be used to determine the colour of granulated samples. The company says the unit is easy to handle and that measurement results can be reproduced with high repeatability. Product is simply poured into a sample tray and the system’s “smart” sensor enables the surface of the granules to be consid- ered as a whole, automatically taking into account variation in granule height and orientation. “The simple filling of pellets into a tray without stripping or shaking leads to the most accurate results with the highest accuracy in repetition,” according to the company. “Given a sufficient layer thickness of the sample in the tray, even when measuring translucent plastics, the colour of the bottom of the tray does not affect the measure- ment results.”
Within five seconds, Aeros calculates the
average of 35 readings as the sample tray rotates beneath the sensor. A total surface area of up to 177.25 cm2
is covered. A comparison with interme-
diate readings without use of a reading flash is said to guarantee that the measurement is insensitive to the existing ambient light of the environment. “Among experts, there has always been a
disagreement about how to prepare samples so that measurements appear to be most stable and repeatable,” says HunterLab. Some would say simply pour the material into a sample tray, some to scoop it with the tray. Others prefer to fill the tray to the brim and level it with an edge of a ruler or to fill and place on a tumbling station for a few seconds. Having carried out its own tests, the company has concluded that, contrary to the intuitive assumption
18 COMPOUNDING WORLD | July 2021
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: X-RITE
IMAGE: HUNTERLAB
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