TECHNOLOGY | POLYMER TESTING
tages of the new instruments are a user-friendly menu design and an innovative spindle attachment to ensure each spindle has the same positioning. “You quickly switch between spindles without having to calibrate each time. This saves time, as before users would need to recalibrate each spindle prior to use,” he explained. “In plastic formulation and R&D, the instrument is used to determine things like how well a formula will mix in regard to masterbatch and host polymer compatibility, and to simulate injection moulding forces to ensure material will flow correctly under certain temperatures as well as other application conditions.” He added that the instrument is also used for quality control, to ensure that a material’s rheological characteristics are consistent. A trend in the industry is to consider how
Right: The Julia DSC is a differential scanning calorimetry instrument from Anton Paar
materials will behave under different shearing forces rather than just a single viscosity point (eg, the single-point melt flow index), said Morgan. “There is also a focus on data-driven decision making, meaning the implementation of equipment like this at every stage of formulation, mixing, and processing ensures proper decisions are made at each step of a manufacturing process to avoid costly mistakes.”
Quantitative insights Quantitative insight into formulation consistency, thermal behaviour, and flow properties are important for compound and masterbatch produc- ers, noted testing instrument company Anton Paar. New advances from the company in density measurement, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and rheometry enable more detailed material characterisation under conditions relevant to polymer processing.
Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) instruments
from Anton Paar are used to measure density in liquids, polymer solutions, and melts as an indirect indicator of composition. “In compounding and masterbatch production, density data can be correlated with filler, pigment, or additive concen- tration to support formulation verification and batch consistency checks,” explained Stephen Hussey, Marketing Director at Anton Paar USA. “Density measurements are also useful for monitor- ing solvent-based polymer systems, plastisol formulations, and dispersions used during interme- diate processing steps. High measurement
32 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2026
precision enables detection of relatively small composition changes, which is particularly impor- tant when working with low-dose additives or colour concentrates.” The latest from Anton Paar is the Julia DSC, designed for thermal analysis of polymers and compounds requiring accurate determination of transition temperatures and enthalpic effects. “Compounders use DSC to characterise melting and crystallisation behaviour, glass transition temperatures, and the influence of additives such as nucleating agents, plasticisers, or stabilisers on polymer structure,” said Hussey. “For masterbatch producers, DSC supports confirmation of compat- ibility between carrier resins and additives and helps identify thermal signatures associated with incomplete dispersion, contamina- tion, or material degradation. DSC data are also commonly used to link thermal properties to cooling behaviour during extrusion or moulding, supporting
process optimisation.” Anton Paar’s MCR XX3 rheometer is used to provide insight into the flow and deformation behaviour of polymer melts and compounds under con-
trolled shear and temperature conditions. “For compounders, viscosity and viscoelastic
parameters are directly related to processability in extrusion, injection moulding, and film applica- tions. Rheological measurements help evaluate the effects of filler loading, molecular weight distribu- tion, and additive packages on flow behaviour. In masterbatch development, rheology is often used to assess dispersion quality and predict how a masterbatch will influence processing behaviour when diluted into a base polymer,” said Hussey. “Together, density measurement, DSC, and rheological testing form a complementary set of techniques that allow compound and masterbatch producers to relate composition and structure to processing performance, supporting quality control and materials-based decision making.”
Predictive AI The latest from Netzsch is a predictive AI tool to identify recyclate composition using the result from a Netzsch DSC analysis. The Proteus Now Quantify tool combines classical machine learning with neural networks to interpret material mixtures. The AI tool can organise variability in DSC data and
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IMAGE: ANTON PAAR
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