Orontec

The common method of colorimetric evaluation of coatings and pigments is a manual measurement of the dried surface. This process needs up to several hours and delays production, because the release is depending on the results of the measurements. In addition, test series are quite time intensive with “dry” methods.

How does Q-Chain® LCM work?

The liquid coating material is put on a very precisely rotating disk (Q-Chain® LCM mono on a cylinder) and the film is measured by a modern 3-angle (LCM mono: 1 angle) spectrophotometer. The values are gained, stored and evaluated in our software and put into a database. The whole process takes not more than 3 minutes!

With Q-Chain® LCM, a raise of productivity up to 50% is possible:

1. Faster testing enables companies to accelerate the production process.

2. The method can be used in all process steps – goods receipt, semi-finished products, finished products.

3. If raw materials and semi-finished products are adjusted well, finished products can be finished much faster!

What is the purpose of the Q-Chain^© SuMo?

Well, if you look at the state-of-the-art methods, consisting of scratching, stressing and scraping, you see that scraping and measurement are manual tasks, which are boring and unprecise. The deficits are obvious: The destructiveness of the method makes it impossible to re-use a sample, the results have a high user influence and it is simply a waste of time and money.

Compact Machine - Non-Destructive Sensor 

We designed a compact piece of equipment called “Q-Chain^© SuMo”. This technology compensates the deficits of the common corrosion test panel measurement. It is a small compact device, which fits on a lab bench is capable to handle 20 panels for automatic measurements. The panels are stacked in handy magazines, which help to store the panels and easily move them in packs of 20 in the laboratory.

The sensor is based on photometry, this method is extremely precise and robust for a large variety of materials. The software, which comes with the equipment, is intuitive and easy to use. It can connect to our Process AI framework, a solution for a workflow management in laboratories.

Reporting is generated automatically and always connected with a picture of the sample. The evaluation is flexible and meets all international standards.

The sensor can detect delamination and rust on a panel, but doesn’t damage the surface, because it is touchless. That’s why the method is non-destructive and allows a re-use of panels for example for the measurement and evaluation of sample series.

Integration into the Revolutionary Q-Chain^© Process AI Framework

The Q-Chain^© SuMo is ready for the integration into ORONTEC’s Q-Chain^© Process AI framework. This is a workflow-based software solution for any kind of laboratory processes. It connects all steps of a testing process in a web interface and makes it possible to combine automatic measurement devices as well as manual processes.

Additionally, it can connect to other existing data sources like ERP systems, LIMS Systems and even Excel files, databases or just text files. However, it uses a central database to collect all relevant data and makes it possible to use digital and tracible data over the whole process. This is the key for understanding and evaluating data and discover hidden correlations of different data.

The solution is scalable, it can consist of just a few steps and grow to more complex processes. It is flexible, because it can be adjusted to new workflow designs at any time. And, of course, it is easy to use – as a matter of fact, because it is working with an internet browser.

 Q-Chain®  PolyShear® is a small, easy-to-use and mobile cabinet. For operating the equipment, only a pressure line is necessary (6 bar). The paint material is filled into a small pot (1 litre) and pumped through a shear element.

The number of cycles can be correlated to paint lines and this correlation has been proven by several studies.
After or during the test, the viscosity and the color (e.g. with Q-Chain® LCM) can be measured. This allows to understand the degradation of the material in correlation to the shear stress.

The Q-Chain® Surface Scanner Automatic is a measurement machine, which automatically measures horizontal painted test panels (standard coated panels of metal or plastic) in a pre-defined measurement grid. The integrated software allows a statistic evaluation of the gained data.

It uses hand-held paint surface measurement instruments, which are controlled by the software of the surface scanner.

There are multiple functions for the Q-Chain® Surface Scanner Automatic. It can measure and evaluate colour panels just for a pure colour evaluation or panels from spray-outs - both lab and process ones - for e.g. film thickness evaluation. It also allows the combination of a measurement method of different instruments and this allows the interpretation of the combined correlation of film-thickness, colour, surface structure and even mottling. Thus, this machine allows the complete evaluation accordingly to the ISO 28199 part 1 – 3 standard (prediction of the process stability of new paint systems).

Fields of application are, among others, styling of new colours, colour development, process optimization, quality and process control, prognosis of process characteristics.

The Q-Chain® Surface Scanner of the Company ORONTEC GmbH & Co. KG is based on 20 years of experience with automatic measurement of surface characteristics and evaluations. It is available as a standard solution, but due to its modular construction, it can be modified to the needs of the concrete application (e.g. measurement of special colour master panels). It is perfect for large volumes of panel measurements, e.g. in combination with High Throughput Laboratory setups.

Q-Chain® Process AI is a workflow-based software solution for any kind of laboratory processes. It connects all steps of a testing process in a web interface and makes it possible to combine automatic measurement devices as well as manual processes. Additionally, it can connect to other existing data sources like ERP systems, LIMS Systems and even Excel files, databases or just text files. However, it uses a central database to collect all relevant data and makes it possible to use digital and tracible data over the whole process. This is the key for understanding and evaluating data and discover hidden correlations of different data.

The solution is scalable, it can consist of just a few steps and grow to more complex processes. It is flexible, because it can be adjusted to new workflow designs at any time. And, of course, it is easy to use – as a matter of fact, because it is working with an internet browser.

What is the value?

- Users don’t have to use different applications to manage their work.

- Data is accessible exactly when it is generated.

- The implementation is easy and starts with a very simple workflow.

- Time of giant software projects is over.