Many of today’s manufacturing businesses use polymers on a regular basis. In fact, a wide range of plastics and fiberglass materials are incorporated into everyday products. This not only improves the things we use today, it also helps to keep costs down. However, in order to maintain your quality standards, you should consider a trusted polymer analysis laboratory for testing, identifying and helping you stay on the cutting edge of your industry. But which company is best for you. Let’s examine some important features you should consider.
Material Identification
Do you need to know exactly what is in your materials? With proper testing this solution is easily found. However, identification is also about determining the right amounts and mixtures. For example, you may think you are using 15 percent resins or fillers but unless you are certain, you won’t know if your processes are accurate or not.
Product Failure Analysis
Are you having problems with product or part failure? This can sometimes be a difficult issue to pinpoint. However, with the right kind of polymer analysis laboratory testing, you can get accurate and detailed results on why some failures are occurring.
Verifying Crystallinity
Polymers can either be crystalline or amorphous. Crystalline is a solid material while amorphous is shapeless like gas or liquid. With some materials, it is absolutely essential to verify solidity or crystallinity and this can be done with special equipment in a high tech lab.
Quality Assurance Services
If your company does not have the resources for proper testing and quality assurance on an ongoing basis, you can hire the services of a polymer analysis laboratory. They provide cost effective testing, so you can make sure your products meet or exceed customer expectations.
Reverse Engineering
Some companies may require reverse engineering services from time to time. This can be very important for creating discontinued parts and supplies.
Affiliations
Not all polymer analysis laboratory services are the same and it’s important to choose one capable of meeting quality standards set forth by ISO and ASTM. ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) is an international standards organization representing companies, consumers and systems all over the world.
ISO is an important organization which sets forth quality control standards. They are there to support product and service innovation worldwide. Choosing a lab with these affiliations assures you of the most dependable and highest quality services. Here are some additional affiliations to look for:
- SPE – Society for Plastics Engineers
- ACS – American Chemical Society
- NATAS – North American Thermal Analysis Society
- AOAC – Association of Official Analytical Chemists
