Colour by numbers
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Additives. fbr Potymers May 1994 United States through its American subsidiary, Rhone-Poulenc Basic Chemicals. With an initial prounion capacity of 20,~ tonnes, the new unit will be built at Rhone- Poulenc’s Chicago Heights plant in Illinois and will come on stream in mid-1995. Contact: Rhone-Poulenc, Oak House, Reeds Crescent, Watjiwd, WOl IQH, UK. Tel: +#4-923-211700. Fax: +44-923-211580. QUALlTY ASSURED ACCREDITATION BS 575O/lSO 9000 - unfair to small companies? In a report on the impact of BS 5750 on small businesses the British Standards Institution has admitted that the number of companies facing problems with the standard is likely to increase subs~ti~ly in the next few years, With the widespread introduction of the standard, the BSI study, published February 1994, says “the cost to a small business of achieving third party certification may never be justified for many companies”. Both the BSI board and the DTI have accepted, in full, the key endings of the study, produced by the BSI Policy Coking for Small Businesses, set up in February 1993. The report suggests that small firms are pressurized into certification for fear of losing supply contracts. This view is backed by the BSI findings. ‘Customer requirements are placing ever increasing pressures on small businesses to achieve BS 5750’, states the report, adding that the costs of ce~i~cation may often not be justified. The BSI Policy Committee study recommend the production of an authoritative small business BS 5750 application guide, produced in consultation with small business interests. Contact: BSI Sales, Linford Word, Milton 8 Keynes, Buckinghmshire, MK14 6LE, UK. Tel: +44-908-22U022. Fax: -b&908- 320856. INSTRUMENTATION AND EQUIPMENT Colour by numbers The PFX-990 is the latest au~matic, microprocessor-~ntroll~ calorimeter from The Tintometer Ltd, of Salisbury, UK. It is said to offer excellent correlation with visual colour measurement systems. Designed for the measurement of clear liquids and translucent solids, the PFX-990 is able to report results in terms of 14 different colour scales as well as display transmission values over a range of 410-710 run. This versatility make the PFX-990 suitable for a host of quality control ~plications, such as the measurement of shellac, varnish, resins, solvents and plasticizers. A single measurement process enables the colour parameters to be calculated for all of the colour scales available in the instrument, significantly reducing analysis time. Colour scales include the CIE scale (with four illumin~ts and seven co-ordinate varieties), the Hazen (APHA), EBC, Gardner, FAC, AOCS and ASTM D1500 scales as well as the widely used Lovibond Red, Yellow, Blue and Neutral scale, and the recently added Iodine scale. Numerical values for any of the scales appear on a clear liquid crystal display, and a simple control keypad allows the appropriate inst~mental parameters to be set. Intended for use ~roughout the world, information can be presented on the display in English, French, German and Spanish. The need to obtain accurate and reproducible colour measurements without prior knowledge of colour theory has resulted in an extremely simple to use system. Once the initial parameters have been set, measurement is reduced to a single keystroke. The instrument @1994 Elsevier Science Ltd
Transcript of Colour by numbers
Additives. fbr Potymers May 1994
United States through its American subsidiary, Rhone-Poulenc Basic Chemicals. With an initial prounion capacity of 20,~ tonnes, the new unit will be built at Rhone- Poulenc’s Chicago Heights plant in Illinois and will come on stream in mid-1995. Contact: Rhone-Poulenc, Oak House, Reeds Crescent, Watjiwd, WOl IQH, UK. Tel: +#4-923-211700. Fax: +44-923-211580.
QUALlTY ASSURED ACCREDITATION
BS 575O/lSO 9000 - unfair to small companies?
In a report on the impact of BS 5750 on small businesses the British Standards Institution has admitted that the number of companies facing problems with the standard is likely to increase subs~ti~ly in the next few years,
With the widespread introduction of the standard, the BSI study, published February 1994, says “the cost to a small business of achieving third party certification may never be justified for many companies”.
Both the BSI board and the DTI have accepted, in full, the key endings of the study, produced by the BSI Policy Coking for Small Businesses, set up in February 1993. The report suggests that small firms are pressurized into certification for fear of losing supply contracts.
This view is backed by the BSI findings. ‘Customer requirements are placing ever increasing pressures on small businesses to achieve BS 5750’, states the report, adding that the costs of ce~i~cation may often not be justified.
The BSI Policy Committee study recommend the production of an authoritative small business BS 5750 application guide, produced in consultation with small business interests. Contact: BSI Sales, Linford Word, Milton
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Keynes, Buckinghmshire, MK14 6LE, UK. Tel: +44-908-22U022. Fax: -b&908- 320856.
INSTRUMENTATION AND EQUIPMENT
Colour by numbers
The PFX-990 is the latest au~matic, microprocessor-~ntroll~ calorimeter from The Tintometer Ltd, of Salisbury, UK. It is said to offer excellent correlation with visual colour measurement systems. Designed for the measurement of clear liquids and translucent solids, the PFX-990 is able to report results in terms of 14 different colour scales as well as display transmission values over a range of 410-710 run. This versatility make the PFX-990 suitable for a host of quality control ~plications, such as the measurement of shellac, varnish, resins, solvents and plasticizers.
A single measurement process enables the colour parameters to be calculated for all of the colour scales available in the instrument, significantly reducing analysis time. Colour scales include the CIE scale (with four illumin~ts and seven co-ordinate varieties), the Hazen (APHA), EBC, Gardner, FAC, AOCS and ASTM D1500 scales as well as the widely used Lovibond Red, Yellow, Blue and Neutral scale, and the recently added Iodine scale.
Numerical values for any of the scales appear on a clear liquid crystal display, and a simple control keypad allows the appropriate inst~mental parameters to be set. Intended for use ~roughout the world, information can be presented on the display in English, French, German and Spanish. The need to obtain accurate and reproducible colour measurements without prior knowledge of colour theory has resulted in an extremely simple to use system. Once the initial parameters have been set, measurement is reduced to a single keystroke. The instrument
@1994 Elsevier Science Ltd
May 1994 Additives for Polymers
can be set to automatically display the results in the required scale, yet results expressed in a different scale can be displayed at the touch of a button. Contact: The Tintometer Ltd, Waterloo Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SPI 2JY, UK. Tel: +44- 722-327242. Fax: + 44- 722-412322.
On-line calorimeter
The non-contact tri-stimulus calorimeter Colorex, for in-line colour comparison and control, is now available in a US Hunterlab colour scale version. The new model extends Colorex’s capability for repeatable, accurate, product quality-control to manufacturers throughout the world who have standardized on the Hunterlab scale. Product colour is a reliable indication of process quality in many applications including colouring of polymers and plastics, and Colorex is already used in the converting, textiles and plastics industries in closed-loop quality-control and open-loop final inspection systems. Colorex’s tri- stimulus colour method of measurement is optimized for in-line colour comparison - continuously monitoring colour trending over time, or from batch to batch, and providing process control information. The instrument is said to be ideal for use with dilution and mixing processes such as colouring and a wide variety of heat and chemical treatments. Not limited by size or shape, Colorex can be used with almost any product type - continuous or discrete, regular or irregular - including powders, liquids, granules, flakes, pastes, sheets and slurries. Contact: Gordon Coventry, Infrared Engineering, Galliford Road, The Causeway, Maldon, Essex, CM9 7xD, UK. Tel: +44- 621 -852244. Fax: i- 44-621-856180.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Concern around the ozone depletion potential of CFC blowing agents led to the development of the Montreal Protocol in 1987
Ol994 Elsevier Science Ltd
which laid down a timetable for complete phase-out. Progress towards suitable alternative blowing agents has been swift in some areas, and the original phase-out agreement has been amended (London, 1990 and Copenhagen, 1992) to bring CFC elimination forward to 1995 and to set a scale of reduction measures for the reduced impact HCFC materials, leading to elimination by 2030.
The European Community is likely to impose more stringent HCFC phase-out scales than those contained in the latest Montreal Protocol amended (2014 has been proposed) and these are likely to be supplemented by a number of usage restrictions. At the present time it seems that use may be prohibited in flexible foams and rigid foams for non- insulating applications but allowed for rigid insulating foams and integral skin foams used for safety applications. Although many European processors have already made the move to HCFCs (particularly HCFC14lb), in the long term CO2 and hydrocarbon foaming options seem to be the likely solutions. The domestic appliance market is among those making the fastest progress towards zero ozone depletion technology. In part this has been driven by the introduction of the Blue Angel environmental award in Germany. This requires that the blowing agent used in the insulating foam is non-CFC, chlorine-free and has no ozone depletion potential. Today, most appliance makers favour cyclopentane materials because they provided better insulation performance than foams produced using n-pentane. Both are relatively low cost materials that process reasonably well.
CONFERENCES: SYMPOSIA
SPI Composites Institute conference proceedings
The complete illustrated texts of over 75 technical reports presented at the 49th
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