Generalities

Stefaan Forment &Co gcv is a private and independent plastics laboratory. The laboratory has modern equipment, and qualified personnel.

Standard tests

• Advanced MFI and MVR determinations according to ISO 1133, at different conditions
• Density determinations
• Moisture content determination and drying curves

HDT and Vicat measurements

The lab has a calibrated measurement setup to determine the Vicat softening temperature and Heat Distortion Temperature (HDT) of your materials according to the standards (ISO 75 method A and B).

Mechanical properties

Mechanical tensile and 3-point deflection tests often serve as quality control. From the results obtained on standardized test rods, the mechanical behavior of finished products can be predicted. Test specimens are supplied by the customer or can be fabricated by the laboratory (requiring 500 g of plastic per sample to be supplied by the customer). Typical parameters such as flexmodulus, elastic strength, yield point and elongation are determined during this test. These parameters can be entered into strength calculations with appropriate software (finite element analysis).

• Tensile tests according to ISO 527 ( including tensile modulus )
• Three-point bending according to ISO 178 ( including bending modulus )
• IZOD impact according to ISO 180 ( notched or not)
• Hardness measurements (shore A, D)

Preparation of test strips

• Injection molded samples according to ISO ( rectangle or dumbbell shape )
• From finished products: via CNC milling station
• With our new lab injection molding machine, standardized tensile rods (ISO 527), impact rods (ISO 179, ISO 180) and HDT rods (ISO 75-1) can be made from small quantities (100 grams) of plastic granules!

Labo-extruder

When researching an optimized polymer formulation, the lab has a modified Leistritz lab extruder that can be used to quickly develop a limited amount of plastic granules.

Aging tests

• Oxidative aging in ventilated oven
• Light and weather resistance in UV aging chamber (acceleration factor x10)

Color measurements

• Absolute measurements in d/8° geometry
• Delta E measurements ( CIE lab / Hunterlab )

Electrical properties

• Surface resistivity measurements
• Determination of conductive or ESD behavior

Digital scanning calorimetry (DSC)

The traditional “Differential Scanning Calorimeter” ( DSC ) is used in the laboratory for the melting point determination of crystalline or semi-crystalline plastics. In this way, this test provides essential qualitative and quantitative information in the characterization of many plastics and in the detection of various impurities in granules and grinding materials.

The determination of glass transitions and the crystallization behavior of plastics is also studied with DSC. In this way, the process history of plastics can be investigated on a laboratory scale, which can be useful for certain claims.

Finally, the oxidation induction time (OIT) of plastics can be determined, as an important measure of the quality of the plastic under study.

• Product identification (virgin and recycled raw materials).
• Mixing ratios, purity
• Crystallization studies
• OIT studies

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis

• Quantitative product composition: volatiles, polymer content, mineral residue

Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) is used to investigate the nature of chemical bonds in plastics. From the interaction of the chemical bonds with infrared radiation, a virtually unique fingerprint can be established for each plastic. The laboratory has comprehensive libraries of spectra of the various reference plastics.

• ATR measurements on the surface
• Product identification

XRF analysis

XRF analysis is used to check the presence of heavy metals in plastics. This is of interest to detect their presence in flame retardants, pigments, … detection.

Special assignments

• Complete identification of plastics, through various analytical techniques
• Treatment of complaints
• Various investigations