7 Types of Materials Testing You Should Consider
When it comes to plastic products, businesses need to consider challenges related to quality, safety, durability, lifecycle, and even regulatory compliance. One of the best ways to ensure your products are ready to reach the hands of consumers is through high-quality polymer testing services. Experienced companies offer an array of testing options, allowing you to select the ones applicable to your product in order to give you peace of mind before launching it into the market.
Mechanical Properties
Some of the most important polymer tests are the ones related to the mechanical properties of polymers. This is crucial since almost all product applications involve some kind of mechanical load. Knowing the mechanical properties of your product is especially important when deciding what materials offer the highest performance for your product’s application.
When testing a polymer, companies will test for tensile properties, compression properties, flexural properties, and static and dynamic friction coefficients. Peeling, puncture, and pressure tests also help determine the mechanical properties of a plastic material. Impact testing and hardness testing are also part of the process in determining how well a polymer can stand up to regular environments and abuse.
Physical and Thermal Properties
Polymer testing also often encompasses finding out the physical properties of a plastic material. When you know what physical properties are present, they can be classified for later use. This type of property is usually visible and includes aspects such as mass, shapes, color, density, and melting point. It can also include solubility, chemical residents, and more, depending on the material’s structure.
For products like food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, permeability testing may also be part of the process. The properties are determined by how quickly a gas goes through a material. Water vapor and oxygen are the most likely gases to impact the lifespan of products on a shelf.
Optical Properties
Optical properties testing involves finding the surface finish of a part of a plastic material’s optical properties. This kind of testing relates to how people perceive a product based on their senses of sight and touch. Having high-quality optical properties can make your product more aesthetically pleasing and likely to be noticed by a consumer.
The actual testing done for optical properties will vary based on the product’s application and your company’s need. For instance, some of the things that might be tested include specular gloss, turbidity, color coordinates, thermicity, and UV-visible light transmission.
Durability and Resistance
Everyone wants to own products that last, which is where polymer testing of durability and resistance comes in. This kind of testing can tell you how different plastic materials will last in various situations and environments. Testing also gives you information about whether you comply with fire resistance, durability, and chemical resistance regulations required for reaching the market.
Since plastic items and products are constantly in contact with or exposed to external agents during their life, knowing how they perform in various situations is a must. This testing can help find problems before they occur and it will also help ensure compliance and assist with marketing efforts in communicating product longevity and resistance.
Biodegradability and Disintegration
With polymer biodegradability and disintegration testing, companies can determine how quickly products disintegrate. If there are compostability regulation requirements, the testing gives insight into any changes that need to be made to the product before launching a product into the market. This testing can determine if the polymer is biodegradable under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions.
Compostable products and materials and bioplastics have to be tested to define their biodegradability in different environments, such as soil, compost, marine environments, and aqueous media. The testing also ensures the product meets certain required environmental criteria imposed by federal, state, or local laws.
Rheological Properties
Rheological properties of a polymer product consist of behaviors like cross-linkage, thickness, creep, and curing. An example would be understanding if a certain resin takes longer to cure than another or if a product breaks down as it’s being processed or as it’s under stress. This polymer testing option can answer a large number of important questions related to the mechanical properties directly associated with the chemical composition of the material.
The rheological properties of polymers during dispersion, solution, dissolution, or molten will help measure their deformation and creep resistance. This type of analysis also looks at how molten material flows under applied force or stress.
Chemical Analyses
Testing a polymer for chemical analyses will come into play if you have an unknown material or substance that needs to be analyzed. This type of testing can also be crucial for ensuring certification and compliance with certain regulations regarding material composition and product labeling. When doing this kind of testing with a professional company, you receive a data sheet with all the chemical composition and other relevant technical information about the material you are testing. This testing also helps find contaminants and causes of defects.
Chemical analysis testing will work with products in various stages of development, whether they are finished products, recycled items, or even raw materials. The test will uncover additives, polymers, impurities, residual items, and contaminants that might be included in the material. This test is especially important if you are developing a product that comes in constant contact with humans, pets, food, or even plants.
Compliance with Requirements
As a company that works with polymers and plastics, we are involved in a variety of testing and procedures. Not reaching the required compliance due to a lack of testing can put you in a tough position that may require you to make fundamental changes to your design or even halt ongoing production. But before this happens, it’s important to consider testing your product prior to production. Testing professionals will be up to date on testing requirements and can offer insight into any changes you need to make in order to be compliant.
At Jaycon Systems, we design your products with different types of testing in mind. That way, you can get your certifications and quickly launch products that meet all your testing requirements. We offer various polymer testing options to ensure you are compliant with regulations. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help take your product to the next level.
Originally published at https://jayconsystems.com on January 29, 2021.
