ZEISS PLASTICS SOLUTIONS

Material characteristics

Measurement technology and software for the material characterization of plastics

Determining the material characteristics

In material analysis and product development, various testing methods are used to determine material characteristics and create material cards. Knowledge of the characteristics of the individual plastics forms a reliable basis for adequate component design (CAD), the development of a functioning tool, realistic simulation (CAE) and the optimization of product variants, tool layouts and manufacturing processes.

ZEISS understands the challenges in the field of material characterization of plastics and offers tailor-made solutions – from grain size, porosity and particle analysis to the determination of viscoelasticity and temperature dependence as well as shrinkage and warpage to the testing of long-term stability and load-bearing capacity.

Assessment of the quality of plastic powder

Reliable testing of processing characteristics

The challenge

As part of the material characterization of plastic powder, the size distribution of the individual powder particles must be analyzed – this influences the compaction of the powder and thus the possibility of component defects.

Our solution

Light microscopes and SEMs in connectivity with the ZEISS ZEN core software suite with automated image acquisition, intuitive image analysis and cloud-based data management.

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Analysis of complex plastics

Intelligent microscopic material characterization

The challenge

Determining material parameters is extremely time-consuming for materials with complex structures or demanding fields of application. The analysis requires high-resolution imaging and often has to be carried out in several steps.

Our solution

Correlative workflow and intelligent material analysis using artificial intelligence for automated determination of multiphase proportions for the investigation of structure-property relationships.

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Analysis of loaded samples (static or dynamic)

Live deformation tracking with data streaming

The challenge

Material analysts have to test the behavior of materials under load – often a laborious and expensive process.

Our solution

The ARAMIS system captures test specimens during a load without contact using high-quality cameras. It enables the determination of 3D displacements, velocities, accelerations and strains as well as measurements of 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF). ARAMIS is used for tensile, shear, compression and three-point bending tests as well as for high-speed and temperature tests. Conventional sample preparation is not necessary.

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Detect movements, displacements and strains without strain gauges, extensometers and LVDTs

The challenge

In classic measurement methods, sensors are applied to the test specimen – however, these influence the surface quality of the sample and can therefore falsify measurement results.

Our solution

Strain gauges, extensometers and LVDTs were integrated into the ZEISS INSPECT Correlate software on the basis of the optically acquired data. In particular, inhomogeneous deformation phenomena such as necking and flow fronts can thus be analyzed in detail.

ZEISS INSPECT Correlate is part of the 3D measuring system ARAMIS, but can also be used stand-alone for data analysis.