Processing of small amounts of polymer into test specimen or other shapes

Description:                                                     

The fabrication of small test samples is one specialty of this laboratory. The picture to the left demonstrates this by comparing the size and weight of several test specimens. To the very left a standard CAMPUS dog bone sample is depicted. Here weights of above 10 g are common. For low viscosity resins they can be fabricated in house with the Ray-Ran Piston Injection Molder but preferably with a larger commercial injection molding machine available in another department. With the DACA MicroInjector sample weights in the range of 1 to 1.5 g are possible. The specimen with 0.7 g was punched out of a sheet. The smaller bars, suitable e. g. for DMTA measurements, and the disks were also fabricated with the MicroInjector. Since it is a pneumatic device, the injection pressure is limited and not all materials can be processed.
Measuements showed, that mechanical data obtained from the CAMPUS dog bone are very close to data obtained from the smaller MicroInjector dog bone, however, needs ten times less material. Besides test bars, films, fibers and plates are commonly fabricated.
Different dog bone shaped test specimen and their weights permit a comparison of the amount of material necessary for performing mechanical tests.

Equipment used in this project:                                                                                                  
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