Scientists at Michelman, Inc., a global supplier of water-based surface modifiers, polymers and coatings, are using a rotational rheometer from Malvern Panalytical to tailor products for the exacting demands of the company's diverse customer base. Through detailed characterization of the rheological response of a formulation, the team can develop cost-effective coating solutions which behave in a well-defined way during storage, application and drying.
"The Malvern Panalytical rheometer is an extremely important asset for Michelman Inc," comments Senior Research Chemist Ron Foster. "It allows us to measure the viscosity of coatings at different shear rates and then confidently predict stability, ease of application and leveling behaviour. The melting oven is a valuable accessory that allows us to assess polymer feeds in wax emulsions. Malvern Panalytical's technical support is excellent, particularly with respect to interpreting results, and has helped us to extract maximum value from the instrument."
During storage, paints and coatings are subjected only to gravitational forces but during application, high shear conditions may be imposed. As the coating dries to form a level surface with the desired attributes, very low shear conditions apply once more. Michelman takes advantage of the oscillatory testing capabilities and wide torque of the rheometer, to quantify formulation performance under all relevant conditions and ensure it will fully meet customer specifications. These capabilities simplifiy the replacement of existing commercial products with, for example, more environmentally benign, water-based alternatives.
The Malvern Panalytical rheology offering is much more than a suite of high performance, precision instruments with applications in research, development and QC. Malvern Panalytical understands that for many people, the challenge of knowing what measurements to make and how to interpret the results is a barrier to exploiting the full potential of rheological tools. To address this issue Malvern Panalytical has developed Kinexus, a radically new rheometer platform whose embedded intelligence makes it much easier for users to access appropriate rheological information.
For more information see www.malvern.com/kinexus or call a Rheology Specialist at Malvern Panalytical on +1 508 768 6400 +1 508 768 6400.
Malvern Panalytical, Malvern Panalytical and Kinexus are registered trademarks of Malvern Panalytical