In the plastics industry, invisible defects such as blowholes or pores can significantly impair the functionality and service life of products. Such defects often only become visible late in the production process or when the end product fails. To counteract this problem, the SKZ Plastics Center is developing innovative solutions for non-destructive quality testing. The focus here is on thermography, an imaging process that uses thermal imaging cameras to detect defects early and precisely.
Thermography has established itself as an effective testing method for plastic products, as it works without contact and is suitable for a wide range of applications. The technology shows its strengths particularly in homogeneous, large-area and thin-walled products such as packaging, containers, sheets and pipes. In addition to the detection of metallic foreign materials, non-metallic particles such as glass, wood, cardboard or non-sorted plastics can also be identified. This enables comprehensive quality control, which is crucial for avoiding production errors.
Another advantage of thermography is the real-time detection of defects. This allows defects such as air inclusions or foreign materials to be identified immediately without disrupting the production flow. This opens up new possibilities for ensuring the quality of 3D-printed components, particularly in the field of additive manufacturing.
The SKZ offers customized solutions that are specifically tailored to the requirements of end users. In addition to the selection of suitable hardware, extensive expertise in plastics technology and processing is incorporated into the consultation.
“For plastics processing companies, thermography often offers the ideal combination of user-friendliness, testing speed and universality,” says Pierre Pfeffer, Senior Scientist in non-destructive testing at SKZ.
Companies interested in this technology can contact the SKZ directly for advice.
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