Case study: Wheathering of plastics and packaging

Q-Lab is the world leader in weathering test equipment and test services for the plastics and packaging industries. Plastics that see sunlight, moisture, and heat are subject to the damaging forces of nature.

The plastics and packaging industry is extremely diverse. Some plastic parts are finished products themselves; others are simply the container for your product. Either way, plastics can fail if exposed to damaging sunlight, moisture, and heat. Designing to survive these harsh conditions is critical.

Will your packaging materials last outdoors? For how long? Does your new raw material supplier have the same quality as your previous one? Are you trying to enter a new market and need help proving out your products? Don't guess when you can test.

Q-Lab serves hundreds of customers in dozens of industries related to plastics and packaging products, including:

• Thermoplastic and thermoset compounds
• Masterbatch formulators
• Fiber reinforced systems
• Elastomers
• Extruders
• Composite materials
• Colorants
• Stabilizers and other additives
• Degradable plastics
• Biodegradable plastics
• Packaging and protective films

Accurate simulation of the short-wave ultraviolet portion of sunlight and outdoor moisture have made the QUV accelerated weathering tester the world's most widely used weathering tester for plastics. Because of its simulation of the entire sunlight spectrum and versatile, easy-to-use specimen tray, the Q-SUN xenon test chamber is another popular choice, particularly when color stability is an important concern.

Q-Lab's accelerated weathering and lightstability testers simulate the primary weathering conditions that degrade all types of plastics and packaging materials, allowing our customers to accurately reproduce dozens of potential failure modes, including:

• Yellowing of polymers
• Cracking
• Crazing
• Color change and fading
• Delamination
• Warping
• Embrittlement
• Blistering
• Loss of tensile strength

While accelerated weathering chambers are a key weapon in the fight against the forces of sunlight, heat, and moisture, nothing beats the real thing: outdoor testing in one of Q-Lab benchmark outdoor testing facilities. If you want to combine the benefits of outdoor and accelerated testing, the Q-TRAC natural sunlight concentrator can provide five times the annual solar energy of an exposure in South Florida.

Three dimensional plastic parts can easily be accommodated in a QUV specimen holder

A plastic drill housing being readied to undergo extended weathering testing in a QUV tester.

Plastic mobile phone housings and assemblies are regularly tested for durability and resistance to UV and moisture.

The sunglass and eyewear industry uses plastics extensively. Here, they undergo outdoor testing at Q-Lab Florida.

Acrylic lenses are shown here in a QUV sample holder. The flexible design of the stand can accommodate many shapes and sizes.

The Q-SUN Xe-3 chamber is often used to test labels, plastic packaging and their contents for photostability.