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A Better Look at Paper
Paper has played a large role in information distribution since its invention in the 2nd century [1]. Paper consists of intertwined fibers, typically obtained from trees, that have been dried into thin sheets. As a medium for information storage, paper has allowed the spread of ideas, art, and history over long distances and through passing time.
Today, paper is commonly used for currency, books, toiletries, packaging, and more. Paper is processed in different ways to obtain properties to match their application. For example, the visually appealing, glossy paper from a magazine is different compared to rough, cold-pressed watercolor paper. The method in which paper is produced will affect the surface properties of the paper. This influences how ink (or other medium) will settle onto and appear on the paper. To inspect how different paper processes affect surface properties, Nanovea inspected the roughness and texture of various types of paper by conducting a large area scan with our 3D Non-Contact Profilometer.
Click to learn about the Surface Roughness of Paper!
A BETTER Look at Polycarbonate Lens
A BETTER Look at Polycarbonate Lens
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Polycarbonate lenses are commonly used in many optical applications. Their high impact resistance, low weight, and cheap cost of high-volume production makes them more practical than traditional glass in various applications [1].
Some of these applications require safety (e.g. safety eyewear), complexity (e.g. Fresnel lens) or durability (e.g. traffic light lens) criteria that are difficult to meet without the use of plastics. Its ability to cheaply meet many requirements while maintaining sufficient optical qualities makes plastic lenses stand out in its field. Polycarbonate lenses also have limitations. The main concern for consumers is the ease at which they can be scratched. To compensate for this, extra processes can be carried out to apply an anti-scratch coating.
Nanovea takes a look into some important properties of plastic lens by utilizing our three metrology instruments: Profilometer, Tribometer, and Mechanical Tester.
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1000°C Brinell Hardness w/ T2000 Tribometer
Material properties, such as reactivity and strength, can drastically change at higher temperatures. This makes high temperature applications, (e.g. jet engines, fabrication chamber material, and even cookware) require careful material selection. Thus, it is important to understand how materials behave in different temperature conditions. The strength of a material can be measured by using the Nanovea T2000 Tribometer. To demonstrate this, a steel sample was used to conduct Brinell hardness testing from temperatures ranging from 25°C to 925°C.
500nm Glass Step Height: Extreme Accuracy with Non-Contact Profilometry
Surface characterization are current topics undergoing intense study. The surfaces of materials are important since they are the regions where physical and chemical interactions between the material and environment occur. Thus, being able to image the surface with high resolution has been desirable, since it allows scientists to visually observe the smallest surface details. Common surface imaging data includes topography, roughness, lateral dimensions, and vertical dimensions. Identifying the load bearing surface, spacing and step height of fabricated microstructures, and defects on the surface are some applications that can be obtained from surface imaging. All surface imaging techniques, however, are not created equal.
500nm Glass Step Height: Extreme Accuracy with Non-Contact Profilometry
Progressive Tribology Mapping of Flooring
The traffic of human movement, movement of furniture, and other daily activities imposes constant degradation onto flooring. Flooring, usually comprised of wood, ceramic, or stone, must be able to handle the wear and tear they are designed for, whether residential or commercial applications. For this reason, most flooring have a layer that is supposed to be resistant to wear called a wear layer. The thickness and durability of the wear layer will depend on the type of flooring and the amount of foot traffic it will be receiving. Since flooring can have multiple layers (e.g. UV-coating, wear layer, decorative layer, glaze, and etc.), the wear rate through each layer can be very different. With Nanovea T2000 Tribometer with a 3D Non-Contact Line Sensor attachment, the progression of wear on a stone and wood flooring is closely observed.
Adhesiveness of Tape via Nanoindentation
The effectiveness of tape is determined by its cohesive and adhesive abilities. Cohesion is defined as the tape’s internal strength while adhesion is the tape’s ability to bond to its interacting surface. The adhesion of tape is influenced by numerous factors, such as exerted pressure, surface energy, molecular forces, and surface texture [1]. To quantify adhesion of tapes, nanoindentation with the Nanovea Mechanical Tester’s Nano Module can be conducted to measure the work required to separate the indenter from the tape.
Fatigue Testing of Wire with Electrical Conductance Apparatus
Electrical wires are the most common form of interconnects between electrical devices. Wires are usually made of copper (and sometimes aluminum) due to copper’s ability to conduct electricity very well, ability to bend, and its cheap cost. Outside of material, wires can also be assembled in different ways. Wires can come be obtained in different sizes, usually denoted by gauges. As the wire diameter increases, the wire gauge decreases. Longevity of the wire will change with wire gauge. The difference in longevity can be compared by conducting a reciprocating linear test with the Nanovea Tribometer to simulate fatigue.
Fatigue Testing of Wire with Electrical Conductance Apparatus
Scratch Testing on Multi-Layered Thin Film
Coatings used extensively throughout multiple industries to preserve the underlying layers, to create electronic devices, or to improve surface properties of materials. Due to their numerous uses coatings are extensively studied, but their mechanical properties can be difficult to understand. Failure of coatings can occur in the micro/nanometer range from surface-atmosphere interaction, cohesive failure, and poor substrate-interface adhesion. A consistent method to test for coating failures is scratch testing. By applying a progressively increasing load, cohesive (e.g. cracking) and adhesive (e.g. delamination) failures of coatings can be quantitatively compared.
Comparison of Ridge Spacing and Wear Rate on 3D Printed Materials
3D printed material is gaining rise due to its ability to create a large variety of shapes and features without the use of time consuming input. 3D printing does have its limitations, however, such as in the lack of materials that can be used and strength of products. To understand how the quality of 3D printed materials can be improved, the Nanovea Tribometer can be used to conduct wear testing.
Comparison of Ridge Spacing and Wear Rate on 3D Printed Material
Roughness and Particle Diameter of Sandpaper
Sandpaper is a common commercially available product used as an abrasive. The most common
use for sandpaper is to remove coatings or to polish a surface with its abrasive properties. These
abrasive properties are classified into grits, each related to how smooth or rough of a surface
finish it will give. To achieve desired abrasive properties, manufactures of sandpaper must ensure
that the abrasive particles are of a specific size and have little deviation. To quantify the quality
of sandpaper, Nanovea’s 3D Non-Contact Profilometer can be used to obtain the Sa height
parameter and average particle diameter of a sample area.
