our laboratories: precision plus service. worldwide
TRANSCRIPT
English B-2
Our laboratories:Precision plus service. Worldwide
BYK-Chemie GmbHAbelstrasse 4546483 WeselGermany
Tel. +49 281 670-0Fax +49 281 65735
B-2
03/
2013
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Insight into the technologyof our laboratories
Areas of Application/Application Technology
16 Automotive Coatings
18 SMC/BMC
20 Architectural Coatings
22 Thermoplastics
24 Powder Coatings
26 Wood and Furniture Coatings
28 Coil Coatings
30 Can Coatings
32 Ambient Curing Systems
34 Paper Surfaces/Processing
36 PVC Plastisols/Leather
38 Adhesives and Sealing Compounds
40 Industrial Coatings
42 Anti-corrosion Systems
Service
44 Worldwide Service
46 Addresses
Research & Development
6 Research & Development
8 Analyses in
Research & Development
Product Groups
10 Nano Additives
12 Surface Additives
14 Process Additives & New Effects
Contents
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In our service laboratories, everything revolves around our customers – globally
Research and service labs are the source of our innovative strength. It is in our service laboratories that our specialists develop optimized solutions. This applies equally to coatings and plastics. While our network of local labs focuses on many specialties; additional support and expertise are available from our headquarters in Wesel, Germany.
This has many advantages, as this network ensures that BYK services are always where they are needed: on site. Our staff in international laboratories speak the appropriate national language and are familiar with the conditions and requirements of the area. Highly trained and provided with the latest technical equipment, BYK laboratory technicians and specialists continually exchange ideas and share solutions – making sure they are always up-to-date with all the latest developments. This reciprocal
relationship results in optimum and efficient service on a global level, wherever you are in the world.
The result: BYK customers benefit from optimum service worldwide. Anywhere. Quickly and efficiently. A service that also pays off, because of the added savings of not having to provide your own laboratory capacities. Take a closer look at our service labs. You´ll discover how together, our people and equipment develop customized and practical solutions according to individual customer requirements.
Introduction
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From vision to reality
Our extensive knowledge, exceptional creativity and original ideas combine to synthesize new and innovative products. We also keep a close watch on trends and listen closely to what our customers want and need in order to achieve collective success. This distinctive market and customer orientation is the key to creating improved products – to achieve the mutual success of tomorrow.
The synthesis process is at the heart of all our R&D activities. The core of all our activities is to develop new or optimized solutions. The prototypes we create undergo a series of chemical analyses,
material testing and application technology examinations. Gradually, through various modifications and fine-tuning, we develop the best possible formulation. Finally, after passing through several scale-ups in the lab reactors (mini plants), the market-ready and viable product is developed from the initial idea.
Automatic mini plant lab reactors
Gasometric analysis
MultiMax (automated parallel synthesis 4 x 250 ml)
Just think of our lab equipment as your lab equipmentSuccess has its price: Using the latest and most advanced equipment can be a steep investment, but we think that having the ability to formulate innovative and viable solutions is worth the cost.
Automatic mini plant lab reactors (0.25-6 liters) with online NIR spectrometer
Research & Development
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We´re terribly selective when it comes to quality
How do you define quality? As a manufacturer of specialty chemicals we know that the more detailed our analysis procedures, the more precise the results. That´s why we use the most varied technologies to enable us to continuously guarantee high-quality additives.
Even when developing our products we make sure that we accurately determine the molecular composition of the materials we are using. This way we can precisely establish the effect of our additives and rule out any undesired side effects. We achieve this by implementing state-of-the-art analysis procedures such as liquid and gas chromatography. These analyses are supplemented by measurements taken using the nuclear magnetic spectrometer (NMR).
We also use ultramodern testing to determine the exact specifications of our raw materials. In production, we then focus on online analyses, allowing us to continuously control the manufacturing processes, as our reaction tank is equipped with special probes. These measure the ongoing reactions in the tank, either with the aid of a special ultrasound procedure or using the near infrared (NIR) method. The results acquired in this manner are then passed on to the measuring stations.
Lots of effort and technology with just one objective: being able to offer our customers the best solutions.
HPLC pump
AutosamplerHPLC columnsAutosampler sample bottles
Gaining insight into the „souls“ of substancesLet´s consider analytical research from an extremely attractive perspective: In the magnetic field of a superconducting nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR), atoms are excited with a high-energy radio impulse. Here we find spectra of neighborly relations on a molecular level allowing us to gain insight into the “souls” of substance. We then gladly pass this knowledge on to our customers.
Superconducting nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR)
Analyses in Research & Development
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Most certainly not invisibleProduct Group – Nano Additives
Scratch-proof, weather-resistant, conductive – our innovative NANOBYK® additives provide significant advantages for surfaces. But, how can we actually prove it? The answer is really simple: We use traditional, proven testing methods which our customers know, value and trust.
In order, for example, to make nanoparticles visible in our glass reactors, we use laser beams and exploit the Tyndall effect. We also take measurements using the crockmeter and the BYK washing- and abrasion tester, and also take conductivity measurements using four-pole electrodes which demonstrate the effects of our nano additives.
We have a number of methods at our fingertips for establishing the scratch-resistance of a coating. We select the method according to the requirements
of our customers. For example, tests using the crockmeter are favored by the automotive sector. This test involves pushing polishing paper across the coated surface. By using the grade of the paper, the weight that is applied to it and the number of pushing processes, a BYK-Gardner gloss meter can measure and describe the changes in the gloss of the coating.
As popular as the method is, it is also comparatively abrasive. To find out how a few heavy loads can change the surface of the coating, we use the abrasion tester. Depending on the surface, we apply either natural bristles or synthetic fibers. Here too, the changes to the coated surface are precisely determined by means of the gloss measurement, again depending on the weight and the number of pushing processes.
The methods for analyzing the weather resistance, for example, of wood surfaces, are also firmly established. The wooden test pieces are subjected to hundreds, sometimes even thousands of hours of rapid weathering. In doing so, UV light, heat and steam are applied to them. The changes to the surface of the wood are then used to prove which positive effects our nanoscale UV protection additives have.
The quadripolar electrode system in accordance with DIN EN ISO 391 is the classic method for establishing the conductivity of a surface. This system helps us test materials which have been optimized by our additives based on carbon nanotubes (CNT technology). By using our additives we can precisely determine the effects of the coating; as depending on the dosage, they could be dissipative or even conductive.
In the light of the laser… even the tiniest of particles are visible. As light can break and scatter even into the smallest of floating particles. This was discovered by the Irish physicist, John Tyndall, back in the 19th century. By utilizing the so-called Tyndall effect, we employ a laser beam to make the nanoparticles in liquids in our glass reactors visible.
Glass reactor
Artificial ageing thanks to rapid weathering Conductivity measurement for our CNT-based additives
The nylon brush is less abrasive
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Surfaces are the right way to go
As a specialist in interfaces, we can fall back on profound expertise in the surface behavior of a wealth of different materials. Our key aids here are our measuring technology and the associated analyses.
With their help we can characterize the behavior of various surfaces and make statements about the wetting properties and the appropriate adhesion application to use. Simultaneously, we can discover how to avoid leveling problems and cratering. This represents the basis on which we discuss recommendations for suitable additives that can be applied and their appropriate dosage.
The starting point for our analyses is static measurements. We use a tensiometer to investigate the surface tension of liquids in which our additives are to be effective. We implement the contact angle method to analyze solid surfaces, like steel, wood, plastic
or pre-existing coatings. Combining both values provides a precise image of the behavior of the liquid that has been optimized by our additive on the specific substrate.
However, we implement dynamic procedures to analyze the surface behavior of materials for our customers from the printing and paper industry and the wood-processing industry. With the aid of a bubble pressure tensiometer we can simulate the behavior of the liquid under high pressure and at great speeds.
The MicroSpy provides even more detailed results. The confocal microscope allows a three-dimensional representation of incredibly small surfaces of maximum 37 mm². This analysis gives us very exact images of the surface topography, which we then evaluate using a separate procedure. We are able to precisely analyze the topography of the surface and use this on which to base concrete statements concerning the roughness, waviness and the wetting and adhesion behavior of liquids. At our customer´s request, we can also implement these procedures to detect other effects, e.g. cratering.
Every interface has a valueCoatings, paints or inks – with this tensiometer we can perform a detailed analysis of the surface tension of the most varied of liquids. The value achieved forms the basis of our additive recommendation.
Tensiometer
Product Group – Surface Additives
MicroSpy provides us with an image of the surface topography
Dynamic measurement with the bubble pressure procedure
Contact angle method for solid surfaces
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The truth lies in the comparisonProduct Group – Process Additives & New Effects
A task for true specialistsDynamic mechanical analysis is extremely sophisticated because its evaluation requires specialist knowledge. But it´s worth all the effort. The result is a highly differentiated analysis. It enables precise statements to be made about the mechanical properties of a plastic or a coating film.
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)
The majority of the additives in this product group are multifunctional, as they incorporate different effects. Which effect is illustrated in the end product often depends on the dosage and mixture of the respective raw materials, and can differ depending on the intended application. That´s why we subject our formulations to the most varied of load tests.
Often these test series serve to compare different dosages. As a result, we can also find out whether our additives interact with other components in the customer´s formulation – and if so, in which form. This means we can avoid any undesirable side effects in our formulations. We can ensure that our customers always receive tailor-made additives for their products. At the same time, we support them in
optimizing their own formulations. The behavior of our additives under mechanical loads can be established by a variety of methods. Some procedures are relatively uncomplicated in their handling; others may require specialized metrological expertise to interpret the results correctly.
The first group includes the steam jet tester using which we can, for example, find out how good a coating adheres to a substrate (metal or plastic). When combined with various other testing methods, we can then evaluate and optimize our adhesion promoter.
The second group includes, for example, the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). We use this to establish the brittleness and elasticity of plastics and coating films. The advantage of this comparatively elaborate method is that it doesn´t destroy the material, in fact it permits us to draw conclusions about its behavior under changing
conditions. The equipment we use to test the effects of our additives on the heat deflection of thermoplastics and thermosets also requires specialist knowledge. Among the tried-and-tested methods that we use are HDT (heat deflection temperature) and Vicat - both standardized parameters in the plastics industry. If we want to test the behavior of our additives in thermoplastic PVC, we use the conical, counter-rotating twin-screw extruder to create compounds. By comparison with a “co-rotating extruder”, the shear forces are rather minimal, thus enabling a gentle processing of the shear-sensitive PVC. We then really scrutinize the material behavior with HDT/Vicat to find out how we can optimize the formulation.
Specifically for thermoplastics: HDT and VICAT test
Adhesion test with the steam jet tester Conical, counter-rotating twin-screw extruder for PVC compounds
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It´s a question of application
Automotive coatings must fulfill the most varied of functions. Aesthetic criteria are just as important as protection against weather or other stresses. Our customers apply different methods of application, depending on the function of the coating. That´s why it is our objective to replicate on a laboratory scale the whole panoply of coating procedures which are currently being practiced in the automotive industry. Only under this condition can we continuously support our customers.
We have, for example, an ESTA line (electrostatic application). It enables us to provide an efficient coating, just like you would see in industry. With
this we can faithfully replicate coating programs in accordance with the manufacturer´s specifications, so as to test the effect of our additives in our customer´s formulations. It is only by reproducing the original application procedures as authentically as possible that we can achieve the results required by our clients.
In addition, we deploy our new CED line to test the behavior of our additives during cathode dip coating. The CED line allows us to simulate the first organic coating in the automotive OEM coating. This is applied to the metal substrate in the dipping process. To be able to test coatings for automotive
repair work, we possess a broad spectrum of standard spray guns, the same as are used in the workshops.
We round off our testing arsenal with different test procedures which, among others, test the leveling of the coating or the orientation of the effect pigments. This also includes our car wash test – a special laboratory system with which we can realistically replicate the conditions of a car wash.
All in all, these varied procedures provide us with the possibility of solving specific tasks. In close collaboration with our customers we help them formulate their coatings.
Field of Application – Automotive Coatings
Exceptionally attractiveIn our laboratories we are able to replicate everyday life in the automotive industry – e.g. with our ESTA line. The principle: The liquid paint is initially atomized at approx. 40,000 rpm at the edge of the so-called “bell” and simultaneously subjected to an electrical charge. This grounded work piece acts like a magnet to the charged paint droplets.
High-speed rotation bell with corona charge
Cathode dip coating
Spray gunsCar wash test
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We don’t just go that extra yard for our customers – we go eight meters
We really don´t mind going that extra meter for our customers. And our SMC line boasts precisely eight meters. This is where ingredients defined by our customer, such as resins, peroxides, fillers and glass fibers for the manufacture of compounds, are combined with our additives and put through a specific series of tests to determine optimal recommendations. The material is then molded in our new 1,000 ton press and tested for surface properties, better coating adhesion, color homogeneity and emission behavior. We also employ high-grade lab instruments to measure color and gloss, to simulate stone chipping and
to test short and long wave surface structures – en route to customer-optimized additive formulations and improved SMCs. It is only those compositions that we find compelling that will ultimately be recommended to our customers.
Field of Application – SMC/BMC
We achieve market leadership by getting down to the very fiber of what our customers needOur SMC pilot plant is used to replicate and optimize customer formulations, as well as for new developments, such as process additives.
Application of glass fibers to SMC paste
Compress Eco with maximum 1,000 ton pressing force
SMC line with carbon fiber cutting head
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With brush, roller and gun
They say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. That´s why we make sure that we test our additive recommendations for architectural coatings as practically and realistically as possible. It is only if we understand how the end products will behave in the application that we can provide our customers with concrete help. Our results should be reproducible in order to make reliable statements regarding the effect of our additives in the respective products. That´s why we include the brush, roller and spray gun in our application laboratory equipment.
The BYK additives range for architectural coatings is varied. Wetting and
dispersing agents are included along with defoamers, rheology and surface additives. The test procedures that we use are just as versatile. We use these to realistically replicate the most varied of loads. This produces objective values. They serve to precisely document the effects of our additives.
For example, by using a special abrasion test we can see how our nano additives can improve the scratch-sensitivity of coated surfaces. Furthermore, by using an airless spraying unit which we have had developed specifically for our tests, we can discover which products from our defoamer family are suitable for coatings which are applied using this method.
Field of Application – Architectural coatings
We´re not afraid of high pressureHow can you coat large surfaces as quickly and as thickly as possible? By using the airless procedure. The coating is applied to the substrate at very high pressure through a very small nozzle. The disadvantage of the procedure: It causes tiny foam bubbles. However, special defoamers can be used to avoid this microfoam.
Airless spray gun
Multi-finger scratch tester
Shake test for defoamersRub-out procedure for testing the pigment stabilization
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Form follows formulation
Design and innovation are two important aspects in thermoplastics processing. The ever-increasing demands made on the end products are accompanied by continuous advancements in production materials and processes. By creating optimized additives, we’re able to significantly raise the physical limits of raw materials. That is why BYK has been applying our extensive know-how in the areas of couplers, modifiers and surface-active additives to the processing technology of thermoplastics for some time now.
The knowledge and expertise of our specialists are enhanced by the exclusivity of our service lab equipment which includes a professional injection molding machine just like the ones used
by the end producers, as well as special lab instruments for manufacturing and processing granules such as single and twin-screw extruders and a calendar.
At BYK, each and every step in the compounding process can be reproduced in the lab – right down to the finished product. Standardized testing procedures, such as filter pressure tests and other structure and surface analyses in our material testing department, make the findings obtained obvious and comparable. In the thermoplastics service lab, customers don’t just get part of the solution, but also have the advantage of developing their products over the entire production process.
Field of Application – Thermoplastics
Get filming!This cast film line can produce monolayer films from conventional standard plastics. The films are used to assess the quality of a thermoplastic compound. We evaluate the surface, dispersion or mechanical properties.
Cast film line
Injection molding machineIntermediate and finished products
Cast film line
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Since powder coatings are free from any solvents, they are extremely environmentally friendly and therefore gaining popularity in many industries. During application, the powder coating particles become electrostatically charged in special powder spray guns. State-of-the-art coating lines can achieve a yield of over 95% of the powder coating on the work piece. This layer of powder coating is then melted in the baking oven, where it cross-links to form a crater-free, glossy surface with good leveling properties. That’s the theory.
In practice though, quality defects can easily occur due to changes in raw materials, formulations, or even production processes. This is one of the ways we are able to convince powder coating producers of our laboratory service and our special expertise. The manufacture and processing of powder coatings is complex: Premixing, extruding, breaking into pieces, grinding, sieving, spraying and cross-linking. It is important that everything is coordinated: the formulation, the manufacturing, and the processing so that the end product is perfect for the job. Transparent or opaque, high-gloss or matte, structured or unstructured, it is always a matter of choosing the right additive for the job.
Extruding is an important core process in the manufacture of powder coatings. The premixed material used to fill the extruder contains everything crucial for the subsequent properties of the powder coating. At this stage, the solid formulation components (pigments, fillers, additives) are mechanically broken down into pieces at approximately 110°C and homogenously worked into the melted binder. The extrudate experiences extreme shear as it passes between the screws and walls of the extruder. To guarantee the intended visual (color, gloss) and mechanical (impact resistance, elasticity) properties, the extruding process needs to be flawless. The finished extrudate is rolled out between cylinders, cooled down at room temperature and broken into chips.
The professionals in our powder coating laboratory are able to reproduce each step in the process, from premixing to cross-linking, in order to recommend the perfect additive for your application. We work through solutions to problems in direct collaboration with our customers; today with standard formulations which manifest unexpected problems under different conditions, tomorrow with new developments which aim to tap new markets. The staff in our powder coating laboratory live and breathe this service concept; as they know that the customer is our most important partner.
Searching for a grain of truth and finding it
Raw material mix: Powder coating chips and the coating after it has been ground
Application with a powder coating gun
Field of Application – Powder Coatings
Pow(d)er of tomorrowIn our fully equipped lab, we carry out practical tests with and on powder coatings, allowing us to prove our dedication and expertise. It is only when you can properly replicate all the steps in a process that you can hope to supply lasting solutions. Many of our customers have profited from this thorough and successful service concept, and find great value in close collaboration.
Extruder
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We go against the grain
In botany there are well over 100 types of wood categorized by several different features, such as structure and surface. Natural materials also vary by region. A German oak, for example, is quite different from a Chinese oak and because we have research labs and products at work in the Chinese market we know the difference. We are globally positioned wherever wood coating additives are needed.
High-gloss and matt systems still have a major presence in industrial wood coatings. While spray and roller
applications are widely used, the curtain coating method is becoming more and more popular. In addition to the protective function of the coatings, visual demands are paramount. New technologies, such as aqueous and UV curing coating variants, will dominate the market in the future.
The wealth of demands in wood and furniture coatings is reflected by BYK’s dedication to our continuous development of highly specialized, optimized, coating additives. The expertise of our staff, coupled with
the technical equipment found in our service labs is how we turn customer inquiries into real solutions. With customized BYK additives, improved wetting, optimized leveling, exclusion of trapped air, greater scratch resistance, adjustable surface slip, and matting control can be achieved, resulting in high-quality, innovative furniture.
UV curing system
Field of Application – Wood and Furniture Coatings
Curtain callCoating with a curtain coater only works with flat objects. The liquid coating material forms a curtain through which the parts being coated are pulled by conveyor belts. This allows large surfaces to be coated quickly and very evenly.
Coating process in the curtain coater
Wood samples
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Good things come in small packages
Much of what is produced on a large scale can be researched on a smaller one. For example, the processes in the atom are similar to a certain degree to the relationships in solar systems. This holds true in the laboratory, where we can accurately simulate the processes that occur in a large coil coating plant, and provided that knowledge of the relevant sequences, practical methods, and lab systems are available.
We reduce and simplify industry processes and the results form the reliable basis of our research for new and optimized paint additives. This allows us to respond to acute customer problems in an extremely short amount of time.
The baking oven in the coil coatings service lab permits the input of all the relevant customer production parameters such as peak metal temperatures, the adjustment of and precise adherence to the required baking time.
The rationalization and optimization potential of products and sequences can already be established in the laboratory, which saves the customer having to carry out time-consuming and expensive test runs. So what does this mean in concrete terms? Reliable answers in the form of product and dosing proposals, guiding formulations as well as sample boards and sheets.
Panel placed into oven
Sample panels
Field of Application – Coil Coatings
Answers to your most burning questionsBehind this shutter, the temperature can reach up to 400°C. Our coil oven maintains pre-defined peak metal temperatures and permits baking times as short as 10 seconds. A USB port allows all the gathered data to be available for further processing.
A look inside the baking chamber
Coating application on metal sheets
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Can coatings have to fulfill a multitude of demands. The inside of the can is made up of a protective coating between the metal can wall and the filling. The improved scratch-resistance and abrasion-resistance of the outside of the can offers protection from damage during transport or storage. Can coatings also undertake various decorative roles. The coating enables the cans to be manufactured and ensures their formability. Our additives help these requirements to be fulfilled.
We test the efficiency of our additives in newly developed products in a multitude of coating systems. Individual recommendations can be expressed for each application. It is with the targeted additive packages that the quality of a can coating can be significantly
increased and by representing the efficiency by means of various market-typical test methods we can offer our customers a preselection, true to the motto: “less is more”. In the majority of applications a food contact legal status of our additives is required and products are selected based on this.
A fundamental test is the measurement for surface smoothness. In doing so, the coefficient of friction (COF) is established by drawing a defined weight over the coating surface at a defined speed. By measuring the COF, we can assess the efficiency of wax additives and silicone additives in the coating.
We can establish the scratch resistance of a coating by implementing the
Clemen test. The harder and more scratch-resistant a coating, the more durable and stable the subsequent can.
Can coatings are also used as a sealant, e.g. in the case of a yoghurt carton. Here, the coated inside of the flexible aluminum lid is quickly adhered, or rather, sealed against the plastic carton by means of pressure and temperature. BYK wax additives can influence the required seal strength. The hot-sealing bench is used to test this property.
The covers of the BYK sample orders are provided with coatings which contain BYK additives
We take some things to the extremeField of Application – Can Coatings
Light means smoothHow does a coated sheet respond to mechanical loads? We can find out by testing its surface smoothness using the Altek mobility tester. The lighter the weight can glide across the measurement surface, the smoother the coating surface.
Mobility tester
Scratch test with pinholes
Producing a sample in the hot-sealing bench
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Specialists who break the mold
As far as surfaces are concerned, any product can become problematic. This applies particularly to boat hulls, swimming pools, or bathtubs made of glass-fiber reinforced plastics (FRP). They are manufactured using ambient curing systems. We create additives for this group of plastics that will provide our customers, and ultimately their customers, with an optimum product in terms of stability or surface quality and processing. To ensure that we reach this essential goal, we constantly simulate the typical production process of these products in our service labs.
Light and stable glass fiber reinforced plastics can take on virtually any shape. Because of these advantages it is used for a wide variety of technical
applications. Any customer problem can be replicated on one of our two chopper guns. Reproducible series of tests result in an optimized selection and dosage of additives. This means that we obtain perfect application properties, uniform and stable colors and leveling properties, less trapped air and optimized styrene emissions.
The formulations which are developed in this manner can then be reproduced by the customer on their own systems under production conditions. It´s not only our global sites that profit from this gathered experience. During the course of technical service requests and by means of training and seminars we gladly pass on our practical knowledge to our customers at regular intervals.
Field of Application – Ambient Curing Systems
At BYK, we shoot for perfectionThis airless chopper gun was built according to our specific parameters. It allows us to apply customer samples to a carrier material and then test how much further the results can be improved with our additive formulation.
Chopper gun
Spray booth
Producing a test specimen
Vacuum infusion
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Curtains up for the special papers
How does paper behave when it is processed further? The response to this question could be crucial to its success on the market. Our additives for processing paper surfaces provide manufacturers with bespoke solutions. They can, for example, contribute towards significantly optimizing the print image. Alternatively, they enable completely new surface qualities and structures. The additives were developed in association with other ALTANA divisions and in cooperation with renowned European universities and research facilities.
Our special laboratory possesses a series of systems with which we can simulate
typical paper manufacturing processes on a laboratory scale. For example, we can replicate defoaming and painting processes. Furthermore, different dynamic paper and cardboard testing facilities are included in our equipment as well as calendering facilities for sheets, rolls, and a lab curtain coater.
In addition, a 30-centimeter printing machine is located at one of our affiliated companies. With our state-of-the-art measuring instruments and our expertise in the paint and paper processing industries, we can provide a future market with optimization potential for mass production, especially in the making of specialty paper. One ink - different paper qualities
Calender
Field of Application – Paper Surfaces/Processing
Time to turn the pageAt some stage during production, a coating color will become the top layer of a printable sheet of paper. To make sure it fulfills its function perfectly, very specific requirements must be satisfied. Without the proper surface, the result would be like writing on blotting paper. With greater demands on paper products, it makes sense that BYK is researching new solutions for this industry.
Foam tester
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Application Technology – PVC Plastisols/Leather
It´s a long route between transferring laboratory results into the customer´s production line. Our coating line significantly shortens this path. This is where we take the customer´s specified formulations and optimize them in a specific series of tests. Alongside the assessment of impregnation, foaming behavior and surface properties we
are able to metrologically assess the viscosity of the materials being used during the coating process.
The recorded values provide us with the security of knowing that optimized or newly developed formulations can be used without complications in the customers´ production systems.
All wound up?A coated substrate requires optimum cooling, web monitoring and rolling, even after it has dried out.
Rolling the coated substrate
We go that extra mile for our customers
Coating head with optional viscosity measurement Vacuum dissolver
Coating line with gel drum, oven and laminating system
Laboratory oven with coating unit
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Field of Application – Adhesives and Sealing Compounds
The effectiveness of adhesives is dependent on several factors. They must wet the substrate perfectly and be easy to process. Their flow characteristics, especially on vertical surfaces, are therefore critical. Our additives help adhesive manufacturers to create these differing parameters with precision and, if required, tailored to the customer´s requirements. We use our special measuring and testing equipment to prove with precision the desired adhesive properties.
To what extent does our adhesion promoter improve the efficiency of the adhesive? That´s what the tensile test is for. The more force required to destroy the sample, the stronger the adhesive power and thus the more efficient our additives.
Among other processes, our material testing machine enables us to simulate two different tearing processes. In the shear tests two material samples, which are adhered to each other, are torn apart in the vertical plane. The peel tests, however, test how difficult or easy it is to peel a material away from the other at a right angle.
At the same time, we check to see which effects other additives, which we have recommended to our customers, have on the adhesion. This way, we can demonstrate for example, that silicone defoamer makes it much easier to produce adhesives and, at the same time, has no negative influence on the adhesion. The rheometer is used to test the flow characteristics. It takes just a few millimeters of an adhesive to find
out how it behaves on a vertical surface at high speed and at a precisely defined thickness. As uncomplicated as this test is, the evaluation is more sophisticated. It takes a wealth of experience and metrological expertise to interpret the results correctly.
In the end, we can provide our customers with an exact picture of how their product, which has been optimized with our additive, will behave in different phases of the adhesive process. The rheometer results offer an excellent foundation for the subsequent tests under real conditions.
Keeping together what belongs together
The speedmixer creates the adhesive samples The rheometer tests the flow characteristics The material testing machine tests adhered material samples
Will it hold?The tensile test is the easiest conceivable method for testing the effect of an adhesive. The adhered materials are subjected simply to brute force. This is a tricky business in the laboratory. It depends on preparing the samples in such a way that we can create reproducible results. It takes between five and ten samples to provide valid results.
Material testing machine
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Field of Application – Industrial Coatings
What do tractors and cell phones have in common? Both are products which can be optimized using our additives. The scope for industrial coatings is enormous: It extends from agricultural commercial vehicles to coatings on consumer electronics, and from flooring to glass. So how can you implement BYK additives in such a multitude of applications?
The demands on industrial coatings differ considerably. Depending on the application, for example, the mechanical capacity, the visual impression or the flexibility could play a critical role. We use state-of-the-art measuring and analysis equipment to prove which of our additives possess the optimum effect for each of the applications in question.
On th is bas is , we prov ide recommendations for the use of wetting and dispersing additives, surface additives or defoamers, rheological agents and adhesion promoters. In addition, we can establish precise information regarding the correct dosage.
The Dispermat is a key aid in producing different pigment grinds. It simulates the mills which are used in production, however with a considerably lower use of material.
The coating machine is used so that we can change the spraying application to meet the most versatile of parameters. This enables us to represent the positive effects of our additives in a reproducible manner and in the most varied of coating formulations at the touch of
a button. We can put to the test key questions in terms of the quality of our additives: How do our additives influence the gloss and the leveling of a surface? How do they increase the load capacity?
To do this, we test, among other factors, the distribution of the pigments in the coating so as to exclude flocculation. Our special microscope also enables measurements to be taken of the pigment loading in aqueous solvent-borne coatings. The pigment loading which can be influenced by our wetting and dispersing additives has a decisive influence on the color stability of pigment blends. We also use the microscope to analyze coating defects, like, for example, craters.
The scratch and abrasion resistance of coatings is of exceptional importance in many industries. Special tests in which we examine how coatings change when they rub against materials or paper simulate the abrasion characteristics of, for example, cell phones in trouser pockets. We also test for this, and therefore verify the positive effects of our surface additives.
Applying coating samples with the coating machinesWhich additive and at what dosage works the best? To answer this question, we require different samples with different dosages. By implementing our coating machines we can manufacture these samples and then measure them.
Coating machineDiversity under the microscope
Pigment grind with Dispermat
Abrasion test with Wazau system
Cross-hatch for determining the adhesion
Pigment loading measurement under the microscope
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The ravages of timeCan our adhesion promoter continuously improve the protective coatings on pipelines? The cathodic disbondment (CD) test can provide the answer to this question. We use this to verify the individual effects of our adhesion promoter on the respective coating.
Cathodic disbondment (CD) tester
If you want to know whether or not the protective coating on steel structures really works, you have to subject it to wind and weather. Reliable statements concerning fire protection are also only possible if the coating has been subjected to fire at least once.
In the laboratory we therefore aim to simulate these conditions in accordance with precise stipulations. The respective standards are used as a basis for this. For example, the EN ISO 12944 corrosiveness categories specify which loads steel coatings must be able to withstand.
The testing methods and equipment that we use to measure the effects of our additives on protective coatings and marine paints also work in accordance with precise guidelines. For example, the condensed water test in accordance with EN ISO 6270-2 and the neutral salt spray test as per EN ISO 9227.
We apply these methods not only in order to test our own new developments in the area of wetting and dispersing agents, rheology and surface additives, nanoadditives as well as adhesion promoters; we also use them to help our customers. They can use our test results as a basis for selecting suitable BYK additives before they really have to knuckle down to testing their own formulations using the respective testing methods.
A very special test procedure where we, for example, simulate the cathodic protective coating for pipelines, provides us with information about the
influence of our additives with regard to the cathodic delamination (cathodic disbondment, CD). Here our adhesion promoter in the coatings can help to slow down the inevitable delamination process.
Alongside corrosion tests, we test how our additives influence mechanical properties, as protective coatings and marine paints are frequently subjected to considerable mechanical loads. The more flexible the coatings, the lower the danger that mechanical loads will damage them. The Erichsen tester in accordance with EN ISO 1520 is used to test the elasticity of a coating. More dynamic test procedures would be the direct or indirect ball drop test in accordance with EN ISO 6272.
Our additives improve the workability and performance of intumescent fire protection coatings. To discover which effects our additives could invoke in an emergency, we subject the steel sections which have been coated with test formulations to very high temperatures. For this purpose, we simulate an appropriate fire load in a so-called “muffle oven”.
Field of Application – Anti-corrosion Systems
The art of simulation
Salt spray test
Sheets in the salt spray test
Condensed water test
Muffle oven
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Worldwide Service
For us, being close to our customer is more than just a promise. It is part of our everyday life. With our regional labs we are represented throughout the globe in all time zones in which our clients operate their businesses. This spatial proximity facilitates communication and our collaborations also benefit from this; it is more direct, less complicated and faster.
It is on this foundation that we develop mutual, individual solutions for our customers. This can concern the optimization of formulations, but also the use of regional raw materials or the conversion to more environmentally friendly systems. Our qualified staff with their commitment and expertise are at your service.
Whether in Mumbai, Shanghai or Tokyo, whether in Sao Paulo, Wallingford or Deventer, our clients can trust the same technical standards and the same qualifications around the globe. We regularly train our staff. This ensures that they have the knowledge to be able to solve even the most challenging problems. When we are presented with particularly complex questions, we can turn to our central laboratory in Wesel for support and research.
Short paths for the knowledge transfer; close and personal contacts with clients: This provides us with precise, concrete answers which can go on to help our customers in their daily business.
Certified sustainabilityIn the laboratory we are working on the world of tomorrow. That´s why, when planning our latest laboratory building in Wesel we ensured that the building was designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Compared with other buildings of its kind, it requires 30% less energy. This is the key reason why the building has been awarded a platinum LEED certificate. This accolade is issued by the US Green Building Council on the basis of defined guidelines.
Laboratory building in Wesel
Answers that actually help
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GermanyBYK-Chemie GmbHAbelstrasse 4546483 WeselGermanyTel. +49 281 670-0Fax +49 281 65735www.byk.com
BYK Kometra GmbHValue Park Y4206258 SchkopauGermanyTel. +49 3461 4960-60Fax +49 3461 4960-70www.byk.com
IndiaBYKc/o ELANTAS Beck India Limited147, Mumbai – Pune Road, PimpriPune – 411018IndiaTel. +91 20-30681607-10Fax +91 20-30681605www.byk.com
Korea BYK Korea 159-2, Moonhyung-Ri, Opo-EupGwangju-City, Gyungki-DoKoreaTel. +82 31-767-1441Fax +82 31-767-2438www.byk.com
SingaporeBYK Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. 89 Science Park Drive, Lobby A#03-04, The RutherfordScience Park ISingapore 118261Tel. +65-68747673Fax +65-68732330www.byk.com
Brazil BYK c/o Bandeirante BrazmoAv. Alberto Soares Sampaio 124009380-000 Mauá, S.P.Sao PauloBrazilTel. +55 11 4547 9940Fax +55 11 4547 9941www.byk.com
JapanBYK Japan KK Amagasaki Technical Service LabARIC No. 5107-1-3, Doicho, AmagasakiHyogo 660-0083JapanTel. +81 6-6415-2660Fax +81 6-6415-2678www.byk.co.jp
The NetherlandsBYK-Cera b.v.Danzigweg 237418 AM DeventerThe NetherlandsTel. +31 570-678-200Fax +31 570-678-250www.byk.com
BYK-Cera b.v. Nijverheidstraat 147591 BM DenekampThe NetherlandsTel. +31 541 354 000Fax +31 541 354-286www.byk.com
DubaiBYKc/o Ellkay104, DuBiotech Lab ComplexP.O. Box 47736Dubai, UAETel. +971 4 4508158Fax +971 4 4508172www.byk.com
Where to find our technical laboratoriesDo you need an individual solution for your application? Then look no further, our technical personnel are happy to provide assistance. Our laboratories are based in Germany, Brazil, China, Dubai, India, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore and in the USA – also in your region.
ChinaBYK (TONGLING) Co., Ltd. Guangzhou BranchD101, Guangzhou Int‘l Business Incubator,No. 3, Juquan Road, Guangzhou Science CityLuogang DistrictGuangzhou, 510663P.R. ChinaTel. +86 20-32211-600Fax +86 20-32211-611www.byk.com.cn
BYK (TONGLING) Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch 3rd Floor, Building ANo. 8, Lane 1305, Hua Jing RoadShanghai, 200231P.R. ChinaTel. +86 21-6496-7923Fax +86 21-6496-7927www.byk.com.cn
BYK (TONGLING) Co., Ltd. Beijing BranchRoom 303, Building 2No. 99, Kechuang Street 14, BDABeijing, 101111P.R. ChinaTel. +86 10-59755581Fax +86 10-59755561www.byk.com.cn
USABYK USA Inc.524 South Cherry StreetP.O. Box 5670Wallingford, CT 06492-7651USATel. +1 203-265-2086Fax +1 203-269-7963www.byk.com
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Our laboratories:Precision plus service. Worldwide
BYK-Chemie GmbHAbelstrasse 4546483 WeselGermany
Tel. +49 281 670-0Fax +49 281 65735
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2013