Aptifirst has launched the LCR series of rheometers, designed for routine quality assurance testing, research, development and troubleshooting applications.
Primarily designed for polymers and rubbers, the instruments are also useful with materials such as foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, bitumens, and other extrudable materials.
The company said the LCR series is designed to meet the demands of a 24-hour-a-day shop floor operation while maintaining high levels of accuracy, repeatability and sensitivity.
They are easy to use and versatile, and offer sophisticated materials characterisation, data analysis and reporting capabilities.
The LCR7000 is fitted as standard with a 10kN load cell, the LCR7001 has a 10kN load cell and a barrel-mounted 1,400 bar (20,000lb/in2 nom) melt pressure transducer, and the LCR7002 is a dual barrel version with dual 1,400 bar melt pressure transducers.
The instruments' long service life is ensured through the use of tungsten carbide dies and a hardened and honed tool steel barrel.
Lab Kars advanced rheology software provides programming, control, analysis and data storage capability.
It is useful to be able to monitor the load on the piston and the pressure just above the die entrance as some materials can bridge or 'freeze' under pressure - for example, filler particles can lock up and some materials can stress crystallise.
This can lead to a full load on the piston which is not transmitted to the material where the pressure transducer is located.
