Even with a temperature difference of 20°C, colour deviations of more than 2 Delta E units can occur depending on the colour monitored. Colour measurements carried out using the colorCONTROL ACS7000 system and temperature measurements using Micro-Epsilon's infrared thermoMETER CT sensor, enable a master curve to be generated at several different temperature levels that describes the thermochromic behaviour of the coloured polymer. This allows colour values determined on a warm component to be converted to room temperature colour values.
These pre-calculated 'cooling curves' stored in the system software allow the colour values determined during the de-moulding process to be converted into a reference temperature. This enables the colour to be automatically checked earlier in the process, which reduces cycle time and optimises productivity and output, compared to conventional sample checks.
