BYK-Gardner - cloud-runner for the measurement of mottling

cloud-runner

Control and guarantee a uniform finish – no more mottling!

Mottling disturbes the overall color harmony of effect finishes. These irregular lightness variations can now be objectively measured with BYK-Gardner’s newest innovation: the cloud-runnersimulates visual evaluation under different observing angles and characterizes clouds / mottles by their size and visibility.

Features

Small to large mottles are measured under three observing angles
Scan length can be varied from 10 to 100 cm
Objective measurement results independent of color and curvature
Small and light weight - easy to handle
For flat and curved areas, radius > 50 cm
Easy, menu guided operation via scroll wheel and large, multilingual display
Full statistics with ability to save in selectable memories
Large memory for 1000 readings
USB port for data transfer to PC
smart-chart software:
- Organizer files for sample id
- Data management with SQL Database
- Standard QC Report

Mottling

Mottling is an undesirable defect which can occur with effect coatings - it is most obvious on light metallic finishes. The total color impression shows irregular areas of lightness variations. These “patches” are usually visually evaluated, described as a mottling effect. Some also feel that it reminds them of clouds. This effect is especially noticeable on large body panels. It can be caused by the coating formulation, as well as variations in the application process. For example, disorientation of the metallic flakes or film thickness variations of the basecoat can lead to various mottle sizes resulting in a non-uniform appearance.

The visual perception of mottling is dependent on the viewing distance: Large mottles can be seen in far distance evaluation, while small mottles are more noticeable in close up evaluation. The visual evaluation of mottling is very subjective, as it depends on the illumination conditions, the observing distance and the viewing angle.

Simulation of visual perception

In order to objectively evaluate mottling, it is necessary to measure lightness variations over a large sample area and under different detection angles. The cloud-runner optically scans the surface and measures the lightness variations.

The specimen is illuminated with a white light LED at a15° angle and the lightness is detected under three viewing angles to simulate visual evaluation under different observing conditions: 15°, 45° and 60° measured from the specular reflection.
The mottling meter is rolled across the surface for a defined distance of 10 to 100 cm and measures the lightness variations point by point.

The measurement signal is divided via mathematical filter functions into 6 different size ranges and a rating value is calculated for each angle and mottle size. The higher the v value is, the more visible the mottling effect. The measured values are displayed in a graph showing the mottle size on the X-axis and the rating value on the Y-axis. Thus, target values for small and large mottle sizes can be established for paint batch approval as well as process control.

Comes complete with:

cloud-runner
Checking tile (6353)
Docking station with USB-cable (6351)
smart-process software with 2 licenses for download (4831)
2 rechargeable battery packs (6349)
Certificate
Manual
Carrying case
1-day training

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