Accreditation

Accredited Thermoplastics Testing Center

On October 11, 2001 the Thermoplastics Testing Center was accredited by the "German Accreditation System for Testing Technology"/Bin Berlin to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 after one year of preparation.

The accreditation covers tests on plastics and is regularly supplemented with new methods. This is the first accreditation in Germany to include compounding of thermoplastics and injection molding of test specimens.

Basis for accreditation

Accreditation means the certification of a laboratory’s expertise. DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:

“The acceptance of testing or calibration results in different countries should be made easier if laboratories conform to this international standard and are accredited by bodies that have signed mutual recognition agreements with equivalent bodies in other countries ...”

Accreditation calls for binding organisational and technical rules

“The laboratory must be a unit that can be held legally responsible.”

In its Quality Management Handbook, the Thermoplastics Testing Center sets out the details of all personal and professional responsibilities and duties within the institution.

  • All testing personnel, who are named, must submit documentary evidence of their qualifications and participate regularly in further training programmes.
  • Staff and management must sign an impartiality agreement in order to guarantee the neutrality and objectivity of our test results.
  • All staff must maintain confidentiality when dealing with customer projects.
  • Compliance with testing standards is monitored by a Quality Officer, who reports directly to Central Quality Management, for example by means of internal audits.
  • Complaints are processed according to a defined procedure. Any damages resulting from faulty testing are covered by liability insurance.

 

Within the organisational framework, the Quality Management Handbook defines the performance and monitoring of each individual testing method in the form of procedural instructions. Data variances must be cited and measured values traceable to calibration scales.

Uniform test quality – monitored worldwide with TRoPhy

TRoPhy is a database for round robin tests that are carried out to monitor the comparability and reproducibility of testing laboratories worldwide. This database is made available by Central Quality Management. The test results are imported by the various local testing laboratories and represented according to the generally accepted rules of statistics and measuring system analysis. All testing laboratories with access to the database are thus kept permanently informed about the level of quality attained. In this connection, the Thermoplastics Testing Center acts as the global Masterlab.

How does the accreditation benefit the Thermoplastics Testing Center?

Comparable and legally valid test results

The CAMPUS® database allows the test properties of a wide range of plastics to be compared across different companies and countries. It contains properties that have been measured in accordance with international standards. The authenticity of these test results is underlined by our accreditation. In the event of disputes, the test data from an accredited test laboratory constitutes a legally valid record.

Stronger market position

An accreditation is proof of competence in the testing technology sector. It enhances a company’s reputation.

Continuous quality improvement

The implementation of an active quality management system leads to a continuous improvement in the quality of test results while helping to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction. These parameters are analysed in an annual management review of department targets, which provides a starting point for the introduction of further improvement measures.

Our accredited mechanical, physical, rheological and thermomechanical test methods for thermoplastics comprise:

  • Production and measurement of shrinkage sheets according to ISO 294-4 and in-house standard
  • Bending test according to DIN EN ISO 178, ASTM D790 and in-house standard
  • Tensile test according to DIN EN ISO 527, ASTM D638 and in-house standard
  • Penetration test according to DIN EN ISO 6603-2 and in-house standard
  • Ball pressure test according to DIN EN ISO 2039-1 and in-house standard
  • Charpy impact test according to DIN EN ISO 179 and in-house standard
  • Izod impact test according to DIN EN ISO 180, ASTM D256 and in-house standard
  • Melt mass flow rate (MFR) and melt volume flow rate (MVR) according to DIN EN ISO 1133 and in-house standard
  • Melt mass flow rate (MFR) and melt volume flow rate (MVR) according to ASTM D1238 and in-house standard
  • Intrinsic melt volume flow rate (IMVR) according to in-house standard
  • Flow properties of polymers according to ISO 11443, DIN 54811 and in-house standard
  • Vicat softening temperature according to DIN EN ISO 306, ASTM D1525 and in-house standard
  • Heat distortion temperature (HDT) according to DIN EN ISO 75, ASTM D648 and in-house standard
  • Torsion pendulum test according to DIN EN ISO 6721- 2 and in-house standard
  • Torsional vibration – non-resonance test according to DIN EN ISO 6721-7 and in-house standard
  • Determination of the coefficient of thermal linear expansion according to DIN 53752 and in-house standard
  • Tear propagation test according to DIN 53363, DIN EN ISO  34-1 and in-house standard
  • Separation test according to DIN 53357, DIN 53530 and in-house standard
  • Determination of density according to DIN 53479, DIN EN ISO 1183 and in-house standard
  • Artificial light aging/weathering according to ASTM G26 modified and in-house standard

 

Other accredited tests to determine the physical-technological properties of compounded and injection-molded plastics

  • Drying of thermoplastics according to in-house standard
  • Injection molding of test specimens according to ISO 294 and in-house standard
  • Continuous compounding and extrusion according to in-house standard

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