Humidity measurements in multi-component plastic moulding.

Injection moulding companies are utilising more accurate humidity sensors to meet customers’ increasing demands for greater precision, consistency and sustainability.

Camteam Oy, based in southwest Finland, designs and produces high quality plastic products and moulds, serving a range of industry and consumer needs around the globe. As one of the Nordic region’s leading multi-component plastic moulding companies, Camteam attributes much of its success to listening closely to customers. This allows the company to consistently meet evolving market requirements through precise selection of the right materials and processes.

As the pace of innovation in the plastic moulding sector continues to increase, Camteam knows that meeting their customers’ needs is more challenging than ever. For example, a growing number of polymer combinations are being developed in response to customer demands for greater precision, consistency and sustainability. This increasingly calls for multi-component injection moulding (combining different types of plastic in one part) with each production batch requiring the same high-quality standards, with minimal variation.

Camteam’s experts know from experience that to get this right requires continuous and highly accurate measurement data. Hygroscopic materials require the right moisture level from the start; some materials as low as under 0.02% RH, and seasonal changes in humidity cannot be allowed to influence the moisture level of the moulded material. For example, polyamides and polycarbonate filled with glass fibers absorb moisture easily, and excessive moisture can break the molecular chains of the material.

Of course, product quality variations are not always visible, which means that careful testing of final products is also important. However, it is also necessary to carefully monitor moisture levels during the production process, through continuous measuring, monitoring, and analysis. This is especially significant in multicomponent moulding, where successful drying is very important in the optimisation of bonding with components. For example, some elastomers which normally do not need to be dried, have to be dried during certain property modifications.

One of the challenges is that not all of the drying equipment used by plastic moulding companies, including Camteam, is factory-fitted with proper moisture measurement technology. This means that it is each manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that they maintain the right level of dryness without using excess energy. In addition, even drying units that include integrated moisture measurement sensors regularly require manual checking and calibration.

In addition to increasing demand for higher quality, the plastics industry is also seeking to improve sustainability. For example, products are required to be longer-lasting, and electric vehicles need more plastic parts than fossil fuel vehicles to operate efficiently.

With many of Camteam’s customers ordering products that require more accurate production monitoring and control, injection moulding specialist Matti Majava was keen to investigate the best ways to optimise drying processes. “The way forward is to enhance the plastics injection process and by understanding more about material characteristics,” Majava explains. “On top of this, the move away from oil-based materials means that we need to expand our knowledge about new material bases and additives that have the right qualities.”

Matti already knew some of Vaisala’s technical experts, so he contacted them in 2022 to learn more about his best options regarding high-accuracy moisture measurements. As it happened, Vaisala was just then completing pre-launch testing of their Indigo80 portable moisture measuring instrument, and invited Camteam to play an important testing role in the final development stages.

Reporting on his experience with the new instrument, Majava says: “The Indigo80 is designed to check the dew point at different stages of the mould injection process, and we really liked how simple it was to use, and that it had all the features we need, including portability and easy handling during measurements.” 

In addition to spot-checks Majava also has a requirement to log data for a longer time. “We particularly appreciated the option to hang the Indigo80 near the drying machines and to leave it logging measurements, for review at a later time,” he explains.

Typically, Matti checks various process conditions with the Indigo80 on a daily basis, and this data is used to inform his decisions. For example, certain drying processes can be shut down sooner when – thanks to the Indigo80’s accuracy – optimal dryness has been reached, which saves both time and energy.

During this pre-launch evaluation, Majava suggested useful improvements to the product’s cable design as well as the possibility to save not only numerical data but also the device’s graphical visualisations. Expressing his pleasure with the successful partnership between Camteam and Vaisala, Majava says: “We were especially pleased that Vaisala encouraged our opinions and really took our input seriously. Consequently, we are very open to further co-operation and process development with Vaisala.”

In summary, market demand for higher quality and improved sustainability is driving the requirement for more knowledge about materials and their behaviour characteristics when selecting raw materials for different products and processes. This in turn increases the need for advanced moisture measurement technology such as that provided by the Vaisala Indigo80.

---

@VaisalaGroup @_Enviro_News #Camteam #Manufacturing

More news from the Red Planet!

NASA’s Perseverance rover has now spent its first months on the surface of Mars. The testing and deployment phase is proceeding well, and after the first technology demonstration with the Ingenuity helicopter, the rover is commencing the continuous scientific measurements. With the arrival of the humidity and pressure measurement instruments onboard Perseverance, the first meteorological network on another planet is being created.

This picture, taken by Perseverance’s navigational camera,
shows the MEDA HS humidity measurement instrument. 

The Perseverance rover landed successfully on Mars in February 2021 and will now explore an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater for at least the next Martian year, which is approximately two Earth years. After the landing, the rover stretched its robotic arms and has already delivered a good number of high-quality photos, videos, and audio samples back to Earth.

The rover’s Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instrumentation suite, developed by a Spanish-led research consortium, has also been deployed. MEDA is a weather station that has been developed specifically for the conditions on Mars. Instruments by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) and Vaisala are included in the MEDA suite to measure pressure and humidity conditions on Mars. The measurements and local wind data provided by the MEDA suite is also used by the Ingenuity Helicopter.

The measurement instruments need to be able to deliver reliable high-quality measurements even after the long space journey.

“Accurate and reliable science-based measurements are at the core of Mars research. That’s why it is great to receive verification that our sensors are working in the extreme conditions on Mars, even after the demanding space journey. Vaisala’s measurement technology is at its best in challenging measurement conditions,” says Liisa Åström, Vice President of Products and Systems at Vaisala.

“The equipment on Mars needs to work in all conditions and is tested accordingly. Manufacturing, testing, and finalizing the measurement instruments has been a major project lasting many years, so it feels great to see the instruments finally at work on Mars,” summarizes Maria Hieta, Research Engineer at FMI.

Hieta continues: “For instance, the humidity measurement instruments on Perseverance have gone through a tough selection process. FMI built 13 different instrument models around the humidity sensor, and these models were tested several times in harsh conditions such as very low temperatures. Additionally, the tests exposed them to vibration and shocks. The most reliable model was chosen as part of the MEDA equipment.”

First measurements reflect expectations
The MEDA equipment has now delivered the first round-the-clock measurement series on pressure and relative humidity to Earth. The measured values correspond to what was expected.

“The pressure levels and variation according to the time of day in the Jezero Crater reflect our models well. Relative humidity is practically zero (0% RH) during the day and rises during the night as the local temperature falls to nearly -80 °C. For comparison, 20 percent relative humidity is considered very low on Earth, and relative humidity near zero is hardly ever measured. The pressure data has also let us observe dust devils passing Perseverance, showing them as fast and sharp declines in the pressure signal,” explains Maria Genzer, Group Leader of Planetary Research and Space Technology at FMI.

Martian weather conditions and atmosphere interest Finnish researchers
The Perseverance rover has been designed to explore Mars’ conditions and geology as well as to search for signs of ancient life. Even though signs of life are fascinating, Finnish researchers are especially interested in the Martian atmosphere.

“Earth and Mars share a lot of similarities, which is why we find the study of Mars’ atmosphere so fascinating: it helps us to understand the behavior of Earth’s atmosphere. Additionally, dust storms on Mars can be harsh, so it is crucial to be able to predict the storms if we are to send manned space missions to Mars in the future. For this reason, Mars needs a weather station network,”Maria Genzer says.

Meteorological observation network based on Finnish expertise Perseverance and the Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012, provide measurements approximately 3,700 kilometers apart from each other. Both rovers carry similar Finnish pressure and humidity measurement instruments, which deliver data that is sent to Earth for analysis.

The data from the rovers, combined with observations from NASA’s InSight Lander on Mars, form the first three-point meteorological observation network on another planet. The network will enable even more accurate modeling of Mars’ atmosphere and its phenomena.

“In the future, we hope to get more measurement points on Mars. This is the ultimate goal for example in our MetNet program, in which we are developing small probes that will impact and penetrate Mars’ surface. These probes would then form a comprehensive meteorological observation network on the planet,” explains Maria Hieta.

The Mars 2020 mission is a part of NASA’s Mars exploration program. One of the main tasks of the Perseverance rover is to gather and store a series of rock and soil samples that can be brought back to Earth for analysis in the future. Finnish technology is scheduled to be launched to Mars again in 2022 aboard the ExoMars mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

* Read-out coverage on the Perseverance project & Mars Explanation. 

@VaisalaSuomi, @VaisalaGroup @NASAPersevere @_Enviro_News #Astronautics #Automation #Mars