The Vantage Compression/Softness Tester is a compact, PC-controlled instrument that provides an objective measure of material softness by evaluating sample loft, thickness, compressibility and structural softness of sheet materials including paper tissue, toweling, non-wovens and textiles.
Utilizing cutting-edge technology, all electronics and controls are fully integrated into the test frame enabling the connection to a standard PC with a serial port. No external control boxes or additional PC interface cards are required.
Other benefits include a movable test-control keypad, one-touch auto zero and a softwarebased automatic calibration system.
For the highest level of accuracy, the Vantage Compression/Softness Tester compresses test plates to a user-defined force value with no sample installed resulting in a curve (A) that represents the deflection of the machine, load cell and fixture. This curve is subtracted from the test curves which removes all instrument deflection which could affect test results.
During a test, thickness values are captured until the maximum load is reached. Thickness values are captured in both the compression (B) and recovery phase (C) resulting in two unique curves. The distance between the two curves represents energy lost and is a function of several properties including loft, thickness, compression/recovery, and structural softness.
MAP-3 materials testing software enables the user to quickly set-up and modify test parameters including dwell time, compression force, speed, trap force points and length of test.
MAP-3 also provides advanced capabilities for database management and reporting and will automatically write result data to Access™ and Excel™.
Extremely robust, the adjustable anvil is mounted securely tothe test frame. A pressure foot is also supplied which, inconjunction with a gage block, enables parallel adjustment ofthe anvil to 1 micron (0.00004inch / 0.001 mm).
