

Easy contact angle measurement in manufacturing processes

The SITA SurfaSpector is used for quick and easy testing of the wettability of metal, glass and plastic surfaces, e.g. after surface pretreatment or cleaning.
The device combines an objective contact angle measurement with simple handling and allows a reliable assessment of the surface.
- | for mobile and flexible use without PC directly at the plant or in the process |
- | Easy and intuitive operation viar touchscreen |
- | Handy sensor head for measuring on various surfaces |
- | Automated measuring sequence with drop placement, drop detection and contact angle determination |
Characteristics
Quantity |
Contact angle in ° |
Fields of application |
Control of the surface activation, e.g. after a plasma treatment Testing the wettability Quality assurance after component cleaning |
Use | Control of the water contact angle on surfaces, e.g. plastics, metals, ceramics, glass, etc. |
Measurement | non-contact, non-destructive, non-toxic |
Measurement monitoring | SITA bead standards (standard delivery) |
Industry | Surface technology, automotive, mechanical engineering, medical technology, electrical engineering, aerospace ... |
Applications
• Quality assurance after parts cleaning • Wettability inspection • Testing of surface activation, e.g. after a plasma treatment |
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Product description
• Automated measuring procedure including drop placement, drop detection and direct determination of the contact angle
• Handy sensor head for measuring at various parts geometries
• Simple operation via touchscreen
• Mobile use without PC directly at the plant or in the process
• Limit value monitoring in measuring profiles usable for various applications
• Optional PC software SITA-SurfaceLog for advanced measurement data visualization and export
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Measuring principle
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The Contact angle θ (also called edge or wetting angle) is the angle that a drop of liquid forms when spreading on a solid surface. The size of the contact angle depends on the interactions between liquid and solid. |
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θ = 0° | complete wetting |
0° < θ < 90° | hydrophilic surface, wettable |
θ > 90° | hydrophobic to bis super-hydrophobic surface, barely wettable |
θ > 160° | super-hydrophobic surface ("lotus effect" when using water as test liquid) |
Contact angle measurement with the SITA SurfaSpector: A drop of water is precisely placed at the surface by an automatic dosing unit. The drop is illuminated from the side. A shadow of the drop is projected onto an inclined measuring surface. The projection is recorded from above by a high resolution camera and the picture is corrected for perspective. The drop shape is determined and the contact angle calculated. The lower the contact angle, the higher the wettability. |
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Technical data
Contact angle | |
Range | 5°…175° |
Resolution | 0.1° |
Liquid | pure water, refillable, 5 ml for 5,000 measurements |
Method | |
Optical determination of the contact angle of a lying drop | |
Drop volume | 1 μl |
Min. sample surface | 5 x 5 mm |
Operation | |
Main unit | 5“ TFT-display 800 x 480 pixel, capacitive touch, intuitive grafical user interface |
Sensor | measurement start button, LED for optical feedback |
Power supply / interfaces | |
Li-Ion battery |
2x 6,400 mAh, min. measurement time 6 hours |
Power plug | 12 V, 2.5 A (max. 17 V, 3 A) |
General data | |
USB | USB-C (data transfer, USB-C power delivery) |
Speicher | 10 GByte |
HxWxD / Weight | Main unit: 80 x 210 x 130 mm / 1,100 g |
Sensor: 117 x 50 x 82 mm /330 g | |
Accessories | |
Calibration standard, stand |
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