Gloss measurement tips
Tips include, when to use Gloss or Visual Gloss, sensor placement and calibration advice.
Measurement Advice
Make sure the instrument is placed flat on the surface.
Regularly calibrate the instrument, once per day is recommended.
For curved surfaces use the curved surface measurement adapter and interactive measurement feature.
Measurement Advice—Curved Surfaces
It is not advisable to measure curved surfaces with a radius of <0.5m with the standard gloss adaptor setup.
The instrument is supplied with a curved surface/small parts adaptor which reduces the measurement spot to 2x4 mm- this makes it suitable for curved surfaces.
Measurement Advice—Complex Parts
For complex shapes or small radius parts it is difficult to correctly position the instrument during measurement - for best results
Measure non-contact using measurement stand or cobot.
Use the live positioning feedback to ensure correct positioning.
For highly reproducible results create 3D printed jigs to position the part in the correct position.
Measurement Advice—Small Areas
It is possible to measure small areas using curved surface/small parts adaptor use the interactive measurement feature to correctly position the instrument before measuring.
Standard Gloss Disadvantages compared to Visual Gloss
Standard Gloss is does not match customer perception when comparing different coloured materials.
Gloss measurement alone does not detect surface effects that reduce the appearance quality of high gloss materials- such as Haze, Orange Peel and poor sharpness.
Measurement tip-When to measure with Standard Gloss
Standard gloss measurement is Important for quality control of materials with existing specifications, Aesthetix standard gloss measurements are fully compliant with ISO and ASTM international norms.
Backward compatibility with customers instruments- Aesthetix 60 degree gloss values are perfectly correlated to those supplied by Rhopoint IQ or NG glossmeters or BYK Micro Gloss instruments.
When a quantitative measurement of light reflection is required.
For Gloss measurements that better correlate with perception use VISUAL GLOSS.
For high gloss surfaces- Haze, Sharpness and Waviness are often superior predictors of surface quality than Gloss measurement.
Measurement tip-When Standard Gloss is important
Backwards compatibility with existing measurements : Standard gloss measurements are fully compliant with ISO and ASTM international norms.
Regulatory and Technical Specifications: Many industries have defined standards for gloss levels that need to be met. In such cases, using a glossmeter ensures compliance with these technical specifications.