Austest Laboratories UV testing of plastics and components

Austest Laboratories now offers UV testing of components and plastics for light-fastness, colour-fastness and photostability in a chamber reproducing the entire spectrum of sunlight, including ultraviolet (UV), visible light and infrared (IR) from 295 to 800 nm. The chamber includes moisture through water spray, humidity and temperature conditioning for accelerated life testing of plastics and components.

The UV tester is a key research and development and quality control tool for testing materials that are exposed to direct sunlight, sunlight through window glass or even harsh indoor lighting from fluorescent or halogen lamps. In a few days or weeks, it can reproduce the damage caused by full-spectrum sunlight and rain that occurs over months or years in the field.

The UV tester augments the company’s existing environmental facilities covering salt spray/mist, temperature and humidity cycling from -40 to 150°C and vibration. The chamber is fully calibrated and meets the requirements of ISO 4892-2 (along with numerous ASTM standards) and Annex AA of AS/IEC 60335-2-109 for UV radiation conditioning.