We have comprehensive laboratory facilities that enable us to carry out a full range of tests, not only on all shapes and sizes of preforms and containers (including jars, handled containers and beer kegs), but also on caps, closures and separate handles, plus all the materials they are made from.
As well as sophisticated instruments calibrated by the most famous firms, Sipa is able to perform customised test-batches tailored on specific customer's needs: the uniqueness of certain containers means that it is also necessary to be flexible when creating ad hoc instruments to test their characteristics.
Tests on preforms and containers include numerous measurements for dimensional accuracy, mechanical, physical and chemical tests, several functional tests of which hot-fill distortion , stress cracking resistance, drop and leakage tests, as well as a host of other more specific ones . As far as materials characterisation is concerned, SIPA Lab has competence not only in PET, but also polyolefins (PP, HDPE), polystyrene and biopolymers.
SIPA Lab is able to characterise existing containers and develop new barrier packaging using oxygen scavengers, or special coatings. It uses a variety of tools to determine the mechanical and physical characteristics of coatings, including various devices to test for hardness, adhesion, abrasion resistance, and so on.
We can determine the loss of carbon dioxide and, in the case of products susceptible to oxidation, oxygen uptake, using various techniques, depending on the protocols of various clients, and determine the shelf-life of final packaging.
For CSD application, the Lab is equipped with a small filling line to pressurise the bottles and replicate industrial processes. Valid tests also to simulate nitrogen dosing, hot/warm filling or pasteurisation of containers.
If you need any explanations or a feasibility study, please contact us, we will be glad to provide an evaluation.
Analysis from pellet to container, to guarantee a complete vision on:
Analysis is performed on: