Mechanical stresses such as friction, scratching or corrosion all produce coating wear which can lead to color/gloss changes, corrosion or coating weight changes.
The ATS uses either a rotary ( Taber ) or a linear wear system (Crockmeter).
Coatings on substrates are damaged by abrasion during manufacturing and use. The Taber method can be used to evaluate the abrasion resistance of coatings because the ratings produced by this test method seem to correlate well with actual lifetime performance. The coated surface is abraded using rotational friction under controlled pressure and abrasive action conditions. The specimen mounted on the turntable platform rotates on a vertical axis, resisting the sliding rotation of the two grinding wheels. Abrasion resistance is calculated as weight loss at a specified number of abrasion cycles, weight loss per cycle, or the number of cycles required to remove a unit amount of coating thickness.
In addition to standard wear test methods, ATS develops custom test plans and methods.
