Additional Materials

Thorough & Quality Testing

Our expert testing services extend beyond standard material samples like metals, powders, and ceramics. When you need your composites, alloys or chemicals analyzed, we’ve got you covered. Our accredited lab provides thorough, quality chemical and physical testing and analysis for a wide range of additional solids and liquids. Learn more about our additional materials testing below.

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Additional Materials

Adhesives
Organic Polymers
Chemicals
Composites
Paints & Coatings
RoHS Testing

Adhesives

NSL Analytical is proud to offer Adhesive Testing Services in our analytical laboratory. Please contact us to learn more about the services we offer, or to discuss your project needs. We will be happy to serve you.

Adhesive Applications

Recently, more and more manufacturers have learned of the superiority of structural adhesives to conventional joining techniques. As a result, the amount of structural adhesive applications has grown. Today, adhesives bond materials across every industry, including:

  • Automotive
  • Aerospace
  • Electronics
  • Medical
  • Athletics
  • Construction.

Polymer Adhesive Testing

Most structural adhesives today are based on polymers, long chainlike molecules in which the links are smaller molecules called “mers,” and the backbones are carbon atoms. These polymers become adhesives when combined with various additives that improve their ability to adhere to different surfaces. We test these adhesives in our polymer testing lab, including thermosets and thermoplastics. Thermosets are polymer resins that are cured, set, and hardened into a permanent shape. Thermoplastics are polymers that soften when heated and harden when cooled.

Organic Polymers

Rely on NSL Analytical’s team of experienced specialists for organic polymers testing for mechanical properties and capabilities to analyze failed parts.

Organic Polymers Testing

Polymers are high-molecular-weight organic compounds formed by long chains of simple molecules called monomers on a backbone of carbon atoms. Polymers are classified as thermosets or thermoplastics. Thermosets are polymer resins that form permanent shapes when heated because chemical crosslinks form between chains. Thermoplastics, on the other hand, can be repeatedly shaped and melted, as no chemical crosslinking takes place.

Polymer Testing Expertise

NSL Analytical’s experienced team of polymer specialists knows that the typical polymer part is much more complex than a simple thermoset or thermoplastic. Virtually every polymer product also contains fillers, binders, plasticizers, fire retardants, and other additives, and is also very likely to be alloyed with other polymers. In many cases, polymers serve as the matrix material for composites, and may be reinforced with fibers of carbon, glass, or metal – or with particles of ceramic, metal, carbon, or other materials.

These specialties use a variety of sensitive analytical instruments and techniques to determine physical and chemical characteristics of materials, including the detection of restricted chemicals such as phthalate plasticizers and brominated fire retardants (PBB and PBDE.) They test for mechanical properties such as strength and stiffness, and for physical characteristics such as melting point and crystallization temperature. They can also provide elemental analyses to determine that the polymers do not contain mercury, nickel, lead, or other restricted elements.

The depth of the team’s experience also enables them to analyze failed parts to find the root cause of failure; and to reverse-engineer products to determine not only the constituent materials, but also how parts were fabricated.

Alloys

NSL Analytical provides comprehensive testing and identification of alloys and their chemical properties. Our certified team of specialists perform an array of metallurgical testing and analysis with reliable results for your material.

Identifying Alloys

Our alloy testing process identifies the chemical composition of a wide range of materials. The NSL team can determine the makeup of many types of metals for use in aerospace, manufacturing, power generation, automotive and more, such as:

  • Carbon steel
  • Nickel alloys
  • Cobalt alloys
  • Aluminum alloys
  • Magnesium alloys
  • Copper alloys
  • Titanium alloys
  • Zinc alloys
  • Superalloys
  • Stainless steel
  • Cast iron
  • And more

Alloys Testing and Analysis

We perform through testing and analysis on each alloy and deliver repeatable, reliable results with fast turnarounds. Our alloy testing services include:

  • Wet chemistry
  • LECO
  • ICP
  • Trace Element & Low Level Analysis
  • Positive Material Identification (PMI)
  • And more

Chemicals

Accurate chemicals testing is crucial for safety, regulatory compliance, and identifying the proper makeup for use in a number of products and industries. The accredited laboratory at NSL Analytical has a wide range of testing services for any type of chemical used in industrial applications, manufacturing or consumer goods. With a focus on safety and providing accurate, redundant results, our experts provide the most thorough analysis for your chemical product needs. 

Chemicals Analysis

From chemical trace analysis to elemental analysis and contamination detection, our experienced team at NSL utilizes advanced techniques and state-of-the-art equipment to perform complex testing on any chemical.  

NSL scientists apply the most up-to-date methods to determine chemical quality and composition. We provide residue testing, organic and inorganic analyses, materials testing and more to ensure your products are safe, meet regulatory compliances and the highest quality standards.

Our full range of testing services is designed to provide our customers with the answers and information they need for a competitive advantage in any industry. 

Composites

Composites serve an important function as versatile material solutions for a number of industries. As such, there are many possible materials present in their properties, which must be thoroughly tested to determine their use for a specific application. 

Our team of expert scientists execute a number of testing methods to determine the strength, corrosion resistance, impact capabilities and more for your operation. NSL’s analyses deliver repeatable, reliable results for a wide range of composite materials to be used in virtually every industry. 

Composite Testing

Because of the presence of different materials and laminates that are part of a composite part’s makeup, several types of metallurgical tests may be applied for redundancy. This comprehensive testing will also accurately determine the performance, safety and material data for composites, and may include:

  • Compression testing
  • Tensile testing
  • Compression after impact testing
  • Material verification and certification
  • Shear testing
  • Fatigue testing

Along with NSL’s roster of complete testing services, our team of experts can determine the properties and characteristics of your composites for safe, compliant use in a wide variety of applications.

Paints & Coatings

The experienced team at NSL Analytical provides precise, redundant testing for paint and coatings used for many industries such as automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and more. We deliver reliable results with the highest quality and fast turnaround times. 

Our materials testing and analysis ensures that your paint and coating products are able to withstand the conditions they’re to be exposed to, while meeting all industry and regulatory requirements.

Complete Paint and Coatings Testing

We perform a variety of chemical tests on the properties of paint and coatings to understand how it reacts with a specific surface and under a multitude of conditions. 

Our customers rely on our expertise to evaluate their paint and coatings for quality assurance and to encourage long-lasting, safe products. Depending on the material, application and industry, our range of testing and analysis for paint and coatings may include:

  • Durability testing
  • Corrosion resistance
  • Chemical composition
  • Mechanical strength
  • Colorimetry
  • Microscopy and opacity
  • Viscosity and permeability
  • Non-destructive tests for thickness

Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul

MRO includes a diverse range of materials and processes from brazing and welding to repair parts to ceramic thermal spray to repair coatings.  It also is beginning to include more advanced additive manufacturing processes including laser blown powder directed energy deposition as well as just in time spares made using advanced wire fed DED and laser powder bed fusion.

The MRO industry is critical to the commercial and defense supply chains as they maintain and sustain aircraft, engines, power plants, ships, and other critical infrastructure.

NSL services support MRO focused organizations through process verification and validation, materials chemistry testing to specification, metallography, and failure analysis when needed.

Accreditations & Approvals for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO)

RoHS Testing

The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) originated as an EU directive restricting the use of heavy metals and flame retardants in electronics. In the US, California has similar regulations that correlate to RoHS requirements.

Keeping Our Customers Compliant

NSL Analytical testing experts provide accurate and timely results to keep our customers compliant with RoHS requirements. Our scientists continue to advance the science of low detection limits to meet the needs of advanced product development to keep the general public safe.

Restricted Materials NSL Analytical Tests

  • Lead (Pb)
  • Mercury (Hg)
  • Cadmium (Cd)
  • Hexavalent chromium (CrVI)
  • Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB)
  • Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)

 

Accreditations & Approvals for RoHS Testing