Source of error Human influence
Currently, a wide variety of manual procedures are used to examine the components with regard to their "density" parameter. However, these methods have process-critical deficiencies that mean costs for the companies. On the one hand, manual measurements have the human factor as a possible source of error.
Especially when dealing with green parts, this results in problems with the reproducibility of the results. Another problem arises with laboratory tests in connection with the time factor. In many companies, long distances, a lack of skilled workers and busy laboratories lead to machine downtimes, which can result in immense costs due to the high energy consumption of running furnaces.
More process reliability
The desire to detect and counteract undesirable developments at an early stage of a production process means enabling the density of green parts to be determined. However, these are usually water-absorbent or have water-soluble binders, which is difficult or impossible to reproduce with repeat accuracy for the Archimedean measuring principle with conventional variants. An absorption of liquid always means a deviation from the real density value. In practice, a coating of wax is used to weigh a component in a defined time. This process requires appropriate qualification and experience on the part of the tester. Here, too, the factors of lack of skilled workers and human influence play a decisive role.
