Alfa Technology LLC3030 Gilchrist Rd, Akron, Ohio, United States
Since Sep, 2015
Who Is Alpha Technologies
Alpha Technologies is the world leader in the design, manufacture, service and support of precision rubber and polymer laboratory instrumentation and data acquisition / analysis software systems. Alpha Technologies has been in business since 1964 and became an independent company in 1995. Alpha Technologies is headquartered in Akron, Ohio and employs a customer-focused team of approximately 180 highly trained professionals around the world.
Multinational, ISO 9001-registered and ISO 17025-accredited, Alpha Technologies’ advanced-technology instruments measure the dynamic, physical and processability characteristics of rubber and polymers. Alpha’s line of testing instruments includes curemeters (process analyzers and rheometers), viscometers and universal testers. All products are backed by AlphaCare service and support products, including customer-site installation, warranty, breakdown response, telesupport, operator/maintenance training, applications and solutions consulting, and a calibration and preventive maintenance program.
ECLIPSE Technical Software, acquired in 1999 by Alpha Technologies, offers more than 25 years of experience in Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) automation for the rubber and polymer industries. ECLIPSE software can be installed standalone, LAN, or WAN based. ECLIPSE modular, upgradable software can perform data acquisition, analysis and custom reporting from virtually any instrument or production floor automation device, manage recipe and compound development, and provide mixer monitoring and control.
The ENTERPRISE Family of Software Products, our FLAGSHIP Product Line, offers top-of-the-line flexibility, performance and functionality as the ECLIPSE software product line.
Instruments
Alpha Technologies: Setting the Standard
For businesses that manufacture rubber, polymer or composite material products according to ISO or other stringent quality manufacturing standards, Alpha Technologies’ testing instruments are the logical choice.
All of our instruments are designed and manufactured to be capable of performing key tests as defined by ASTM and ISO standards developed over many years to ensure industry-wide uniformity for measurement equipment and procedures. Our state-of-the art instruments are used by international companies to help ensure compliance to both internal and external standards.
A Rubber Testing Instrument for Every Application and Test Type
Rheometers have undergone considerable evolution since they were first used over 50 years ago, and they continue to be a critical part of the rubber testing process in both polymer and composites manufacturing.
When accurate viscosity measurement is critical in both process and laboratory environments, Alpha Technologies’Mooney Viscometers are the ideal choice for measuring the change in a rubber and plastic viscosity over time.
Alpha Technologies offers Tensile Testers specifically designed to quickly and accurately determine how the material will react to the amount of force required to break it as well as the degree to which it extends before breaking.
Density and Hardness Testers are used to determine the hardness of rubber, elastomers and a variety of other polymers. Alpha offers a single sample or 20-sample automated tester for even more efficient testing.
Dispersion Testers are used to evaluate the distribution of carbon black added to the rubber during production process. Dispersion Testing systems from Alpha Technologies are developed based on the original Swedish optical process that measures the shadows created by fillers throughout the material.
Services
AlphaCare: Service when you need it, where you need it
Even the highest quality instruments on earth require regular maintenance and calibration. When you invest in a rubber testing instrument from Alpha Technologies, you gain the benefit of our global service capabilities.
Our vast network of seasoned, highly trained service and support technicians are strategically positioned around the world for convenient and expeditious service and calibration. Alpha Technologies' stellar performance wins over our customers, but it’s our cost-effective, outstanding AlphaCare service that keeps them.
We have designed a variety of world-class service and support products to meet your everyday operational requirements and budgetary constraints. Contact us today to discuss the plan that is right for you.
Instrument
- AlphaCare Advantage
- AlphaCare Select
- AlphaCare Simplicity
- AlphaCare Full Rate Service
- AlphaCare TeleSupport
Software
- AlphaCare – Basic
- AlphaCare – Day Time
- AlphaCare – Any Time
We want to be your service provider. Contact your Alpha Technologies local Customer Service Representative to request a quotation for a program designed to meet your specific needs.
Rheometry
Your Operation Has Evolved - Your Instruments Should Too
Modern process improvement practices have been adopted nearly universally among manufacturing industries, and the testing equipment that Alpha Technologies provides is vital aspect of those practices.
In the infancy of rubber testing, the best rheological testing instrument was the operator with thirty years of experience. With black nose, lips teeth and fingernails, his job was to pinch, bite and sniff the rubber and decide if it was ready to release into production.
Then, in 1968, Monsanto released the R100 curemeter as a better, healthier and more accurate alternative to the human rheological tester, and established the groundwork for which modern polymer and rubber testing equipment is based upon.
The R100 Series – The Birth of the Modern Curemeter
The Monsanto R100 curemeter made it possible for rubber manufacturers to improve the quality of their products and the profitability of their operation. By replacing the subjective operators who made judgments on the quality of the product based on their experience with an objective testing instrument, engineers gained valuable information as to how the rubber was actually curing in a controlled environment. This information, along with the assistance of our material testing experts, provided our customers with exponential process improvements and cost savings.
Although Alpha discontinued new sales of R100 instruments when the upgraded ODR 2000 series was introduced, there are thousands of R100s still in use worldwide, which speaks volumes about the enduring quality and capability of these instruments.
The Mooney Viscometer – The Standard for Viscosity Testing
The Mooney Viscometer measures the effect of time and temperature on the viscosity of rubber or other polymer compounds.
Alpha’s Mooney Viscometer was one of the early testing instruments used in rubber mixing, quality and testing. The Mooney is so ingrained in the rubber industry that it is the standard by which manufacturers compare all others.
Alpha Technologies’ current Mooney Viscometers, the MV2000 and TechPro visTech+, deliver trusted data to manufacturers of all shapes and sizes, from single plant locations to world class global manufacturers of products you use every day
The 2000 Series of Rheometers – Advancing Technology to Meet the Needs of Modern Manufacturing
The success of the R100 series drove our rheologists and engineers to develop more improved ways of simulating the manufacturing process and evaluating materials. After all, one cannot improve what one does not measure, and the Alpha team of material testing experts was determined to find new ways to not only test for the quality of materials as they came out of the mixer, but to also begin to predict how those materials will perform in the manufacturing process.
The ODR 2000 – The Next Generation Oscillating Disc Rheometer
The original R100 was revolutionary, but the ODR 2000 series oscillating disc rheometer capitalized upon newly available digital technology to vastly improve upon the reliability and reproducibility of the cure data.
- Digital temperature controllers are built into the control boards, allowing for greater control and accuracy of sample temperature.
- The use of a synchronous motor improves efficiency, repeatability and reproducibility.
- Easily removable dies reduce the time between tests to just 5 minutes.
The Moving Die Rheometer – The Next Significant Advancement in Curemeter Technology
The material testing experts at Alpha Technologies continually strive to improve the technology and techniques used in their instrument. Like the introduction of R100, the MDR 2000 shook the industry with its substantial advantages over previous techniques.
The Moving Die Rheometer improved upon the Oscillating Disc Rheometer technology in several significant ways:
- The dies are directly heated and enclose a thinner, smaller rubber mass than an ODR. This means significantly less thermal lag at the beginning of a test and a more accurate temperature reading.
- The test cavity is sealed to maintain contact with the cured specimen. This creates a test environment that more closely simulates the manufacturing process and provides more accurate, repeatable and reproducible data from instrument to instrument and from plant to plant.
- The lower MDR die oscillates, and torque is measured at the upper die. This separation of deformation and torque measurement allows separation of torque into viscous components. This gives you more information upon which to base your quality, R&D and production decisions and assures that you make better decisions about the characteristics of the formulation. This means fewer false positives and more confidence about the overall quality of the product.
Manufacturers who migrated to the MDR experienced greater testing efficiency and confidence in their data that they had not had before.
The PIONEER Moving Die Rheometer – Simplicity and Value
Pioneer MDR, a new moving die rheometer designed with simplicity and value in mind. Ideally suited to small and medium manufacturers in the general rubber goods sector, Pioneer MDR is backed by Alpha Technologies’ proven expertise and global service network.
Pioneer MDR – what is it?
- A new rheometer designed for mid-tier producers
- Compact size and small footprint
- Can be operated without a PC via built-in LCD touchscreen
- Limited Data Points
- Optional simple, easy to use PIONEER MDR software
- Optional PC
- Cost-effective cure tester for general rubber applications
- Optional pressure measurement
- No automation or queuing
- Good repeatability and reproducibility performance
Rubber Process Analyzer – Expanding the Capabilities of the Rheometer Instrumentation
As technologies have improved, materials testing has expanded beyond simple viscometers and curemeters that only measure some of the rheological properties needed to make improvements to your process. Rheological testing now includes a dynamic mechanical rheological tester called the Rubber Process Analyzer.
Alpha’s RPA 2000 series of rheometers have transformed the world of materials testing. In the past, multiple samples across multiple testing instruments were needed. Required testing involving the use of a capillary rheomoeter, Mooney viscometer, ODR/MDR, Tensile, Hardness, Density and Dispersion testers takes hours before results are ready to approve and release a single batch of rubber, or to evaluate the properties of experimental compounds. This not only cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in instruments, but it also took valuable hours of time.
The RPA 2000 and its production variant the PPA 2000 are dynamic mechanical rheological testers that can be used in the quality lab, R&D lab and on the production floor and provide processability, cure, and post cure information about your compounds. The RPA is not a direct replacement for all your instruments, but Alpha’s team of material testing experts can easily instruct you on how to obtain the same types of information as provided by all those other instruments.
The Rubber Process Analyzer is the current benchmark for rheological testing equipment in the industry. Global, world-class organizations have adopted RPA technology to assure that their products are of the highest quality, consistency and profitability worldwide.
Company Name | Alfa Technology LLC |
Business Category | |
Address | 3030 Gilchrist Rd Akron Ohio United States |
President | NA |
Year Established | NA |
Employees | NA |
Memberships | NA |
Hours of Operation | NA |
- Rheometry