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Dow Coating Materials launched eXposure Vision™ Viewer, an online system that allows paint manufacturers and formulators to view high-resolution images of exterior paint performance test panels from different locations around the world.
The online component builds on the company’s patented eXposure Vision digital imaging and analysis system, which uses an automated, six-camera system and software to measure and rate important exterior paint performance characteristics from flakes and cracks to tint retention and yellowing, the company says.
Trained experts also conduct panel readings, Dow says. The system helps the company to serve a variety of climates, weather patterns, and pollutant levels.
Updated images are posted online bi-monthly and archived, the company says. Users can track imaging of test panels under evaluation at Spring House, Pa., Dow’s largest exposure station. Other test panel images are posted from Glen St. Mary, Fla., and Geelong, Australia.
“Exterior paint prototypes are developed in the lab, but they are proven on the test fence where they are directly exposed to the great outdoors,” said John Calderaio, Dow Exposure Station manager. “It’s Mother Nature’s ultimate litmus test—there is no substitute.”
“eXposure Vision is a very valuable complement to human evaluation and it allows us to rate panels more frequently and more objectively,” Calderaio said. “Additional images and data are particularly helpful to our customers during the early stages of product development. It allows for more efficient screening and puts the most promising formulations on a faster track to market.”
Manufacturers can also use the viewer to monitor the performance of new Dow products, the company says.
“Plans are under way to expand this capability, with the ultimate goal of including all key exposure testing sites in our global network,” Calderaio said.
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