Hot melt adhesives are used for many applications in manufacturing. Whether you are using them to close corrugated fiberboard boxes, assemble parts, adhere toys, construct disposable diapers, affix parts and wires for electronic devices, coat label stock material or some other use, the amount and thickness of your hot melt adhesive can be critical to the finished product since hot melt thickness doesn’t change during solidifying like solvent-based adhesives.

Moisture regluation and thickness measurement become key components manufacturers look to control; MoistTech offers the most proven solution with their NIR technology IR3000 sensor. 

Gain Control of Your Hot Melt Adhesive with the Ultimate Sensor

For the last 40 years, MoistTech has been working with sensors in some of the harshest environments. We have been measuring and recording our own research data in dozens of industries over thousands of components in order to create the best measuring sensor available. As a result of this, we have developed the IR-3000 near infrared (NIR) sensor.

There are many locations throughout manufacturing that our sensor can be used. These locations are often determined by the space availability and accessibility on the machinery as well as manufacturer’s control plan. After installation of the IR-3000, a manufacturer can continuously monitor the process and control the thickness and moisture content either manually or automatically from readings of the IR-3000 online sensor.

MoistTech’s Solution

MoistTech has been studying moisture and its application in a wide range of manufacturing processes for over forty years. Since the beginning, our goal has been to develop the latest in moisture testing technology, while making sure our instruments possess the capabilities you need. Our industry partners are constantly telling us what they need from their sensors; and it’s their feedback—along with our decades of research and experience—that has gone into the MoistTech IR-3000, a moisture sensor ideally suited to test hot melts.

The IR-3000 takes instant, non-contact readings of moisture (in % dry and % wet), allowing you to adjust moisture levels in your product either automatically or manually.  Other levels such as chemical composition, water based coatings, and temperature are also tested with accuracy. The production environment is removed from the measurement calculations by the software so things like small gaps, inert material, foreign objects, or conveyor belts and screws can be programmed to not interfere with the measurements being taken.

Typical moisture accuracy is about ±0.05%, coating thickness accuracy varies from 0.1 to 0.01 micron depending on coating type. Typical analog range is 0-10% moisture and up to as much as 40%, subject to application.

Benefits of Hot Melt Moisture Detection

When you use the IR-3000, the quality of your hot melts increases while production costs decrease. Both start-up and down times are reduced and product waste due to incorrect moisture levels is eliminated.

Check out our other converting moisture applications to learn more.