Blog
Brighton Science Blog
Topic: Surface Science
How to Conceptualize and Design Products Using New Materials and Substrates with Confidence
Materials as technology is one of the most important fields in developmental science. As new materials are created and perfected, they proliferate and quickly spread to manufacturing centers around the world, spurring innovative product design. Rapid development of ceramic, sustainable materials,...
Read
Topics:
Posts by Topic
How to Use Surface Intelligence Data to Build Smart Prototypes and Rapidly Pilot Manufacturing Lines
Since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing has been evolving, periodically marked by significant, fundamental changes such as the introduction of mechanization, mass production through assembly lines, and computerization. Today, we are witnessing what experts are calling Industry 4.0 – a period...
Read
Topics:
How to Get Help Finding the Root Cause of Adhesion Failure in Manufacturing
Adhesion, coating and bonding problems have a tendency to be persistent and resilient, causing frustration and can lead to costly rework, recalls, scrap, production delays and reputation loss, at worst. These problems often require more than manufacturers are currently equipped to handle on their...
Read
Topics:
BTG Labs evolves capabilities, leadership and name to become Brighton Science—bringing unmatched expertise to the emerging field of Surface Intelligence.
BTG Labs, a company that has spent the past 20 years solving critical adhesion issues and developing the world’s first surface inspection technology for leading manufacturers, has evolved its capabilities, leadership and name to become Brighton Science.
Read
Topics:
Using an XPS to Understand Surfaces Critical to Adhesion
In today’s blog post we’ll be highlighting our lab’s capabilities. With the help of Rose Roberts, Ph.D., Senior Custom Applications and Materials Engineer, we’ll complete an overview of our x-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), one of our more complex tools, and how we use it to research the...
Read
Topics:
Data-informed Use of Contact Angle Measurements Minimize the Risk of Making the Wrong Decision about Product Quality
Deciding whether to reject a part or not based on a quality measurement always carries with it a finite risk: you could unknowingly decide that a perfectly good part is actually bad (a Type 1 error), or you might incorrectly conclude that a bad part is actually good (a Type 2 error). There is a...
Read
Topics:
Eliminate Surface Engineering Challenges & Design with Freedom
Oftentimes, to boost innovation and improve processes, you have to think outside the common practice. You have to take the restraints off of creativity. Freedom to design and build to the limits of our imaginations is at the core of what makes us human. In manufacturing, this kind of creative...
Read
Topics:
Quantifying the Effectiveness of High Volume Metal Cleaning in Fresh and Aged Baths
In today’s video we will show you how to quantify the surface quality of metals when using fresh and aged baths. We will demonstrate how Water Contact Angle (WCA) measurements can provide feedback in less than two seconds on the effectiveness of your cleaning process and will enable you to improve...
Read
Topics:
Why You Should Use Predictive Data in Building Material Manufacturing
Construction companies and the manufacturers who build the parts and materials that create buildings are relying on adhesives more than ever. When it comes to modern flooring, roofing, siding, windows and wall construction, to make sure the outside stays out and the inside stays warm/cool/dry,...
Read
Topics:
Reduce Field Repairs Through Zero Defect Manufacturing
Quality control isn’t about preventing just the most egregious failure possibilities. It’s about setting high standards so that products are reliable for years. Control of quality standards for adhesive bonding of dissimilar materials plays a massive role in not only ensuring recalls and warranty...
Read
Topics:
How to Reduce Medical Device Surface Testing Time and Subjectivity
Time is always of the essence for medical device manufacturers. When a medical breakthrough needs to make it to market there is no time to waste. There is also no margin for error. Medical device manufacturers are always working with doctors and scientists to experiment with profound new...
Read
Topics:
COVID-19 Makes Remote Quality Monitoring Crucial for Manufacturers
Since COVID-19 has reshaped the economic landscape for the foreseeable future and there are many questions about how to safely and effectively respond to it, now is a good time for manufacturers to consider how to make the best of our “new normal” if they haven’t already done so in earnest. In...
Read
Topics:
The Dangers of Missing Vital Surface Quality Information in Production
A major problem for manufacturers is a problem of sensitivity. There is a rampant lack of sensitivity to material surfaces for companies across every manufacturing industry. Granted, it’s not easy to test surface quality to predict the outcomes of common manufacturing processes like adhesive...
Read
Topics:
Proposed ASTM Standard Will Ease the Pain of Manufacturers
An exciting development is taking place to make surface quality and cleanliness inspection technology more available to all manufacturers. We have collaborated with ASTM International and other stakeholders to craft a revision to a practice to establish a standard use of handheld goniometers in...
Read
Topics:
Study Proves the Surface Analyst is Dependable for Process Control
One of our favorite services we provide to manufacturers is to help optimize surface preparation techniques for their particular materials and products. It’s our specialty and one of our biggest passions. We feel so strongly about it because we know that if you, as a manufacturer, are able to...
Read
Topics:
Covid-19: Biological vs. Chemical Contamination in Manufacturing
Lately, the whole world has seen variations of the same conversation. Whether the discussion centers on N95 masks, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, or what movies to watch while maintaining a safe social distance, the underlying concern is about cleanliness. At Brighton Science we...
Read
Topics:
4 Things You Should Know About Monitoring Surface Quality Remotely
The way we work, live, and fundamentally interact with each other inevitably changes over time; sometimes those changes come much more rapidly than we anticipate or hope to see. Even at the best of times, though, preparation and efficiency can be invaluable principles to suffuse workflows and...
Read
Topics:
New Solutions to Address Adhesion Failures in Manufacturing
In order to create predictable adhesion outcomes in manufacturing, precision is key. When thinking about the success of a bonding, printing, coating, sealing, painting or cleaning application, manufacturers need a new perspective. Manufacturers need an approach that considers the entire adhesion...
Read
Topics:
What are the Primary Causes of Chronic Adhesion Failures?
Adhesion problems have a tendency to show up in a manufacturing process and then overstay their welcome. The chronic nature of so many adhesion issues is due to factors that many manufacturing companies are oblivious to. That’s not to fault the manufacturers. Until recently, there hasn’t been a...
Read
Topics:
How to Minimize Production Scrap from Adhesion Failures
In manufacturing it is extremely difficult to eliminate all inefficiencies and production deficits. Setbacks that come in the form of scrap rates and rework resulting from product failures before shipping out or recalls and returns after products have gone to market, are par for the course--but...
Read
Topics:
How Surface Quality Devices Can Validate Adhesion Specs
Regulatory specifications in manufacturing exist to ensure that the highest quality, safest and most useful products are created. These are devised internally through research and development testing to meet customer demands and through external regulatory bodies to protect consumers and public...
Read
Topics:
How to Transfer a Lab Surface Treatment Process to Production
Production processes don’t just materialize, fully-formed on the manufacturing floor. Procedures and operations go through a full research and development cycle which can take years before they are integrated into the production line. This pre-production work includes strength, reliability, and...
Read
Topics:
Can a Surface Science Lab Ensure Adhesion in Manufacturing?
Manufacturers utilize research and design laboratories all the time. To scale new products up to the production line, years of toiling in testing labs is done to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch once production starts. There are some areas crucial to adhesion processes that these R&D...
Read
Topics:
Secrets to Predicting Adhesion Failures in Production
When adhesion failure becomes apparent in manufacturing processes it can seem to come out of nowhere. Very often, there is no problem until suddenly there is. It feels unpredictable, unavoidable and like the best solution is to either eat the loss it brings or just hope it goes away as quickly and...
Read
Topics:
Why a Surface Quality Inspection Process Ensures Adhesion
Manufacturing processes that involve bonding, coating, sealing, printing, painting, laminating or cleaning need a metric to measure the surface quality of the materials involved. Without such a metric it is impossible to predict whether the adhesion process will be successful or if it's on the path...
Read
Topics:
Corona Treatment Concerns You Need to be Taking a Closer Look At
Disclaimer: this article is NOT about COVID-19, it is about a surface treatment process for better adhesion in manufacturing. If you're looking for information about cleaning, here's an article that discusses the difference between biological cleanliness and chemical cleanliness: COVID-19:...
Read
Topics:
How To Keep Up With the Changing Landscape of Advanced Materials
There's a logical fallacy akin to a "what's good for one is good for all" mindset that is devastating when applied to surface treatment in adhesion processes. Polymers are rapidly being developed and synthesized for niche applications to push the limits of current physical properties of materials....
Read
Topics:
On the Surface: An Overview of Surface Types and Measurement Challenges in Manufacturing
Of all the challenges manufacturers face, creating and optimizing critical surface processes for various materials can be very difficult. Traits such as location, size, shape, and texture can add to the challenge. The success of any critical surface process requires an in-line, fast, easy, and...
Read
Topics:
Tales from Brighton Science's Materials & Processing Lab
In the Brighton Science Materials and Processing laboratory, magic happens. Or, at least it seems that way. In the lab, our specialists see the unseen. They use expertise, specialized tools and data to reveal the invisible. We’re talking about invisible surface chemistry, of course. “Usually, the...
Read
Topics:
A Beer with Brighton Science's Founder, Giles Dillingham
Image above: In 1987, Giles earned his Ph.D. and moved to Midland, Michigan to begin laboratory work at Dow Chemical.
Read
Topics:
Surface Energy Measurement on Food Packaging and Print
Food packaging and print industries often face the obstacle of adhering to low energy substrates such as polypropylene. Measuring the surface’s cleanliness prior to bonding or printing is the key to successful adhesion. The common method for measuring surface cleanliness, or surface energy on these...
Read
Topics:
Brighton Science's Exceptional Lab: Experts in Advanced Materials and Processes
Lab Capabilities The history of Brighton Science (formerly BTG Labs) is rooted in adhesion research. Originally a development lab, Brighton Science specialized in plasma polymerized coatings. The engineers worked with coatings containing corrosion resistant and anti-microbial properties. Brighton...
Read
Topics:
Infographic: The Surface Analyst vs. Water Break Tests and Dyne Ink
In manufacturing there exist critical surface preparation process requirements to ensure products are safe and reliable. There are some legacy tests to determine if these requirements are being met and that the cleaning has been sufficient to ensure strong adhesion for coating, bonding, sealing,...
Read
Topics:
Automotive Series: Surface Preparation of Composite Surfaces
Building a More Fuel-Efficient Automobile The pursuit to produce a more fuel-efficient automobile does not rely solely on the efficiency of the engine. A great amount of fuel efficiency gains are possible not because of improvements to engine design, but because of improvements in materials....
Read
Topics:
The Surface Analyst's™ Unique Method of Measuring Water Contact Angle
Fluid Deposition Style of Contact Angle Measurements Measuring the contact angle of a fluid on a surface provides an accurate reading of surface energy. However, methods of depositing the droplet and measuring the contact angle vary. With this sensitive process, every detail and particularity...
Read
Topics:
Contact Angle Measurements on Oxidized Polymer Surfaces Containing Water-Soluble Species
When Polymer Surfaces are Not Easily Accessible
Read
Topics: