Hi, I'm a co-op student working at Leitch Technology in Toronto, Canada. My supervisor has assigned me the task of developing and conducting a study to analyze the effects of different variables in the handling process we have for paste here. Variables like exposure to air, amount of stirring etc. We have a Malcolm PM-2A handheld viscometer to use, but have a lot of questions. =) I've performed a calibration, and done some preliminary trials just to get a feel for the instrumentation, and of handling paste. Issues: 1) Calibration seemed to proceed according to the manual just fine, however, when I finished, and turned the power on, the unit still does not zero properly and moves up to 4.7 (Pa.s). Is this non-zero value acceptable? or should I try and re-calibrate? 2) When I try testing the paste, after starting up the unit, it draws paste up the screws, however the surrounding paste (I assume due to the high viscosity) does not flow into the void space, and after some time, the head ends up rotating in the little hole it dug up, without picking up any more paste. To fix this I've tried oscilating the vial I use to hold the paste to fill in the void, or try pushing surrounding sample into the hole. As I do this, the viscosity reading seems to be constantly changing and I'm not sure at what point should I take a reading. 3) Sometimes it seems like I'm required to lower the unit deeper into the paste to ensure that it is drawing paste into the flutes. Can anyone explain why the lip of the opening has to stay above the paste, or what it is exactly that I should watch out for that would affect the readings. 4) Currently I'm using 60ml glass sample jars (and filling maybe half of it with paste). I find this very difficult to get paste into the container. My engineering in training mind has thought of using a conical shaped container (like a funnel? with a plug in the bottom) to make it easier to handle. My supervisor was wondering if this was unheard of, or if it was widely practiced? Thats it for now, any help would be greatly appreciated. Toby Chang --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------