Iranian Knowledge-Based Firm Produces Contact Angle Goniometer
A contact angle goniometer is an instrument that measures the contact angle of a droplet on a surface. This is a useful, indirect measurement of surface wetting. When a droplet starts to spread out over a surface, its contact angle becomes <90°.
“This device is used to measure contact angle, surface elasticity and surface energy to characterize different surfaces in terms of hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity,” said Farshid Chini, an associate professor of Faculty of Engineering of Tehran University and the managing director of a knowledge-based company.
A surface is hydrophobic if it tends not to adsorb water or be wetted by water. A surface is hydrophilic if it tends to adsorb water or be wetted by water. More particularly, the terms describe the interaction of the boundary layer of a solid phase with liquid or vapor water.
“This device has been designed and produced in three different classes and has a special application in various industries that work with surfaces, such as turbine production, insulators, textile industries, paint production, etc. In general, universities and research centers (paint, polymer, physics, chemistry, oil, textile, etc.) and industrial centers (paint and coating production, packaging, plastic, tile and ceramic industries, etc.) are among the customers of this product,” he added.
Regarding the process of making the product, Chini said, “Except for parts such as cameras and syringes, which are imported, the entire process of designing and manufacturing the device is done internally by the company's experts."
The professor further explained the difference between their device and similar models, saying, “The higher quality and accuracy of the device, as well as the powerful measurement software, warranty services, and high-quality and good after-sales services, as well as the reasonable price, have made this product superior over others.”
He stated that knowledge-based firm based in UT Science and Technology Park has been able to gain a 66% share of the total surface contact angle device market in Iran, and talked of plans to export the product in the near future.
According to the UT public relations department’s report, the researcher further said, “Considering the domestic market demand and the price of foreign devices (about 40 thousand dollars), their company saves Iran a lot of money by preventing the imports.”
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