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FIG. 1 Plaque
5.2 Procedure B—A spring-loaded, force-indicating instru- 9.2 Clean, activate, and electroplate the plaques as speci-
ment with a measurement range that includes the force to be fied. The thickness of the metallic coating in the test area (see
measured, 5 to 200 N, shall be used to measure the force Fig. 1) shall be 40 6 4 µm.
required to separate the coating. The indicated force shall be NOTE 3—It is necessary to have a ductile copper coating to perform this
accurate to 610 %. test. The thickness and uniformity of thickness of the metallic coating
directly influence the peel strength; therefore, in order to standardize this
6. Sampling test, the coating thickness is specified. If a different coating thickness is
6.1 A sampling procedure is not applicable to this test used, the results will not be comparable to other test results. It may be
necessary to use shielding during plating to obtain the required coating
method.
thickness uniformity.6
7. Test Specimen 9.3 Cut through the coating along the dashed lines shown in
7.1 Perform the test using a flat, molded plastic plaque such Fig. 1, and also along the centerline so as to produce two
as shown in Fig. 1. Plaque dimensions may vary up to 610 % parallel strips of coating that are 25.00 6 0.25 mm wide and
provided that the edges of slit peel strips are not closer than 11 approximately 75 mm long.
mm from any plaque edge. NOTE 4—Following are methods that can be used to cut the coating:
(a) Slit the coating with a milling machine equipped with a slitting
8. Conditioning saw.5,7 Operate the saw at a peripheral speed of 300 mm/s and a feed of
5 mm/s.
8.1 Condition the electroplated plaques requiring condition- (b) Slit with a device such as shown in Fig. 2.
ing by baking for 1 h in an air-circulating oven operated at (c) Cut the coating with a sharp blade guided by a straightedge.5,8
70 6 3°C. Place the plaques in the oven in a way that permits
9.4 Using a sharp chisel or knife, peel back an approxi-
free circulation of air around all surfaces of the plaques. Allow
mately 15-mm tab of one of the strips at the end adjacent to the
the conditioned plaques to cool to room temperature and then
test them within 1 h. Test the plaques that do not require
conditioning within 30 to 60 min following the coating
process. 6
Shielding methods are described in the Technical Proceedings of the American
Electroplaters’ Society, Vol 47, 1960, p. 94, and in the Monthly Review of the
NOTE 1—The separation strength of an unconditioned plaque will American Electroplaters’ Society, Vol 34, 1947, p. 1361.
change with time. The separation strength of a conditioned plaque may 7
The sole source of supply of the Union HSG #14-0.064 slitting saw known to
change with time after conditioning. the committee at this time is Union Twist Drill Co., Athol, MA.. If you are aware
of alternative suppliers, please provide this information to ASTM International
9. Procedure Headquarters. Your comments will receive careful consideration at a meeting of the
responsible technical committee,1 which you may attend.
9.1 Mold the required number of plaques using the specified 8
The sole source of supply of the Specimen Scriber known to the committee at
molding compound and molding procedure. this time is Plateq Corp., New Haven, CT. If you are aware of alternative suppliers,
please provide this information to ASTM International Headquarters. Your com-
NOTE 2—When the test is used as a control of the coating process, ments will receive careful consideration at a meeting of the responsible technical
commercially prepared plaques can be used. committee,1 which you may attend.
mold gate. Fiberglas-reinforced adhesive-backed tape may be 9.6.1 Restrain the plaque in a way that permits separating
applied to the two surfaces of the tab to improve the grip on the the strip.
tab between the jaws of the testing machine. 9.6.2 Attach the tab to the spring-loaded tester.
9.5 Procedure A: 9.6.3 Separate the strip from the plaque at an angle of
9.5.1 Install a holding fixture on the fixed arm of the testing 90 6 5° to the plaque and at a rate of 25 6 3 mm/min.
machine. The fixture shall support the plaque at a right angle to 9.6.4 During the separation the force on the indicator will
the pull direction of the machine. A suitable fixture is illus- rise to peak values and fall back. Record the peak values.
trated in Fig. 3. 9.6.5 Repeat the test using the other strip on the plaque.
9.5.2 Place the plaque in the holding fixture with the tab end 9.6.6 If a strip tears during separation, discontinue the test.
facing out. Locate the plaque so that the strip to be tested is The readings obtained up to the point of tearing may be used
centered over the centerline of the fixture. if at least 25 mm of the strip were peeled before the tear.
9.5.3 Clamp the tab in the jaws of the movable crossarm of 9.7 Repeat the peel test with a second plaque.
the testing machine. 9.8 Examine the underside of the peeled strip and the bared
9.5.4 Separate the strip from the plaque at a speed of 25 6 3 area of the plaque and determine whether the separation
mm/min, and continuously record the force. occurred in the surface layers of the plaque (cohesive failure)
9.5.5 Repeat the test using the other strip on the plaque. or at the interface (adhesive failure). Plastic adhering to the
9.5.6 If a strip tears during separation, discontinue the test. underside of the strip is not always apparent to the naked eye,
The readings obtained up to the point of tearing may be used and therefore should be verified microscopically.
if at least 25 mm of the strip were separated before the tear. 9.9 Remove any plastic from the strip by means of a suitable
9.6 Procedure B: solvent. Acetone, for example, will remove ABS. Measure the
thickness of the strip in several locations using a ball microme-
ter that can be read to the nearest 1 µm. (A micrometer that
reads in inches may be used if it can be read to the nearest
0.0001 in., 0.0001 in. = 2.5 µm.)
10. Calculation
10.1 Peel, Procedure A—Calculate the arithmetic mean of
the highest and the lowest forces that were recorded for each
strip. Calculate the arithmetic mean of the four pull tests (two
strips on two plaques). If the testing machine indicates the
force in units other than newtons, convert the values to
newtons.
10.2 Peel, Procedure B—Calculate the arithmetic mean of
the recorded peak values. If the tester indicates the force in
units other than newtons, convert the values to newtons.
10.3 Thickness—Calculate the arithmetic mean thickness of
FIG. 3 Parallelogram Device for Use with the Universal Testing each strip. Calculate the arithmetic mean thickness of the four
Machine strips (two strips on two plaques).
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