AkzoNobel's
Automotive & Aerospace Coatings has made its
most advanced color measurement tools
available to selected customers.
Previously, A&AC was using its AkzoNobel FDT
(for formula development tool) software and
the six-angle Automatchic 6i spectrophotometer
in its own color formulation laboratories.
Now, selected customers in areas like fleet
operation and PDI centers (pre-delivery
inspection centers) that often have color
formulation
challenges of their own have access to the
same technology. The move is part of a
broadbased
strategy to provide the best color
capabilities to repair specialist at all
levels.
The handheld Automatchic 6i combines a 6-angle
spectrophotometer with an integrated
digital camera that is able to “read” glint
and texture. The combination makes it possible
to
precisely measure the fashionable automotive
finishes that shift in color and
appearance as the viewing angle or light
conditions change. AkzoNobel FDT is a
specially
designed software package that interprets data
from Automatchic 6i to create
color formulations.
“We try to meet the needs of customers at all
levels,” says Ralf Schueler, marketing
director, A&AC. “While sophisticated color
formulation tools may be of considerable value
to
PDI Center operators, we place just as much
emphasis on color tools for repair specialists
working in small bodyshops, high volume
bodyshop chains, and OEM dealer body shops.
Our commitment is to offer something for
everyone, which is why we have significantly
upgraded nearly all of our color tools this
year.”
In high-volume, process-driven bodyshops, for
example, A&AC’s Automatchic 3 is a lightweight
handheld color measurement device that quickly
delivers color accuracy and communicates
seamlessly with the latest version of A&AC’s
Mixit Pro color retrieval software to identify
the correct color formula from a
database of tens of thousands of formulas, the
company said.
Many bodyshops still depend on visual
documentation, and A&AC recently upgraded
its color documentation. Sikkens ColorScala
Pro draws on the
extensive color database to provide spot-on
formulas for virtually every standard color
produced by all major vehicle manufacturers,
as well as many thousands of additional
variants collected from vehicles all around
the world, the company said.
And with the launch of Sikkens ColorScla Pro
2nd Edition earlier this year, A&AC said it
offered
improved color accuracy with higher gloss
color. ColorScala Pro can be used in
combination with Sikkens Mixit Pro. Like
ColorScala Pro, the Mixit Pro color retrieval
system was recently upgraded (to
Mixit Pro 1.5), with improvements to its
interface.
“With each
new or improved product, we have reminded the
world that we ‘get color right’,” says Jim
Rees, Managing Director, A&AC. “But it’s
really about more than that. We’ve developed
technologies and systems that work for
professionals across all of our markets. So
when we
say we get it, it’s not just about color
performance and accuracy, but about the right
tools for
all of our customers.”
