Perfect texture guaranteed?

Stable Micro Systems, one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of materials testing equipment, has launched its Video Playback Indicator for texture analysis.

The company says that, attached to the TA.XTPlus texture analyser, the new technology synchronises video recordings captured during a texture analysis experiment with the corresponding force-distance-time data. Ideal for testing crispy and crunchy foods, such as biscuits and breakfast cereals. the device is said to help manufacturers achieve a more accurate and detailed analysis of their products.

A spokesperson for the company said: "Visual elements of an experiment can be easily missed by the human eye due to the rapid speed of the test or to the complex breaking pattern of the sample. It can also prove difficult to interpret video recordings of an experiment after the test has taken place if they are not correlated with the graphical information collected during the test.​

"The Video Playback Indicator enables manufacturers to play back each frame of a video recording with the corresponding point on the force-distance-time graph, so a more accurate interpretation of the test can be achieved."​

The device also helps manufacturers identify inconsistencies or irregularities in a test, as it may be difficult to recognise unusual or one-off factors by viewing force-distance-time or visual data alone. Testing the product at a later date, to iron out such inconsistencies, is often difficult or not feasible at all due to the sample not being available or time limitations.

The company claims that that Video Playback Indicator helps identify irregularities in test results without the need for re-evaluation, eliminating misleading information from findings.

The system is attached to Stable Micro Systems' TA.XTPlus texture analyser. As the TA.XTPlus begins collecting data, a signal is transmitted to the Video Playback Indicator, prompting an LED light source. The display of this light is captured on the video recording of the test so, when replayed later, it indicates the beginning of the data capture. The video recording and graphical data are viewed by the Texture Exponent software supplied with the texture analyser. The frame showing the display of light can thus be matched electronically to the beginning of the force-distance-time curve, so enabling frame by frame synchronisation with the graphical data captured during the test, the company claims.

Based in the UK, Stable Micro Systems​ is an innovative designer and manufacturer of instruments for materials testing in food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, personal care and other manufacturing industries.