Peel testing identity cards

Case study

Card delamination test start of peel

Card delamination test completion of peel

Solution

Software-controlled tensile tester and software
Quick-release wedge grip
Specific peel jig to maintain angle and guide laminate

Benefits

Accurate results with correct fixtures
Conformance to industry standards with one machine

Requirement

The customer produces identity cards with a laminated cover. The customer wanted to know that the adhesive used to bond the laminate and card together was strong enough to withstand a high rate of day-to-day usage. The requirement, therefore, was to test the strength of adhesion and identify the minimum force required to separate the laminate from the card. The test needed to comply with ISO standard, ISO/IEC 10373-1.

Solution

Mecmesin supplied a complete test system consisting of a MultiTest 1-i, 50N loadcell, small wedge grip and special floating peel jig. To perform the test, the laminate was cut into 4 equally sized strips (10 mm width) with not less than 2mm space left uncut around the edge of the card.

The floating peel jig enabled the card to move smoothly under the rollers whilst the wedge grip performed the delamination at 300 mm/min. Emperor analysis software was used to plot a graph showing force in newtons against displacement values. This user-friendly software was pre-programmed to exclude the first and last 5mm and produce a final report on the findings of the test showing the minimum peel strength value over the region tested.