trinamiX NIR Spectrometer
– Support

This page pro­vi­des prac­ti­cal ins­truc­tions for set­ting up and ope­ra­ting the device and for obtai­ning relia­ble mea­su­re­ment results.

Table of content

Device Setup

  1. Char­ge the device ful­ly befo­re first use.
  2. Install the mobi­le or desk­top appli­ca­ti­on on your device.
  3. Power on the spec­tro­me­ter and con­nect it to the app via Bluetooth.
  4. Per­form the refe­rence mea­su­re­ment as soon as prompt­ed and shown by the application.

App Access

Account Registration

After purcha­sing the device, you should recei­ve an invi­ta­ti­on to regis­ter your account.

If you have not recei­ved an invitation:

  1. Go to the regis­tra­ti­on page
  2. Crea­te an account
  3. Cont­act sup­port with your email address so the account can be activated.

App Download

The spec­tro­me­ter app is available for:

  • Android
  • iOS
  • Win­dows (only available for Pal One)

Down­load the latest ver­si­on from the offi­ci­al appli­ca­ti­on portal.

Customer Portal

Use the cus­to­mer por­tal to:

  • view mea­su­re­ment results
  • export data
  • down­load reports

Log in using the same cre­den­ti­als used in the mobi­le application.

Measurement Best Practices

Relia­ble NIR mea­su­re­ments requi­re cor­rect sam­ple posi­tio­ning and suf­fi­ci­ent signal strength.

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Ensure Direct Contact with the Sample

Mea­su­re­ments should be taken in direct cont­act with the mate­ri­al sur­face.

Recom­men­ded practice:

  • Use flat samples
  • Ensu­re the sam­ple ful­ly covers the mea­su­re­ment head
  • Avo­id gaps bet­ween the sen­sor and the material

If the object is cur­ved or small, cut a flat sam­ple pie­ce when possible.

See: Best mea­su­re­ment prac­ti­ces for por­ta­ble spectroscopy

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How to Measure Thin or Transparent Samples

Trans­pa­rent or thin mate­ri­als may pro­du­ce weak signals.

Recom­men­ded approach:

  1. Fold or stack the sam­ple (2–3 layers)
  2. Place it on a reflec­ti­ve back­ground (for exam­p­le the white PTFE refe­rence tile)
  3. Ensu­re full cont­act with the sensor

This impro­ves signal strength and mea­su­re­ment stability.

See: Detec­ting thin films with NIR spectroscopy

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Why Black Plastics Cannot Be Identified with NIR

Black pla­s­tics can­not be iden­ti­fied using NIR spectroscopy.

Reason:
Many black pla­s­tics con­tain car­bon black pig­ment, which stron­gly absorbs near-infrared light. When this occurs, the spec­tro­me­ter can­not detect a usable spec­tral signal.

See: Why NIR can­not detect black plastics

Some dark gray or fil­led pla­s­tics may still pro­du­ce par­ti­al signals, but results may be unreliable.

FAQ 1: Why can’t NIR spectroscopy detect black plastic?

Black pla­s­tics often con­tain car­bon black pig­ment, which stron­gly absorbs near-infrared light.
Becau­se the light is absor­bed, the spec­tro­me­ter can­not detect a usable spec­tral signal.

FAQ 2: How do you measure thin plastic films with a portable NIR spectrometer?

Thin mate­ri­als may pro­du­ce weak signals.
Recom­men­ded approach:

  1. Fold or stack the sam­ple (2–3 layers)
  2. Place it on a reflec­ti­ve back­ground (e.g. PTFE refe­rence tile)
  3. Ensu­re direct cont­act with the sensor

FAQ 3: Why must the sample fully cover the measurement head?

Por­ta­ble NIR mea­su­re­ments requi­re direct opti­cal contact.
If the sen­sor is par­ti­al­ly unco­ver­ed, ambi­ent light can inter­fe­re with the mea­su­re­ment.

Data Export

Mea­su­re­ment data can be expor­ted from the cus­to­mer portal.

Available for­mats:

  • CSV or XLS for data analysis
  • PDF reports for sin­gle mea­su­re­ment or mul­ti measurements

Typi­cal workflow:

  1. Log into the portal
  2. Sel­ect the mea­su­re­ment dataset
  3. Choo­se Export → CSV or PDF

Technical Limitations of Portable NIR Spectroscopy

Por­ta­ble NIR spec­tro­sco­py has seve­ral prac­ti­cal constraints.

Black Plastics

  • Not detec­ta­ble due to car­bon black absorption.

Minimum Sample Thickness

  • Very thin mate­ri­als may pro­du­ce weak signals.
  • Fold or stack thin samples to increase effec­ti­ve thickness.

Surface Coverage

  • The mea­su­re­ment head must be ful­ly cover­ed by the sample.
  • Small objects may requi­re cut­ting a flat sample.

Ambient Light

  • Avo­id mea­su­ring “in the air”.
  • Exter­nal light sources can affect mea­su­re­ments if the sam­ple does not ful­ly cover the sensor.

More details:

Contact Support

If you expe­ri­ence issues with set­up, mea­su­re­ments, or data access:

Email: info@solidscanner.com

When cont­ac­ting sup­port, plea­se include:

  • device model
  • appli­ca­ti­on used
  • descrip­ti­on of the issue
  • screen­shots or mea­su­re­ment IDs (if available)

This helps resol­ve issues more quickly.