SAE J576 Testing

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AZTEST provides SAE J576 compliant testing services to meet automotive plastic lens material requirements as required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 571.108.

SAE J576 also allows accelerated testing in accordance with ASTM D 4364. This standard is based on ASTM Standard G 90, "Standard Practice for Performing Accelerated Outdoor Weathering of Nonmetallic Materials Using Concentrated Natural Sunlight."

Accelerated and Natural Arizona and Florida Weathering tests are available, including all the required instrumental measurements and visual evaluations.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 571.108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment requires the following tests:

Test	Requirement
Material Thickness	Required thickness 1.6 mm, 2.3 mm, 3.2 mm, 6.4 mm
Heat Test	2 hours in circulating oven at 79 ± 3°C
Outdoor Weathering	3 years Arizona and Florida – SAE J576
Haze	After weathering, haze cannot exceed 30% as measured by ASTM D1003 for plastic materials used for outer lenses; 7% for plastic materials used as reflex reflectors or for lenses used in front of reflex reflectors.
Luminous Transmittance	After weathering, the luminous transmittance measured in accordance with ASTM E308 shall not have changed more than 25% compared to unexposed measurements.
Color	Must meet SAE J578 color specification before and after weathering
Visual Inspections	After weathering, must not have color bleeding, delamination, crazing, or cracking. Materials used for reflex reflectors and for materials used in front of reflex materials must not have surface deterioration or dimensional changes.
Minimum number of specimens per material, coating and color type	20 specimens (Five of each thickness)

As an A2LA and AMECA accredited lab, AZTEST can perform all weathering tests required by AMECA and SAE specifications related to automotive lighting lens materials.

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