Contents
Case Study

A defense manufacturer chose the Dropometer to verify a new oleophobic coating, and its engineer had it measuring in under an hour.

Last Updated
October 18, 2026
Industry
Aerospace and defense manufacturing
Company
Fortune Global 500
Location
North America
Customer since
August 2025
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Drop shape method validated against a KRÜSS DSA100E in peer review Published contact angle accuracy of 0.35° 2 peer reviewed validation papers

A coating team at a Fortune Global 500 aerospace and defense company was adding oleophobic coatings, and its customers wanted contact angle with more than one liquid as proof of quality. The team chose the Dropometer in 2023, kept that choice through two years of budget and facility delays, and bought it in 2025. Its IT team required a company managed phone, so the Dropometer apps run on the company's own iPhone.

Dropometer contact angle instrument with smartphone camera, sample stage and light source (current model)
Abhimanyu Photo
Written by
Abhimanyu Bhandankar
Holds an MBA from Schulich School of Business and a BE in IT. He joined Droplet Lab in July 2019 and now leads sales and marketing.
CEO at Droplet Lab
Read More
Gurdeep-Saini-Photo
Technical Review by
Gurdeep Singh Saini
Holds a BASc in Mechanical Engineering from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and an MASc from York University. He develops the automatic edge and baseline detection behind the Dropometer's analysis.
COO at Droplet Lab
Read More
Abhimanyu Photo
Written By

Abhimanyu Bhandankar

CEO at Droplet Lab

Holds an MBA from Schulich School of Business and a BE in IT. He joined Droplet Lab in July 2019 and now leads sales and marketing.

Gurdeep-Saini-Photo
Reviewed By

Gurdeep Singh Saini

COO at Droplet Lab

Holds a BASc in Mechanical Engineering from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and an MASc from York University. He develops the automatic edge and baseline detection behind the Dropometer's analysis.

Featured Studies & Publications

Thesis Design and implementation of environment chamber for interfacial phenomenon processes

Primary outcome: chosen early, kept through delays, measuring in under an hour

From first quote to first measurement

Supplier choice held through facility and budget delays; self setup with one video

First quote to purchase order, same supplier throughout About 23 months
Unboxing to first proper measurement Under 1 hour

The team first asked for quotes in September 2023 and named Droplet Lab its chosen supplier in 2024, while new coating space and budget were still being approved. The purchase order came in August 2025, after a security review and supplier onboarding. Once the unit arrived, the process engineer had it set up and taking a proper measurement in just under an hour, working from Droplet Lab's YouTube video.

Under 1 hour to measure

From setup to a proper measurement, by the process engineer, using Droplet Lab's YouTube video.

Sep 2024 supplier chosen

The process engineer told his program manager that Droplet Lab was the supplier of equipment the team had chosen.

Managed iPhone

The apps run on the company's own IT managed phone, as its security review required.

Multi liquid planned

Water and oil contact angle after coating as a pass/fail check, the use the team described for production.

Executive Summary

Who

A thin film coating team at a Fortune Global 500 aerospace and defense company. Its process engineers were adding oleophobic coatings to the company's offerings, at a secure facility where every device must meet the company's security rules.

Problem

Customers asking about the new oleophobic coating wanted contact angle with a couple of different liquids as a verification of quality. The team needed a pass/fail check after coating, with water and oil, on a device its security rules would allow on site.

Solution

A Dropometer with the contact angle, surface tension and surface energy modules, ordered on 1 August 2025. The apps run on an iPhone that the company's IT team assigned to the engineer. Droplet Lab completed supplier registration, shipped the unit in late September and ran a virtual onboarding call on 15 October 2025.

Time to Value

13 September 2023: first quotes. 12 September 2024: Droplet Lab named as the chosen supplier. June to July 2025: phone questions and supplier registration. 1 August 2025: purchase order. 7 October 2025: unit received. 15 October 2025: virtual onboarding. 16 October 2025: the engineer reports a proper measurement in just under an hour.

Results

The process engineer set up the unit and took a proper measurement in just under an hour using Droplet Lab's YouTube video, and called the process fairly smooth. The coating work cell is not yet in production. The team plans multi liquid pass/fail checks after coating and would like traceable QC records.

Highlights

< 1 hour

Setup to first proper measurement

Water and oil

Liquids planned for the coating check

2024

Year the team named its chosen supplier

Own device

Company managed iPhone

Quote teaser

It took me just under an hour to get everything set up and a proper measurement with the camera.

The company, at a glance

Focus

Thin film coatings, including new oleophobic coatings for the company's customers.

Products / applications

Coated products made to customer drawings. Parts and programs are confidential.

Measurement stage

Post coating quality control, planned as a pass/fail check.

Users

Thin film process engineers, with a production supervisor as the work cell starts up.

Materials and surfaces tested

Oleophobic coated surfaces, to be checked with water and oil.

Key constraints

Secure facility, company managed phone only, requirements set by customer drawings.

The challenge: proving an oleophobic coating works, inside a secure facility

Customers wanted contact angle proof. Security wanted control of every device.

What the coating team needed

The team was adding oleophobic coatings to its offerings. Customers asking about them wanted contact angle with a couple of different liquids as a verification of quality, so the team needed to measure it after coating. Our hydrophobic coating performance verification use case covers this kind of check, and the Aviation and Space industry guide covers related wetting tests in the sector. For insulator surfaces, IEC TS 62073 gives guidance on measuring hydrophobicity, and the Dropometer supports it.

Why a secure site makes it harder

Every device on site has to meet the company's security rules. Before ordering, its engineers asked whether the phone connects to a network, whether the software needs the internet, what calibration involves, and whether the apps could run on a company device. Droplet Lab confirmed that measuring needs no network; the internet is only needed once to activate the app licences. A phone can also leave the building easily, so IT wanted a device it could track and wipe.

What was at stake

Without a contact angle check, the team could not give customers the verification they asked for. Requirements are set by each customer's drawing, so the check has to give the same reading from one part to the next. How well a coating repels water and oil depends on its surface chemistry and texture, as our Cassie and Cassie Baxter model glossary entry and our Wenzel vs Cassie Baxter roughness and wetting experiment explain. For a published example on low fluorinated surfaces, see our analysis of a study of low fluorinated Nordic ski glide waxes, which used a Dropometer to measure water contact angle.

The insight: a validated drop shape instrument that runs on the customer's own managed phone

What Was Deployed

Delivered configuration (purchase order 1 August 2025): the Dropometer contact angle and surface tension kit with the contact angle, surface tension and surface energy modules. The contact angle and surface tension apps run on an iPhone assigned by the company's IT team. The surface energy app for iOS is still to be released; until then, surface energy can be calculated from measured contact angles. The unit shipped on 29 September 2025 and the company confirmed receipt on 7 October. Onboarding: a virtual call with the process engineer on 15 October 2025, after supplier registration and a review of the phone. Drops are imaged and analysed with the sessile drop and pendant drop methods described in our contact angle measurement guide. Wetting data shared by other Droplet Lab customers is being compiled in our open contact angle dataset; this team's data is not part of it.
The Origin

“Contact angle of a couple of different liquids is a verification of quality”

In September 2023 a thin film process engineer asked Droplet Lab for contact angle quotes, with and without the automatic dropper. He explained: "We're looking at adding oleophobic coating to our offerings and contact angle of a couple of different liquids is a verification of quality for our customers inquiring about it."

The project then waited on new floor space for coating equipment and on capital approval. The team did not reopen the search. On 12 September 2024 the engineer told the program manager that Droplet Lab was "the supplier of equipment we've chosen". A project manager took over the purchase in November 2024 and planned delivery for late 2025. In June 2025 the team added surface tension and surface energy to the order.

Before buying, the company's engineers asked how the phone would connect and how it would be controlled. The answer was to run the apps on a company iPhone that IT can track and wipe. Droplet Lab completed supplier registration and received the purchase order on 1 August 2025.

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Decision Rationale

The right measurements, on a device IT controls

The team weighed three ways to run the measurement on a secure site.

Option A

Droplet Lab phone with remote lock and wipe

Offered in June 2025: keep the supplied Android phone and turn on location tracking, remote locking and remote erasure.

Not chosen. The company required its own iPhone.
Option B

Standalone PC and camera

Raised by the company in June 2025 as an alternative to any phone.

Not offered. The Dropometer apps run on a phone.
Option C

Dropometer apps on the company's managed iPhone

Contact angle, surface tension and surface energy modules, with the apps on an iPhone assigned by IT.

Chosen

For a secure site, the deciding question was not only what the instrument measures but which device holds the data. Running the apps on the company's own iPhone let IT apply its usual controls. The trade off: the company could not lend that phone for testing before shipping, so Droplet Lab shipped on the basis that the order could be cancelled if the setup did not work. It worked at onboarding. The surface energy app for iOS is still to be released, so surface energy on that phone waits for the update.

Next Step

Qualifying a hydrophobic or oleophobic coating at a secure site?

The Dropometer measures contact angle, surface tension and surface energy with water, oils and other liquids. It is a 1 kg portable kit, and measuring needs no internet connection; only licence activation does. The drop shape method is validated against a KRÜSS DSA100E in peer review. Book a 15-minute consult about a coated sample.

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Before vs After

Metric Before After
Contact angle check for the new oleophobic coating Asked for by customers, instrument not yet bought Dropometer on site from October 2025
Liquids Contact angle with a couple of different liquids requested Water and oil planned for the coating check
Measurements Contact angle only in the first quote Contact angle and surface tension apps installed, surface energy module included
Phone Phone supplied by Droplet Lab in the first quote iPhone assigned by the company's IT team
Setup No unit on site Proper measurement in just under an hour, from one video

Rollout timeline

Timeline (high level)

September 2023: First quotes

  • Contact angle quotes with and without the automatic dropper
  • Purpose: verify a new oleophobic coating for customers

2024: Supplier chosen, project delayed

  • April 2024: new floor space for coating equipment delays the start
  • 12 September 2024: Droplet Lab named as the chosen supplier
  • November 2024: capital approval pending, delivery planned for late 2025

June to July 2025: Scope and security

  • 16 June 2025: surface tension and surface energy added
  • June 2025: phone questions from the site's engineers and IT
  • July 2025: supplier registration completed

August to October 2025: Purchase and delivery

  • 1 August 2025: purchase order
  • 29 September 2025: shipped
  • 7 October 2025: receipt confirmed

October 2025: Onboarding

  • 14 October 2025: app activation codes sent
  • 15 October 2025: virtual onboarding with the process engineer
  • Set up and a proper measurement in just under an hour

2026: Work cell start up

  • March 2026: production slower to start than planned
  • October 2026: not yet in production; a production supervisor and an engineer take over day to day contact

Proof and validation: what is measured, and what stays confidential

Test method

Planned: sessile drop contact angle with water and oil on the oleophobic coating, after coating, as a pass/fail check. The contact angle and surface tension apps are installed; surface energy will follow the iOS app release.

Sample size and operators

Thin film process engineers at one site. Parts, specifications and sample plans are set by the company's customers and are confidential.

Repeatability / reproducibility

Not yet reported. The company's requirements and results are confidential.

Notes / assumptions

This page describes the decision, the setup and the team's own words. It does not describe parts, programs, specifications or results. The measurement method itself is validated against a KRÜSS DSA100E in peer review.

Outcomes to date

Measured Outcomes

< 1 hour

Setup to first proper measurement

The process engineer set up the unit and took a proper measurement in just under an hour, working from Droplet Lab's YouTube video.

Water and oil

Liquids planned for the coating check

The team plans to measure contact angle with water and oil after coating, the multi liquid check its customers asked about.

1

Supplier, from 2023 to 2025

The team kept Droplet Lab as its chosen supplier through about two years of facility and budget delays.

Operational Outcomes

Company phone

The apps run on an iPhone assigned by the site's IT team, as the company required for any phone on site.

Supplier registered

Droplet Lab completed the company's supplier registration before the purchase order.

Ready for production

The unit is in place for pass/fail checks once the new coating work cell starts production.

Financial Context

Pricing, budget and savings: not disclosed

The company has not disclosed its price, budget or any savings. The purchase went through supplier registration and a purchase order.

Price · not disclosed

The client's price is confidential. The Dropometer lists at US$4,990.

Savings · not disclosed

No cost or time savings have been reported yet.

Procurement · 2025

Supplier registration, then a purchase order on 1 August 2025.

Figures are not disclosed by the client. Request a quote for current pricing.

What the team said

Droplet Lab is the supplier of equipment we've chosen for measuring droplet angle, a requirement on most of the product we'll be coating that includes hydrophobic analysis.
Thin Film Process Engineer - Coatings

What's next

Delivered

Dropometer delivered and set up, with virtual onboarding (October 2025)
Apps running on the company's managed iPhone

In Pilot

Pass/fail contact angle checks for the oleophobic coating, once the work cell starts production

Planned

Surface energy app for iOS, so surface energy runs on the same phone

Frequently asked questions

Can the Dropometer run on a company managed phone at a secure site?

Yes. At this defense manufacturer the contact angle and surface tension apps run on an iPhone assigned by the company's IT team, which IT can track and wipe. The surface energy app for iOS is still to be released; until then, surface energy can be calculated from measured contact angles.

Does the Dropometer need an internet connection to measure?

No. Measuring needs no network. The internet is needed only once, to activate the app licences.

How long does setup take?

The process engineer set up the unit and took a proper measurement in just under an hour, using Droplet Lab's YouTube video. A virtual onboarding call followed on 15 October 2025.

Next Step

Qualifying a hydrophobic or oleophobic coating at a secure site?

The Dropometer measures contact angle, surface tension and surface energy with water, oils and other liquids. It is a 1 kg portable kit, and measuring needs no internet connection; only licence activation does. The drop shape method is validated against a KRÜSS DSA100E in peer review. Book a 15-minute consult about a coated sample.

Request a quote Book a 15-minute consult