Abstract: An apparatus for the inspection of fluids, particularly paints, having a housing with a cavity and enclosed with a light transmitting window and having an insert member positioned in the cavity which provides a fluid chamber where fluid flows by the window and wherein the flow is laminar and undirectional. This provides a view area of the liquid whose color parameter can be accurately measured by a colorimeter of spectrophotometer. The apparatus is particularly useful in the manufacture of paints so that the color of the paint being made can be accurately matched to a standard color.

Abstract: An apparatus and process for automatically and rapidly making a paint having the color values of a standard paint; a computer is used which is connected to and controls a multiplicity of metering pumps that are each individually connected to a supply of components used to make the paint such as binder solution, solvent and colorants; the components are accurately metered into a mixing vessel and mixed, paint is circulated through a recycle loop attached to the vessel, the loop contains a cell having a viewing window through which the paint is pumped, a colorimeter views the cell and determines the color values of the wet paint and feeds these values back to the computer which compares the values to values of the standard paint and calculates the amount of colorant to be added and signals the metering pumps to add colorant, the process is repeated until the paint is brought within the tolerance values of the standard paint.