ISO/TS 3550-3:2015

TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 3550-3
First edition
2015-10-01
Cigarettes — Determination of loss of
tobacco from the ends —
Part 3:
Method using a vibro-bench
Cigarettes — Détermination de la perte de tabac par les extrémités —
Partie 3: Méthode utilisant une plateforme vibrante
Reference number
©
ISO 2015
© ISO 2015, Published in Switzerland
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior
written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of
the requester.
ISO copyright office
Ch. de Blandonnet 8 • CP 401
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland
Tel. +41 22 749 01 11
Fax +41 22 749 09 47
copyright@iso.org
www.iso.org
ii © ISO 2015 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Principle . 1
4 Apparatus . 1
5 Sampling . 4
6 Procedure. 4
6.1 Conditioning of test sample . 4
6.2 Test portion . 4
6.3 Determination . 4
7 Calculation of specific tobacco fallout values . 5
7.1 End-related tobacco fallout . 5
7.2 Area-related tobacco fallout . 5
8 Test report . 5
Annex A (informative) Analysis for the calculation of the number of cigarettes.7
Annex B (informative) Example of counting tray. 8
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information.
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 126, Tobacco and tobacco products,
Subcommittee SC 1, Physical and dimensional tests.
ISO 3550 consists of the following parts, under the general title Cigarettes — Determination of loss of
tobacco from the ends:
— Part 1: Method using a rotating cylindrical cage
— Part 2: Method using a rotating cubic box (sismelatophore)
— Part 3: Method using a vibro-bench [Technical Specification]
iv © ISO 2015 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The loss of tobacco from cigarette ends, which particularly affects short strands, is a nuisance for the
industry, as well as for the consumer.
From this standpoint, the greater a cigarette’s resistance to loss from its end, the higher its quality.
The devices available for measuring such loss of tobacco are based on the principle of mechanically
vibrating cigarettes in a cigarette-containing tester.
ISO 3550–1 and ISO 3550–2 describe two particular types of device. The first, described in ISO 3550-1,
comprises a rotating cylindrical cage through which tobacco is allowed to fall into a weighing vessel.
The second, described in ISO 3550-2, uses a cubic box rotating around its main diagonal axis.
A third method, based on use of a vibro-bench, vibrating along the horizontal direction is described in
this part of ISO 3550.
The first system (ISO 3550-1) principally permits determination of losses undergone by the cigarette
during the manufacturing and packaging processes, while the second method (ISO 3550-2) can be used
to estimate tobacco losses undergone throughout the distribution network and in the smoker’s pocket.
The third method (ISO/TS 3550-3) is applicable to the determination of tobacco losses that the cigarette
is likely to undergo throughout its lifecycle.
The three methods were designed for different application fields by using different simulation test
devices with completely distinct mechanical structures, so the physical meanings of results given with
three methods are different.
The absolute mean values between the three methods are not comparable and these methods cannot
be substituted for one another, although there can be some correlation between them. Therefore, these
methods are not mutually exclusive.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 3550-3:2015(E)
Cigarettes — Determination of loss of tobacco from the
ends —
Part 3:
Method using a vibro-bench
1 Scope
This part of ISO 3550, as Technical Specification, specifies a method for the determination of loss of
tobacco from cigarette ends using a vibro-bench.
This method applies to the determination of loss of tobacco from cigarette ends in manufacturing site,
throughout the distribution network and also while in the smoker’s pocket.
NOTE Two other methods for the determination of loss of tobacco from the ends, using a rotating cylindrical
cage and a cubic rotating box (sismelatophore), are described in ISO 3550-1 and
...