Posts by Rachel Kohn
Digital HPLC Flowmeter Accuracy Checks
As pointed out in our post on HPLC pump accuracy uniform and reproducible column retention times are critical when analytes are pumped through a high performance liquid chromatography system. One of the most efficient ways of checking on the accuracy of HPLC pump systems is the Flow Cal 5000 digital liquid flow meter available from Tovatech. But how do you check on the accuracy of the checker – namely the Flow Cal 5000?
Flow Cal 5000 HPLC Flow Meter Accuracy Checks
When received from Tovatech the Flow Cal 5000 is accompanied by a UKAS traceable calibration certificate* good for one year. Standard calibration is 1 ml/min but on request it can be supplied at points from 0.5 to 25 ml/min. Multiple readings are taken at each flow rate then averaged on the calibration certificate.
A recalibration procedure should be scheduled annually or immediately if users think the unit is not … Read the rest
Reclaim Industrial Filters in an Ultrasonic Cleaner
Google industrial filters and you’ll get about 12.5 million results. Narrow it down to industrial metal mesh filters and the count is just over 1 million. The point: industrial filters are a big business to trap and hold airborne particles such as dust and grease. Other filters are used to strain impurities from water and chemicals. As with your air conditioner filters and your automobile fuel and oil filters particles build up, flow becomes restricted, and eventually filters must be changed.
Frequent filter replacement represents an expense that can be reduced by reclaiming industrial filters in a sonic cleaner. Reclaiming becomes increasingly attractive as replacement cycles shorten or when filters are expensive. Another benefit of reclaiming is that fewer filters wind up in a landfill.
Why Ultrasonic Filter Cleaning Works Best
High-pressure jets of hot water may be used to … Read the rest
Dual-Range Industrial Platform Scales with Bluetooth Interface
Scales used in industrial locations can be exposed to a variety of contaminants as well as stresses and strains during their lifetime.
A new family of dual-range industrial platform scales with high ingress protection (IP) ratings against dust and liquids are ideal for general weighing, piece counting, tolerance weighing and filtering out vibrations in harsh operating environments. The dual-range Kern SXS series, available from Tovatech, features an extremely rugged stainless steel platform structure resistant to bending. The silicon-coated load cell has an IP rating of 67 or totally protected against dust (6) and against temporary immersion (7). The backlit stainless steel display connects to the weighing platform by a 2.5 m cable. Wall-mountable, the display has an IP rating of 68 for continuous use in wet areas.
These rugged industrial scales have 2-second stabilization and can be ordered with an optional wireless Bluetooth … Read the rest
When to Use an Industrial Steam Jet Cleaner
A compact steam jet cleaner can be an excellent solution for chemical-free and environmentally friendly removal of deposits such as oil, lubricants, polishing pastes, waxes, chips and filings from cast, machined and other fabricated parts. High temperatures and pressures produced by an industrial steam cleaner remove contaminants from tight spaces such as threaded blind holes, and precision machined and cut gears faster and more thoroughly than hand cleaning, leaving surfaces residue free. Another benefit of steam cleaning is reduced disposal costs for removed contaminants.
Where higher levels of cleanliness are required a steam jet cleaner can be used to prepare parts for an ultrasonic cleaning cycle. Pre-cleaning parts with steam has the added benefit of reducing contaminant build-up in ultrasonic cleaning solutions.
At the end of the cleaning job the cleaner can be used for rinsing. The advantage is that steam is free of minerals and chemical agents; thus … Read the rest
Compact Digital Crane Scale with Remote Readout
Time is money, so quickly determining or confirming the weight of products or pallets being loaded or unloaded at warehouses, transportation hubs, construction sites and similar locations is quickly accomplished using a compact Kern HFC digital crane scale with remote readout. This allows personnel to confirm weight against manifests when they are as far as 100 meters (328 feet) away from the crane scale.
Working as a tensile force gauge, Kern HFC crane scales available from Tovatech are offered in four maximum weigh capacities: 1000, 3000, 5000 and 10,000 kg. Respective readouts are 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000 grams.
Both the digital crane scale and remote hand-held display device are powered by rechargeable batteries for up to 30 hours of operation or by optional 3 x 1.5 volt AA batteries for up to 40 hours of operation.
The Kern digital crane scale display modules have an on-off switch and are … Read the rest
Glass Front Tabletop Lab Refrigerator with Temperature Alarms
Opening a lab refrigerator to check inventory or retrieve vaccines and biologicals causes an unwelcome interior temperature spike that over time can result in vaccines losing potency. These spikes are more pronounced in a tabletop lab refrigerator typically used in local healthcare clinics and doctors’ offices. A great solution is a glass front tabletop lab refrigerator with audible and visual high-low temperature alarms. Healthcare providers check contents at a glance with the door shut. A switch-activated interior light makes inventory taking easier.
Now available from Tovatech the 2.4 cubic foot capacity Norlake LR031WWG/0 compact table top glass door lab refrigerator features a digital LED display microprocessor temperature control. This allows healthcare personnel to set internal temperatures from +2⁰ to 10⁰C, and it continuously displays content temperature.
The unit is equipped with an internal fan to stabilize cooling and the cabinet is foamed-in-place with … Read the rest
Tips on Selecting a Laboratory Balance
A lot goes into selecting a laboratory balance. Let’s start with weight. You’ll need to select a balance that displays sample weight to the resolution desired. This is described as readout. Readout can be to several decimal places presented in grams or milligrams.
Select a balance with a weighing capacity in excess of the samples you plan to weigh. Some balances also specify the minimum load that can be placed on the weighing plate.
Why is this you ask? If the sample weight is not much larger than the expected weighing error, the measured value will be neither accurate nor repeatable. For this reason the spec sheet for laboratory balances may specify a minimum load. For the Kern ABT 0.1 mg readout balances available with maximum loads of 120, 220 and 320 grams the minimum load is 10 mg. But if you want to weigh samples less than 10 mg … Read the rest
Ultrasonic Cleaning Systems for Precision Optics
Specifying ultrasonic cleaning systems for precision optics requires close collaboration between optics manufacturers establishing optical cleaning requirements and engineers at firms supplying the equipment and chemicals to fulfill those requirements. It is not the intent of this post to specify cleaning equipment and procedures. Instead it’s our objective to provide an overview of Elmasonic equipment for cleaning ophthalmic optics.
And a wide range of equipment it is – ranging from individual cleaning tanks to fully automated multi-stage wash-rinse-dry cleaning lines in a clean room. We’ll briefly describe cleaning chemicals formulated for specific functions from mold manufacturing to cleaning for inspection and cleaning for coating.
Other equipment supporting cleaning optics includes water treatment plants, filtration systems, solvent treatment plants and laminar air flow modules to support clean rooms.
Our role, other than to provide these introductions to equipment and chemicals, is to put you in touch with equipment specialists for cleaning … Read the rest
Environmental Test Chamber Series with Ultrasonic Humidifiers
A new series of environmental test chambers now available from Tovatech in 4 storage capacities from 24 to 80 cubic feet feature ultrasonic humidifiers producing far smaller water particles than centrifugal humidifiers. The ultrasonic humidifiers are placed above rather than inside storage cabinets thereby freeing space for additional test specimens. Dehumidification is handled by a separate latent coil. Both systems are operated by a programmable logic microprocessor controller.
The ultrasonic humidifiers require water with low mineral content delivered at 10 to 60 psi. As a means of conserving this water an optional purification system for tap water is available. Connected to the temperature humidity stability test chamber it continuously recycles used water drawn from the unit’s pluggable interior drain.
The system delivers a humidity variation of ±3% in the humidity controlled temperature range between 10⁰ and 70⁰C.
Precise temperature control at ± … Read the rest
Deionized Water Rinsing after Ultrasonic Cleaning
We’ll start this post by stating that it is not always necessary to rinse products after ultrasonic cleaning. Engine parts such as gears and carburetors are examples where cleaning solution residues may be tolerable. If not, then rinsing cleaned parts with fresh water should usually suffice. There are other areas, however, where thorough rinsing is essential and where deionized water rinsing after ultrasonic cleaning is strongly recommended.
These are applications where the slightest bit of remaining contaminants or cleaning solution residues can impact performance. Electronic components such as printed circuit boards, optics, and medical and surgical instruments, are examples. These are applications where spot-free drying is the goal, and in this context “spots” relate to dissolved minerals in regular water that remain as residues when the water evaporates.
Removing dissolved minerals in water is generally accomplished by two methods. Deionization is a process that produces deionized water (DI water) by … Read the rest
