News items July 2006

Open outh filing equipment provided with eg bottom-up filling State-of-the-art Open-Mouth Bagging System Developed to meet the market demands for innovative open-mouth bagging systems the CHRONO-FILLTM PBS 500 typifies the new generation of open-mouth bagging lines from within the Premier Tech Industrial Equipment Group business unit. PBS 500 can be used for filling bags from 5 to 50 kg up to 700 bags per hour. The complete system includes the weighing / dosing unit, bag placing, bag filling, bag closing and bag transportation modules. Customers within the food, feed, building materials and fertilizer industries are amongst those that are already benefiting from this cost-effective equipment, which increases production rates and optimises manpower requirements. The system’s compact layout requires minimum floor space and has a fully integrated PLC control system, so it can be installed quickly on site, combined with competitive pricing, provides the user with a fast return on their investment. At the heart

Malvern Instruments has appointed Bernd Looser to the new post of Applications Specialist Process Systems. One of his main areas of focus in this role will be to develop, test and prove new and innovative on-line measurement systems. Bernd will also be involved in the development and execution of marketing activities and in furthering relationships with Malvern’s global process customers. This appointment highlights Malvern’s continuing commitment to providing and fully supporting robust, fully integrated on-line particle sizing solutions for industrial processes. Bernd joins Malvern having recently completed a degree in Process Engineering at the University of Applied Science in Constance, Germany. He has already contributed to Malvern’s product development through his work on the company’s patented diluter during a student placement in 2004. This diluter is now a key component of the recently launched Insitec LPS, a flexible on-line system for wet processes. Welcoming

Susan Aberle, project manager for Malvern Instruments’ on-line particle size analysis group, will be a keynote speaker at the forthcoming conference ‘Control of Particulate Processes VII’. The conference, which will focus on intelligent sensing and control as the path to manufacturing excellence, takes place from 29 October to 2 November 2006 at Harrision Hot Springs, BC, Canada. Dr Aberle’s presentation will cover the use of on-line particle sizing for process control. Manufacturing processes for particulates and solids are acknowledged as presenting greater processing challenges than either liquids or gases, and this conference takes place against the backdrop of increased investment in enabling techniques for improving product manufacturing performance. With developments such as the FDA’s PAT initiative, the trend is for all materials properties ultimately to be characterized on-line or at-line. The conference provides a forum for reviewing state-of-the-art

In 2000 Ernst Karalus took over the Sicon Sampling systems company. As co-founder and Managing Director of the original company Retsch-Anlagentechnik, created in 1980, he was ideally placed to head the newly formed company. For more than 25 years Retsch-Anlagentechnik & Sicon have been leaders in the field of sampling with numerous systems successfully installed in the bulk materials industry. Their experience covers all industries; cement, lime, chemical and pharmaceutical, food and animal feed, fertilisers, ores, minerals, coal and many other materials. With the aim to strengthen Sicon’s expertise and develop new equipment they formed a close relationship, in 2000, with Vock GmbH. Founded in 1976,and with over 30 employees, Vock are dedicated to high quality machined parts, sheet metalwork and steel construction. Their factory in Friedewald, Hessen, houses state-of-the-art facilities for the manufacture of machinery, vessels and steel structures, and their

Compact plant for emptying, weighing/metering, conveying DASAG has developed a compact and flexible system which can empty Big-bags with a simultaneous metering and conveying process. Thus 3 passes are automated in one unit whereas 3 different devices were required up to now. There are tremendous advantages for users, especially in fields where a metered addition to mixers or agitators is necessary. The plant is characterised by: - Dust-free handling in a completed system - Adjustable amount and rate of conveying - Partly emptying of Big-bags possible - Refeed of residual material into the Big-bag - Discharge aid and optimal conveying by Powder pump - Flexible plant design for a wide range of bulk material

The Sysmex FPIA-3000 automated particle shape and size analyzer from Malvern Instruments now includes the facility to measure particles suspended in non-aqueous solvents, as well as those in water-based materials. This is especially important in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, where there is often a requirement to measure the shape and size of particles that are soluble in water. The Sysmex FPIA-3000 can now accommodate all common solvents including acetone, methylethylketone, ethyl acetone, xylene and toluene. Since particle geometry as well as size is known to affect the characteristics and behaviour of particulate materials, the ability to measure particle shape continues to grow in importance. The fully automated Sysmex FPIA-3000 can measure particles in the range 0.8 to 300 microns and delivers both particle size and shape information. Using a CCD camera, the system produces images of each particle and provides a scattergram of shape index versus

The new brochure for Freeman Technology’s FT4 powder rheometer, which is now freely downloadable from the company’s website, illustrates the breadth of the system’s capabilities. A sophisticated universal powder testing system, the FT4 not only characterises the flowability of powders in a dynamic, process relevant way, it can also measure shear strength and bulk properties including compressibility, bulk density and permeability. With plug and play measurements options, full automation and high sensitivity the FT4 is attractive for QC, product formulation, process design and troubleshooting applications across a broad range of industries. Sales into pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, cosmetics, toners, powder coatings and ceramics sectors are testament to the instrument’s effectiveness and widespread applicability.

A new CD-based catalogue from Whitehouse Scientific brings together information on the company’s full range of standards for particle sizing, sieve calibration, filter testing and a wide range of other specialised applications for precision glass micospheres. Included on the CD are detailed product specifications, including technical reports, price lists and instructional video clips. The catalogue can be requested via the website www.whitehousescientific.com or by calling the company on +44 (0) 1244 332626

In May 2006, during Achema exhibition in Frankfurt Rotex Europe announced the release of the new APEX™ Screener. With its ergonomic design, the APEX screener increases up time by enabling quick screen changes, while retaining the same process efficiency and gyratory-reciprocating motion of the ROTEX Screener.The new APEX screener comes standard with the same great features found on the ROTEX Screener: gyratory-reciprocating motion, positive screen cleaning and bouncing balls to reduce blinding. The ergonomic design of the APEX enables the screener to be maintained by just one person, as all operator lifted components on the APEX weigh less than 40 pounds. In addition, APEX screens weigh only 5 pounds, which enable screen maintenance by only one person. Screens are available in sizes ranging from 1/2” to 325 mesh. Top cover inspection ports allow for easy seal inspection from outside the machine. Discharge outlets on the tail end of the machine are easily accessible

Chemical imaging technology adds exciting new capabilities to Malvern range 4 July 2006 Malvern, UK: Malvern Instruments Ltd (Malvern, Worcs, UK), a world leader in particle and rheological characterization systems, has acquired the assets of Spectral Dimensions, Inc. (Olney MD, USA) a privately held company producing near infrared (NIR) chemical imaging instrumentation and software. Spectral Dimensions will cease trading and the organization will be integrated into Malvern’s US subsidiary, Malvern Instruments Inc. (Southborough, MA). The chemical imaging development and applications teams will continue to operate from the former Spectral Dimensions facility in Maryland. Financial terms were not disclosed. “Spectral Dimensions leads the field in chemical imaging technology,” commented Paul Walker, Managing Director of Malvern Instruments. “The company has a strong team with a wealth of scientific and technical expertise, and has developed a suite of chemical imaging solutions. Its established customer base is primarily in the pharmaceutical

Ranges from 20 tons up to 100 tons Features and benefits include: - Capacities of 20t, 30t, 50t and 100t. - Self-contained design with built-in check rod and optional anti-uplift protection. - Available in both nickel plated mild steel and electropolished 304 stainless. - Integral safety support block to limit downward travel. - Based on the analog model 0782 load cell which has the following features: - Self-restoring rocker column design - Hermetically sealed stainless steel with IP68 protection - Global approvals as standard on each cell, including ATEX, FM, OIML and NTEP.

Sample preparation - one of the most important steps in the Laboratory Progress is chemical analysis technology has produced equipment with astonishing performances. To illustrate this performance, comparisons are often made such as „Our measuring equipment can detect a cube of sugar which has been dissolved in Lake Constance“. This may be true as far as the detection capability is concerned, but does this really tell us anything? All too often, expensive analytical instruments are purchased without due regard to the collection and preparation of the sample to ensure that the analysis is carried out on a homogeneous, representative, reproducible and uncontaminated sample. Unless the sample is reduced in size and accurately sub-divided without risk of contamination, we cannot be certain that sampling error may be greater than measuring error! Returning to the question of the sugar cube, how was Lake Constance stirred? From which location was the sample taken? This is why we are offering our 80 years of experience as a company