News items April 2009

FRITSCH EASY GTM - Gas pressure and temperature measuring system Transform your Planetary Ball Mill into an analytical measuring system by using two EASY GTM-bowls with special lids and a transmitter as well as a receiver board. The receiver unit needs only to be inserted and adjusted just once – regardless of the number of EASY GTM-bowls used. It enables the simple and easy monitoring of thermal effects, physical and chemical reactions or increase or decrease in pressure due to continuous measurement of gas pressure and temperature directly in the grinding bowl. And the grinding process is automatically controlled in a manner that the set parameters are not exceeded. The new FRITSCH EASY GTM grinding bowls are available in tempered steel, hardmetal tungsten carbide and zirconium oxide with a bowl volume of 80 ml.

Dispersion stability, particle size, particle shape, dielectric constant matter -Hall 6.3 P23-Q23 LUM GmbH welcomes you to inform about latest news in the field of dispersion analysis, particle and liquid characterization. Not only LUM products but also instruments for particle image analysis and the measurement of dielectric constants are presented. The Dispersion Analyzer LUMiSizer® made by L.U.M. GmbH is the complete dispersion lab in just one instrument. For real-time characterization L.U.M. GmbH is presenting the new product lines LUMiReader® and LUMiCheck®. The Demixing Tester LUMiCheck® is used for fast stability analysis and particle characterization with respect to comparison of different samples. Powdershape automatic (Innovative Sinter Technologien AG, CH) is an image analysis based system that enables to characterize statistically size and shape of fibres or fibre like objects by several parameters such as: grain (grit) size, max size, min size, ellipticity, convexity. With the new Liquid Dielectric Constant Meter 871 (Nihon Rufuto Co., Ltd., Japan)

ProCell LabSystem for testing fluid bed and spouted bed processes „ProCell LabSystem“ is not only the new name of the largest mobile Glatt lab unit –but, all fluid bed and spouted bed processes can be tested in batch and continuous mode with only one equipment. The continuous operating mode is especially preferred for the liquid-only , spray granulation process. In batch mode this process can be tested only within narrow limitations. The “ProCell LabSystem” has evolved from the lab unit ProCell 5, which has been sold and rented to numerous customers. This customer experience and satisfaction was driven by the excellent operating reliability and process flexibility of the equipment. The “new” lab unit will now offer four different process systems.. Customers can select one, two, three or all four process options, based on the needs of the desired product or project, as necessary. Using the “ProCell-system”, spouted bed processes can be tested. The spouted bed technology is extending the possibilities to process

Complete program ball valve specially designed for shutting-off powered media and granules KGL 400-series ball valves use fewer individual parts, have space-saving elements, are based on a practical modular principle and are easy to switch. The free cylindrical pass reduces flow resistance to a minimum and the dual-sided bearing configuration of the ball ensures a uniformly low switching torque throughout the entire pressure region. Optional special design with aerodynamic jam-free discharge flange for use with media that easily clog the fitting. design with self-adjusting seal system for a permanent fitting seal. Design with strong seal system, developed specifically for use with powdered and granular goods and suitable for fluids such as mineral oils. Nominal size 50 to 150 available in several material combinations and flanges type`s` as DIN2501 or pipe thread per DIN 259

Delft Solids Solutions has broadened her capability for particle sizing by investment in a new laser diffraction instrument with an extended minimum particle size range down to 0.02 micrometer. The instrument is suitable for dry dispersions by the Venturi effect, is capable of handling small (valuable) samples that require dispersion in aqueous or organic media, and features more advanced optical Mie modeling for smaller particles. Delft Solids Solutions (DSS) is a fully independent contract research laboratory that primarily focuses on the physical characterisation of solids. Core activities comprise research and non-transactional characterisation of solid materials from the micro to the macro level, in particular particle size, porosity, flow behaviour, and composition of a wide variety of materials.

On the 60th anniversary of the company, Berthold Technologies is launching the new detector generation SENSeries to the market and is setting new standards in the radiometric process control. The SENS-Detectors stand out by their unique and extreme high sensitivity to gamma radiation. New measurement accuracies can be achieved, well above those possible with radiometric systems to date. The extremely high sensitivity also means that existing sources can be used for a longer period. Instead of an expensive source exchange, the life of the existing sources can be extended by many years, or even decades, by using a new SENS-detector. Moreover, in new projects the high sensitivity results in a considerably high reduction of source activity. These characteristics are guaranteed by a patented process throughout the complete field of application and the total service-life. The SENSseries offers a suitable detector solution for each and every application. For the radiometric

Spray granulation for granules and pellets made directly from liquid raw material Fluid bed technology is used in various applications especially for agglomeration of powder or for encapsulation of tailor-made products with functional coatings. The contract manufacturer IPC International Process Center in Dresden, an associated company of the Glatt group, offers such technologies as contract manufacturing service since many years with growing success. In addition to batch processing IPC has installed continuous production facilities at the beginning of this year. Besides the well known agglomeration and pelletization processes, continuous fluid bed processing allows for spray granulation. With this technology granules or pellets can be made directly from liquid raw material. The products are compact and dust free granules with a mean diameter between 100 µm and 3 mm. Thus spray granulation is an alternative to spray dryers, the conventional process to dry liquids. The patented design of the processing chamber of the ProCell, a spouted

No dismantling of filter bags during wash cycle Wash in place – bag filters have also existed for several years. Glatt has frequently used them for the design of continuous fluid beds. Washing nozzles are installed in the clean and raw gas chamber at the top of the filter bags. During the wash cycle they flush the filter bags from the raw gas side and wash down all the dust on the surface. The quality of the washing process depends on the product. Our experience shows that in many applications the filters are clean for the next product. In order to improve the efficiency of the WIP step and to adjust the design of the specific granulator needs, we have now developed our own design of spray nozzles and filter bags. The filter has been installed in a GFG 250 and will soon be tested in full scale. Tests on our pilot unit were successful in 2008. After washing and rinsing the filter bags are dried in the fluid or spouted bed unit, and the next production campaign can start. This filter has a walk-in clean gas chamber

Continuous mixing trials assist in defining an efficient process flow. The energy consumption per output is low the physical manipulation of the bulk material is minimal and therefore is the risk of segregation reduced. The preparation of each batch is simplified and the probability of failures in the recipe preparation limited. Leading companies from the food and pharmaceutical industries have recognized the advantage of continuous processes. Gericke has placed its continuous mixer GCM at major Pharmaceutical companies and works together with Universities for optimal design definition. New is the GCM mixer manufactured in a hygienic execution with a cantilevered shaft and polished surfaces. The new execution allows to pull the mixing rotor completely out of the body and leaves the access free for cleaning and sterilisation. There are no hollow bodies where bacteria can hide. The mixer GCM is suitable fort he operation in ATEX zones. The processes can be designed

The Gericke Group delivers for 115 years powder processing equipment and systems. Pneumatic conveying solutions and feeding & mixing installations are among the core activities. Markus H. Gericke leads the group in the 4th generation. Gericke Pte Ltd in Singapore operates since 1993 in South East Asia. From this location, Gericke takes care about customers in the neighboured countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Motivated by the mission to serve the customers in China even better, Gericke has registered 2008 in Shanghai the company Gericke (Shanghai) Pte Ltd. The company follows in China the strategy of quality and continuous customer service. With the combination of local engineering and production and the selective import of key process machines from overseas, Gericke can offer high quality solutions with short return on investment. Gericke looks forward to receive your inquiries on the E-mail address gericke.cn@gericke.net.

Quick disassembling of equipment is desired to reduce the cleaning time, for better inspection and offers an advantage for frequent product change. Gericke is completing its proven feeder product range with the new GDU 151, which doses in the range of 0.05 - 600 l/h. The GDU 151 can be used as volumetric feeder or integrated into a weighing frame for gravimetric duties. All parts of the new feeder are designed to meet hygienic surface criterias and to be disassembled with a view manipulations only. Important design details are: polished surfaces, continuous weldings, no hollow bodies, round corners, machined groove and o-ring sealings. The connections to up- and downstream equipment is realised with quick clamps. The GDU 151 will be used in food and pharma¬ceutical applications when reliable dosing of any powders with high accuracy are required. As the dismantling and cleaning is simple and fast, frequent product changes are possible and the production interruption

The quality and concentration of ingredients and active substances are increasing. This generates the need for reliable feeders for the lowest capacity range. The constant federate and the accuracy should be developed to the maximum. The accurate and continuous feeding of very small quantities of ingredients is the target application of the DIW-PE-GDT. With its hygienic design, polished surfaces, machined sealing seats and the easy dismantling and cleaning possibilities, the new Gericke feeder meets exactly the needs of the food and pharmaceutical industry. The typical federate varies between 1-10 l/hr, the gravimetric feeder generates with its design and double helix set up a nearly pulsation free powder flow. The product is fed with a vertical agitator into the double helix twin screw. This ensures the accurate dosing of even difficult flowing products. The vertical agitator operates without a bearing in the bottom product zone. This reduces the number of bearings

ACHEMA Hall 6.3 P23-Q23 The Dispersion Analyzer LUMiSizer® made by L.U.M. GmbH is the complete dispersion lab in just one instrument. The LUMiSizer® simultaneously determines the demixing of 12 different dilute or concentrated dispersions. Based on the patented STEP®-Technology, the demixing phenomena are quantified regarding clarification, sedimentation and flotation velocities of the particles, residual turbidity, separated phase volume and sediment consolidation or dewaterability. Due to the acceleration of the demixing in the LUMiSizer up to a factor of 2300, information about e.g. colloidal stability, surfactant influence, particle size, agglomeration and flocculation of ceramic dispersions is obtained in drastically shortened time. Further applications include the determination of the influence of the specific surface area on the particle size distribution of silicon carbide, of different solvents on the particle size and agglomeration state of hydroxyapatite, or stability and

RETSCH will present their latest product generation 2009 at ACHEMA. One of the highlights is the new CryoMill which was designed for efficient grinding with liquid nitrogen. This mill features a closed circulation system with automatic cooling of the grinding jar which makes it particularly safe to handle. A product innovation from the area of particle size analysis is the 3-D sieve shaker AS 450 which separates up to 20 kg of sample material. Due to an extremely high amplitude, this siever achieves excellent separation efficiency with short sieving times. Further new products which will have a world premier at Achema are the powerful Cutting Mill SM 300 with variable speed, the Knife Mill GM 300 for sample volumes up to 3.5 l and the air jet sieve AS 200. RETSCH will also have a competition at their booth with many valuable prizes. RETSCH at ACHEMA: Hall 5.1, Stand D18 – E20

By installation of a new technical center, the leading contract processing company from Bruchköbel, Germany provides the possibility of ensuring once more the technical, monetary and qualitative aspects before production start. From now on, customer specifications can be verified at the Schöneck works by filling and refilling, mixing, coating, fine and micro grinding, separating, drying, screening, metal detecting, roll compacting, granulating etc. on the laboratory scale, before the start of any bigger production campaigns. The company, as a partner of the international industry from the areas of chemistry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food and feedstuffs, rubber, plastics and many more, is therefore able to offer new services, for example complete implementation of new products from lab scale to production scale and large-scale production. In addition to self-developed Ebbecke long-stroke screen PLANOSCREEN several more systems by well-known manufacturers

Wherever a comprehensive inductive metal detection is unsuitable for plant design reasons in the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetical, Food and animal feedstuffs industry, there are extensive damages to machines and products caused by metallic particle contamination. Delivery delays, non-compliance to supply agreements and contractual penalties can be the consequences, but in worst cases it can lead to irreparable damages to the company image. To meet these demands, Ebbecke has now put a new plant in operation, which is especially designed for the detection of ferrite metal and stainless steel particles. This new system provides an extremely sensible detection, thus additionally to the separation of bigger parts like screws and nuts also very small contaminations such as filings or metal threads are detected without problems. All common types of containers like silo wagons, big bags, octabins, drums, cardboard boxes and sacks can be used as charging and discharging

Quality is accessible! OPDwin quality assurance is a new tool which checks the quality of the product with the help of the batch records and mixer protocols and indicates possible divergences to the company recipe immediately. As a part of the Cron-service performed the tool offers the advantage that it must not be first started manual but working with the system start in the background. High-class signs for the produced mixture are: · Correct use of all raw materials given in the company receipt in every charge · Properly measured raw material amount within freely determinable tolerance · Correct use of the mixing receipt given in the mixing prescription in every charge · Abidance of the debit values of process parametres, as for example period/temperature/rotation speed, within freely determinable tolerance The qualitatively complained orders become in the order result as well as later in the archive over a red mark (Qu. Ko. (quality check)) directly marked in the overview

VEGAPULS radar sensors are considered "state of the art" in the market. With more than 200,000 installed and operating, the VEGAPULS instruments are the most sold radar-based level sensors in the world. At ACHEMA 2009, the next generation of the tried-and-true pulse radar technology from VEGA will be making its debut. These sensors belong to the new instrument generation plics®plus. Through the extension of the temperature range to 450 °C and the higher chemical resistance of the antennas, this new generation of radar sensors has a much wider application spectrum. Additional housing versions, an optimised connection concept and simplified operation thanks to clear adjustment parameters make setup and commissioning even easier. New, ultrafast microprocessors provide more power for signal analysis and enable complex processing algorithms. Modern electronic components allow a never-before realised signal evaluation and a better differentiation between product level and vessel installations. Due to the considerably faster signal processing,

Sensor adjustment at a new level of quality and compatibility FDT/DTM technology for adjustment of field instruments is the state of the art. It is well established on the market for use with sensors, actuators and gateways, and is offered by many instrument manufacturers. To obtain a better overview within the DTMs of different manufacturers, many users have for some time been requesting a standardised design for the user interface. Measured values and similar recurring information from the instruments must be found quickly and easily without a long search. This demand has been taken into account in the FDT-Style-Guide created by the FDT Group. Now, the manufacturers of DTMs have at their fingertips a standard that defines a uniform, user-friendly adjustment interface, and that without having to forego the option of individual arrangement and design. In the future, the FDT-Style-Guide will be the characteristic feature of a customer-oriented design and an integral part of the DTM certification. As the first major provider

The door specialist EFAFLEX presents its patented door area surveillance via its laserscanner EFA-SC EFA-SCAN® is the first laser scanner worldwide for doors. The scanner completely captures the whole area in front of the door and intelligently combines motion capturing and reliable door area protection in only one device. When a moving object or a person is scanned the device reacts within a fraction of a second and the door opens. Geometry and logic of the capturing zone – with a maximum range of 10 x 10 meters – can be freely chosen. EFA-SCAN® not only detects movements but also captures their range, direction and speed. The impulse for opening is only transmitted to the door if vehicles or persons move in the direction of the door. The impulse is not transmitted if a person for instance only passes by the door. In the static safety area directly in front of the door EFA-SCAN® reacts like a security system: the scanner captures the complete width of the door and prevents the door from closing as soon as moving or static obstacles are scanned. The depth of

Eliminating load platforms and saving energy - New palletless unit loads are cold stretch wrapped Achema is the debut for the palletless stretch package based on the reverse hood system developed by Maschinenfabrik Möllers GmbH of Beckum, Germany, announced as a unique breakthrough. The exhibit comprises 59 bags of chemicals weighing 1,475 kg, representing a new type of unit load with the form and function of pallet loads, but dispensing with the load platform. The stack of bags is bound entirely by two hoods wrapped in opposite directions made of ultra-stretch film and a film base, to form a robust shipping unit which can be handled with forklifts and cranes. The packaging system manufacturer emphasizes the advantage of major cost savings by doing away with pallets, combined with additional protection of the goods against moisture, dirt and theft. The decisive advance in this breakthrough compared to existing reverse hood shrink packages in ecological and economic terms is the drastic reduction in energy consumption, since no heat is now required.

Vacuum Dryer 5 liter Lab unit Hosokawa Micron B.V., leading in the field of powder processing technology and specialized in engineering, design and manufacture of equipment and systems for mechanical and thermal processing of powders, will participate in Achema 2009. Our core businesses mixing, drying and agglomeration will be well presented at our booth. During Achema, Hosokawa Micron B.V. will exhibit in Hall 5, Stand D38-E41 The Micron dryer, also called Drymeister is a unique flash mill dryer using hot air or gas as drying media and combines three unit operations: Drying, Grinding and Classifying in one machine! The Drymeister is able to handle a feed material coming out of the mechanical dewatering step directly into the dryer. based on its ability to handle high solid content feeds, the DMR can economize the drying process saving time and energy! See it at Achema and test it in our extended test station. More information? Please contact us by phone +31(0) 314 373 333 or by e-mail:

Batching indicator Software: R400-K411 2.20 and higher (applies to V2 Hardware) The R423 hardware and software has been upgraded to support multiple recipes and a variety of other features. * 100 Recipes Automatic proportion on first fill * Automatic proportion calculation after first fill stage * Proportions of remaining batch are adjusted automatically according to first material fill quantity * Ideal for applications with a manually loaded first fill stage Two printer support * Support for up to two (2) printers * Selectable port per printout type * Ideal for applications that require a customer docket and a company print record or alibi Time of day batching * Timer based multiple batching * The Real Time Clock is used to control the batch timing for time based batching * Ideal for bio-fuel applications, delayed batch start or night shift operations

Hosokawa Micron B.V., leading in the field of powder processing technology and specialized in engineering, design and manufacture of equipment and systems for mechanical and thermal processing of powders, will participate in Achema 2009. Our core businesses mixing, drying and agglomeration will be well presented at our booth. During Achema, Hosokawa Micron B.V. will exhibit in Hall 5, Stand D38-E41 The Micron dryer, also called Drymeister is a unique flash mill dryer using hot air or gas as drying media and combines three unit operations: Drying, Grinding and Classifying in one machine! The Drymeister is able to handle a feed material coming out of the mechanical dewatering step directly into the dryer. based on its ability to handle high solid content feeds, the DMR can economize the drying process saving time and energy! See it at Achema and test it in our extended test station. More information? Please contact us by phone or by e-mail.

Flexomix FX 100 "Mixer - Agglomerator - Instantiser" Hosokawa Micron B.V., leading in the field of powder processing technology and specialized in engineering, design and manufacture of equipment and systems for mechanical and thermal processing of powders, will participate in Achema 2009. Our core businesses mixing, drying and agglomeration will be well presented at our booth. During Achema, Hosokawa Micron B.V. will exhibit in Hall 5, Stand D38-E41 Flexomix technology can be applied wherever small quantities of liquid are to be added to powders, or agglomerates have to be produced, in which large quantities of liquid are absorbed, and where the size of particles needs to be enlarged. For each specific application, pilot plant trials can be preformed for defining best process parameters for optimal aspects of the end product and for lowest energy consumption. The Hosokawa Flexomix is used in the chemical industry for: super absorbing polymers, phosphate-based products, horticultural fertilizer, crop protection agents,

Long particle probe for large At the ACHEMA trade show, Parsum will put on display the new IPP 70-SL in-line particle probe designed for reliable measurement of particles in large process vessels with a length of up to four (4) meters. Just like the smaller IPP 70-S standard models, the IPP 70-SL provides the complete particle size distribution within a range from 50 µm through 6,000 µm in real time. In large mixers, granulators or fluidized bed systems, measurements can be made in various representative spots. For very deep process vessels, this means the measurement does not have to be made near the surface or wall any more. The design principle of the probe facilitates its design in various lengths, tailored to the intended application. The range of length is from 40 cm to approximately 4 m. The probe electronics are accommodated inside the tube and may be additionally cooled with compressed air as and if required. The same accessories as for the standard probes of the IPP 70 series (viz.

For continuous fluid bed and spouted bed equipment Fluid bed and spouted equipment requires additional space to service the filter on top of the already tall equipment. Up to 2.5 meters are required above the fluid bed contraption in order to exchange 6 m long filter bags. Glatt has now integrated horizontal filters into the fluid bed. The height of the equipment is decreased by putting the clean gas chamber to the side, resulting in no space being required above the fluid bed unit. Doors on the side of the clean gas chamber enable easy access to the filter elements. Exchanging of the filter elements is in actual fact easier from the side compared to the top. A further advantage is the possibility to design the room at the side of the clean gas chamber as a wash room with a solid floor and tight connection to the fluid bed unit. The dust-loaden filters are handled only within this room, contaminating no other parts of the plant with the filter dust. Having removed the filter plates the complete fluid bed unit can

Tapco Inc., an industry-leading manufacturer of elevator buckets and elevator bolts, recently added the Western 3-Prong bolt to its product line. The Western 3-Prong bolt, available worldwide, joins Tapco’s existing styles: the No. 1 Norway Flat Countersunk, No. 3 Eclipse (Slotted), Fanged, and Pointed Fanged. The Western 3-Prong bolt, historically used in Western Canada, offers resistance, engagement and strength at a cost-effective price. Tapco is the only company that stocks the Western 3-Prong bolt in stainless steel. Tapco offers the largest selection of elevator bolts in North America with an inventory of more than 14 million pieces in 38 sizes (Metric and Imperial).

Real-time automation under Windows with EtherCAT Hardware dependent programming in real-time is the demand of many sectors of industry, who are changing from legacy field bus protocols to flexible real-time Ethernet solutions. Kithara Software supports engineers and developers with the »EtherCAT Master«. The »EtherCAT Master« of the collection »RealTime Suite« of the Berlin company Kithara Software is the optimal tool for diverse automation solutions under Windows and supplies all necessary mechanisms for realizing flexible control applications based on EtherCAT fast and at reasonable prices. The software provides users-besides essential functions like highly precise timers and the necessary real-time network driver-further mechanisms, such as hardware access to PCI cards or USB devices and serial interfaces. PC-based realization of industrial control applications is an enormous simplification of automation technology. But Windows operating systems are not able to deliver hard real-time offhand. This

Silo discharge blocking problems with powdery, lumpy or granulated bulk goods overcomes a vibrating cage. Suitable for all silo types it gets installed onto the silo cone end. This only activates that part of the stored bulk goods to be discharged immediately. Short operating cycles with vibration-free intervals save energy. There will be no fluidizing air in the bulk material which can cause problems in subsequent operation such as dosing or weighing sacking. Maintenance free seals prevent leakage of the silo. Even difficult products such as sewage sludge are handled with a special, up to 3 bar pressure surge proof model. Another model is pressure resistant up to 7 bar.

All you need on the field of compressed air GrassAir Compressoren, specialist on the field of compressed air and its applications has completely renewed her website. This is the adress for information about pistoncompressors, screwcompressors, oilfree scroll and WIS compressors. Variable speed controlled screwcompressors and the extraordinairy energysavings that are possible with these products. The controll and monitor possibilities on complex compressed air istallations, but also for smaller set ups. How can we dry the compressed air? With fridge dryers or adsorption dryers? Find on the GrassAir website how these products can be integrated into the compressed air production process and will lead to an efficient energy consumption. Filtration of compressed air? Condensate cleaning? Individual advice? Possibility of subsidization? Maintenance on your installation? Look into our website and use our special knowledge and our wide product portfolio.