月: 2024年2月

What Is a Powder Dispenser?

A Powder Dispenser is a sophisticated device specifically designed to accurately dispense a predetermined volume of powder. It falls under the category of automatic dispensing systems and is also known as a powder feeder or powder dispenser. These devices are commonly used in laboratories and the pharmaceutical industry, particularly for dispensing small amounts of powder, such as in milligram units.

Uses of Powder Dispensers

Powder Dispensers are primarily used in fields requiring precise powder dispensing related to chemistry and biology. They are employed in testing and research, the pharmaceutical industry, medical fields, the cosmetics industry, chemical engineering, and the food industry. These devices are used to accurately dispense minute quantities of powder, typically in milligram or microliter units, and commonly handle substances like:

• Pharmaceutical ingredients
• Reagents and raw materials for chemicals (such as resins or salts)
• Food ingredients like powdered milk or soy milk
• Food additives and seasonings
• Dental amalgam powders
• Agar and glass beads for biological and biochemical experiments
• Silica gel
• Veterinary powders
• Fish feed

Depending on the device, substances of various granularities, including powders, granules, and beads, are often processed.

Principle of Powder Dispensers

Powder Dispensers typically work by ejecting filled powder to achieve accurate dispensing. Some use a mesh plate to manually sieve a set volumetric amount of powder into a microplate.

Filling the Powder

The method of filling powder varies by device, including manual filling into the dispensing head or devices equipped with powder suction functionality. In dispensing head systems, the heads are interchangeable, allowing for the quick processing of multiple materials in different quantities without the need for cleaning, thus preventing cross-contamination.

Dispensing

Dispensers operate either by volume or mass units, with manual systems generally dispensing by volume. For example, manual systems might fill powder into a cavity at the tip and use a plunger to eject it. Electric systems can dispense rapidly, with each dispensing action taking about 3 seconds, and are capable of continuous ejection.

Device Design

Devices come in various designs, including handheld and benchtop models. Electric benchtop models can perform automated dispensing using racks of microtubes, vials, or well plates.

Mesh Plate Method

In the mesh plate method, a well plate is placed under the mesh plate, and powder is filled onto the mesh with a slider inserted between the mesh and well plate. After filling the mesh plate with the correct amount of powder and removing excess with a scraper, the slider is removed to dispense the powder into the well plate below.

Types of Powder Dispensers

There are various types of Powder Dispensers, and selecting one appropriate for the application is essential. Volume-based dispensers typically accommodate powder volumes from 5 to 1000 μl. Mass-based dispensers commonly work with milligram quantities, with some capable of dispensing from 5 to 300 mg, and others up to 25 g.

Both electric and manual dispensers are available, with electric models particularly suited for automating large-volume dispensing. Some devices can also integrate with peripheral equipment for automated material mixing, reagent preprocessing, and cap opening/closing. While microtubes, vials, and well plates are commonly used dispensing containers, compatibility varies by device, and some may only accept specific containers. Additionally, while some Powder Dispensers are designed solely for powder, others can handle various solids, including granules and beads.

What Is a Bowl Cutter?

A Bowl Cutter, also known as a silent cutter or a bowl chopper, is a device used in food processing. It consists of rapidly rotating cutters within a spherical container, designed to shred food materials while simultaneously mixing and emulsifying them. This innovative tool is particularly suitable for foods made from ground meat or paste, such as ham and sausage.

Uses of Bowl Cutters

Bowl Cutters are used for the uniform shredding, mixing, pasteurization, and emulsification of food ingredients. They are commonly utilized for coarse and fine chopping and emulsification of meats, making them ideal for the production of ground meat, hamburgers, sausages, chicken nuggets, and various types of ham. They can process various parts of meat, including lean meat, fat, and sinew, and can be used with chilled or frozen meats. They are also capable of producing fish meat sausages.

Additionally, they are used for chopping chicken products, vegetables, salads, and in the production of processed cheese, functioning as a general mixer and cutter. They can mix soy protein and gluten protein with water or oil, used in the production of vegetarian hams. Beyond food processing, bowl cutter technology is also applied in the field of fine chemicals.

Principle of Bowl Cutters

Overview

Bowl Cutters are made from stainless steel, considering hygiene. They are electrically powered and use motors to operate the bowl and cutters. The combination of knife speed, bowl speed, and the number of knives allows for various shredding and mixing processes.

Bowl

The bowl’s shape is typically flat, similar to a large washbasin, or completely spherical. Flat-type bowls usually rotate, while in spherical types, a part called the baffle usually rotates to stir the contents. Bowl speeds range from 12 to 24 rpm, with products offering stepwise speed changes or continuous speed adjustments.

Cutter

The cutter part of a Bowl Cutter consists of multiple blades. Typically ranging from three to ten blades, depending on the device, it’s possible to change the number of blades by swapping the cutter part. Knife speeds are generally between 1500 to 3000 rpm, with devices offering stepwise speed changes or continuous speed adjustments.

Types of Bowl Cutters for Food Processing

Overview

Bowl Cutters come with various unique features depending on the product, including safety lock mechanisms that stop the blades automatically when the lid is opened, and meat thermometers to prevent the temperature of food materials from rising. Some devices can heat or cool the ingredients during use, circulating cold or warm water around the bowl for temperature control.

The size of the products varies, with compact models available for tabletop use. Some products enhance usability with touch panel controls.

Vacuum Bowl Cutters

Some Bowl Cutters can reduce the pressure inside the bowl or create a vacuum environment. Processing chicken or vegetables in a vacuum can enhance the binding with water, improve color and flavor, and achieve denser emulsions. Vacuuming can also promote protein extraction and reduce jelly sedimentation, improving product quality and extending shelf life.

What Is a Hydraulic Piston Filler?

A Hydraulic Piston Filler is a device that utilizes hydraulic pumps to power the filling of foods, such as pastes, using a piston mechanism. This mechanism allows for the suction and extrusion of high-viscosity substances, making it ideal for filling viscous materials like ground meat and fish paste. It is commonly referred to as a hydraulic stuffer and falls under the category of volumetric fillers. The rapid filling capability of piston fillers makes them perfect for high-volume applications.

Applications of Hydraulic Piston Fillers

The primary applications of Hydraulic Piston Fillers are in food factories, meat processing plants, supermarkets, and butcher shops for sausage production. Casings for stuffing can be attached to the nozzle, allowing for sausage production. With additional attachments, they can also be used to shape hamburgers, meatballs, croquettes, and more.
Larger models can be used to stuff entire muscles into nets for products like hams, enabling the stuffing of prosciutto, rolled hams, and boiled hams. These fillers accommodate stretchable nets and general sausage casings.

Operating Principle of Hydraulic Piston Fillers

Mechanism

Most Hydraulic Piston Fillers feature a large cylinder with a hydraulic piston attached at the top.
The operation proceeds as follows:
Food to be filled is placed into the cylinder.
A piston is fitted at the top of the cylinder, and a casing is attached to the nozzle at the piston’s end.
When activated, the cylinder’s bottom rises, pushing the filling material upward to the top piston and then into the casing.
Filling into casings usually involves manual support. Consequently, the device’s switch is often a knee switch, allowing for hands-free operation.

Structure

The device is made of hygienic stainless steel, designed for easy piston removal and a screw-free bottom cylinder structure for straightforward cleaning. Some models feature corrosion-resistant coatings on cylinder parts. Many devices also use waterproof electrical boxes for the power and electrical circuits, enhancing durability.
Particularly in meat processing, piston fillers are designed to prevent the filling material from heating up, with some equipped with cooling fan kits to limit heat transfer.

Types of Hydraulic Piston Fillers

Hydraulic Piston Fillers are available in various sizes and capacities from multiple manufacturers, necessitating selection based on specific needs. Cylinder capacities range from small to large, with options like 14, 20, 25, 35, 50 liters, etc. Nozzle diameters can often be changed, with sizes like 12mm, 20mm, 30mm, and even up to 70mm to 200mm for larger models suited for hams.
Advanced models may include built-in pressure gauges and automatic depressurization as contents diminish. Some come with integrated speed regulators, allowing for manual speed adjustments. Models designed for mobility may be equipped with wheels.

Optional Attachments

Many Hydraulic Piston Fillers support a variety of optional attachments. For example, manual portioners can set quantities from 10 to 500 grams, and there are parts for shaping uniform patties of 100g, 80g, or croquette components. Some products feature attachment nozzles with vertical holes for producing skewered sausages (kebabs). These attachments are typically easy to disassemble and clean, similar to the main unit.

What Is a Stainless Filter Housing?

A stainless filter housing is designed to filter particles from liquids or gases efficiently.

In this system, the substance needing filtration is passed through a filter cartridge. This creates a pressure difference that effectively removes particles. The process utilizes a durable stainless steel housing, often in combination with pumps, to generate the necessary pressure difference for filtration.

Stainless filter housings are crucial in a variety of sectors, including the food industry for beverage and food filtration, pharmaceutical manufacturing for the filtration of raw materials and intermediates, and water treatment processes for purifying tap and industrial water. These housings are valued for their durability, corrosion resistance, ease of cleaning, adaptability, and safety.

What Is a Sonicator?

A sonicator is a device that utilizes ultrasonic vibrations to crush, disperse, emulsify, and mix substances efficiently.

Its operation begins with an ultrasonic generator that produces high-frequency electrical signals. These signals are transformed into mechanical vibrations by a transducer. When these vibrations are applied to a liquid via a probe, they induce cavitation— the formation and implosion of microscopic bubbles. This process generates shock waves that effectively crush, disperse, emulsify, and mix the substances within the liquid.

Widely used across various disciplines, sonicators play a crucial role in chemistry for tasks like nanoparticle synthesis and catalyst preparation; in biology for cell disruption and DNA extraction; in medicine for cell culture and tissue analysis; and in food processing for emulsification, homogenization, extraction, and enzyme activation, among other applications.

What Is a Solder Preform?

A solder preform is specifically shaped solder designed for direct application in soldering processes.

Offering improvements in work efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and quality over traditional soldering techniques, solder preforms are utilized across various industries. These include electronics, automotive, telecommunications, precision equipment manufacturing, and repairs.

The use of solder preforms simplifies the soldering process by placing them between the substrate and electronic component, then melting the solder with heat. This ensures proper wetting of both the substrate and component with molten solder, followed by cooling to solidify the joint. The pre-measured solder eliminates the need for manual measurement, reducing waste and costs, while guaranteeing consistent solder volume for high-quality connections.

What Is Sludge Dewatering?

Sludge dewatering is a process that reduces the water content in sludge from wastewater treatment operations.

This technology operates through three main stages: coagulation, where polymer coagulants are introduced to clump fine sludge particles together; concentration, using mechanisms like belt or screw presses to compress sludge and expel water; and filtration, applying techniques such as vacuum or pressure filtration to separate water from sludge using a filter cloth.

Implemented in settings like wastewater treatment facilities, industrial sites, food production plants, and livestock operations, sludge dewatering offers several benefits. These include decreased volume for processing, cost savings on transport, simplified disposal methods, and minimized environmental footprint. Key equipment in the dewatering process encompasses coagulation tanks, concentrators, filtration units, and storage for the resulting sludge cake.

What Is a Sapphire Wafer?

A sapphire wafer is a thin, circular substrate created by crystallizing high-purity single-crystal sapphire artificially and then slicing it into thin pieces.

Utilizing the exceptional hardness, strength, thermal conductivity, optical transparency, and chemical stability of sapphire, these wafers are employed in a variety of sectors including semiconductor manufacturing, optical devices, medical and biotechnological applications, precision instruments, and even jewelry.

Their use is driven by features such as compatibility with high temperatures and frequencies, unique optical properties, biocompatibility, and remarkable hardness and strength. These characteristics make sapphire wafers ideal substrates for advanced semiconductors, optical devices, medical equipment, and precision instruments. Their production involves crystal growth, slicing, polishing, cleaning, and meticulous inspection processes, ensuring the highest quality. Key attributes of sapphire wafers encompass high hardness, strength, thermal conductivity, optical transparency, chemical stability, biocompatibility, and excellent insulation resistance.

What Is a Room Pressure Monitor?

A room pressure monitor is a device utilized in environments requiring high air tightness to oversee indoor air pressure.

This device functions using static and differential pressure sensors that transform pressure variations into electrical signals for display purposes. It comprises sensors, display monitors, recorders, and alarm systems, all integrated to ensure effective monitoring. Its primary attributes include enhancing safety, providing comfort, improving efficiency, managing data, and offering versatility in application.

Room pressure monitors find application in tightly sealed homes, skyscrapers, medical facilities, and cleanrooms, among others. They play a crucial role in detecting unusual pressure changes that could affect health and structural integrity, thereby activating alarms to alert of these variations.