Specac has recently launched a new hydraulic press for preparing pellets for XRF and other elemental analyses. In this article we speak to two key people at Specac about the new APEX hydraulic press and how it was developed.
Led by experience
The APEX represents Specac’s optimum solution for XRF pellet preparation. As Jim Williams, International Sales Team Leader at Specac explains, “The main requirements in high volume sample analysis for XRF are speed and robustness. Laboratories can’t afford downtime and often have to handle a lot of samples. So we’ve really focused on creating a product that satisfies both of those needs while still finding room for innovation.”
New ring dies are a speed boost
In fully automated XRF laboratories a common pellet pressing workflow uses so-called “ring dies”. These form pellets in steel supporting rings that fit loosely in the die. After a single pressing, the ring containing the compacted pellet sample can be removed by hand or by robotic arm and added to the automated sample carousel on the XRF spectrometer. The workflow requires the user to have a supply of a dozen or more steel support rings that are cleaned and recycled back into the process after the samples have been analysed.
“One of the principal new features of the APEX 400 press is the ability to press using ring dies, which significantly increase speed – we anticipate cycle times of around 60 seconds” says Williams. “We’ve designed versions that accept both the flatter 51.5 x 35 mm rings and the taller 40 x 32 mm rings. For the busiest laboratories this will likely be the optimal solution.”
The Apex Quick Release die begets the new APEX press
The usual procedure for pressing pellets in small laboratories involves adding sample powders to a pellet die, which is then loaded into a press and compressed at 10-20 tonnes; to remove the pellet from the die the user has to remove the base or solid cap and replace it with a hollow cap into which the pellet can be pressed out. This double handling of the die is labour intensive and often results in the die becoming jammed. In 2018, Specac introduced the Apex Quick Release die system for use with its Autotouch hydraulic press range. With the APEX press we have moved to a fully automatic solution: “The APEX press is equipped with ‘Quickshift technology’ which automatically shifts the pressure plate between its load and release positions, meaning that no manual intervention is required to extract the pellet from the die” explains Williams.
Clean sheet of paper approach for Engineering
Development of the new press was led by Matthew Cooper from Specac’s Engineering team. “The APEX 400 press had many challenging requirements, one of which was increasing the speed significantly.” The team investigated a number of hydraulic system components, eventually settling on a brushless motor solution. Another area of improvement was the ergonomics of repetitive use on the press: “we looked at how customers used the existing product and significantly changed the design of how they load sample into the press.” The team opted to put the die in a sliding drawer that could be moved in and out at desk level to make the repetitive work of filling and cleaning the die easier.
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If you want to speak to one of our sales team about how the APEX press will speed up your workflow for XRF pellet preparation, please use the contact form below.
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