FORMULATION SYSTEM WITH GLOVEBOX
A highly flexible formulation system with characterisation capabilities, used predominantly for the battery, adhesive & ink industries.
The formulation system is highly flexible and can be reconfigured multiple times a day to run different formulation workflows. The system can run workflows of up to 112 x 30ml formulations. Each step of the system’s workflows are defined in a .csv input file by the user.
To carry out workflows, the system uses a variety of processing, handling, dispensing & analysis modules. Two robot arms, and sets of robotic axes, move the pots between the different modules. A pot processing station removes, and stores pot lids and reads the pot’s barcodes. Various types of mixing media can be dispensed into the pot before materials are added, to aid in grinding & mixing. Seven different types of dispensers are used to gravimetrically dispense liquids, powders, resins, pastes & slurries.
A HEPA extracted glovebox enclosure features three further dispensers – this enclosure allows hazardous materials to be safely dispensed. A dual asymmetric centrifuge (DAC) is used to mix three formulations simultaneously. If required, formulations can be transferred into syringes, or can be analysed using a ‘pendant drop’ module to measure their surface tension.
Key Features.
Dispensing
Capable of dispensing liquids, powders, resins, slurries and more
Glovebox enclosure
The custom glovebox enclosure allows the system to safely dispense hazardous materials into formulations
Accuracy
Dispensers can dose materials to accuracies of between ±1mg and ±50mg, dependant on the material. All dispenses are weighed to a resolution of 0.1mg
Throughput
Workflow dependant, the system can run up to 20 to 50 pots in an 8-hour shift
Easily upgradable
The system has capacity to be upgraded with further dispensers and processing modules
Collaborative
The system can be accessed safely in the middle of the workflow to refill materials and consumables
Pendant drop test
Formulations can have their surface tensions measured using an image analysis based pendant drop test. This takes place whilst other formulations are being created
Mixing
Equipped with a dual asymmetric centrifuge (DAC), the system can simultaneously mix three formulations, containing mixing & grinding media, at speeds of up to 2750 RPM
High capacity
The system can run up to 112 x 30ml formulations in one workflow
Syringe transfer
Complete formulations can be transferred into 55cc syringes to be used on other systems, offline tests, or to fed back into a syringe dispenser on this system
