FT4 Powder Rheometer Transforms Powder Testing Capabilities at AZO GmbH + Co. KG Supporting the Development of Tailored Powder Handling Solutions
Share:
Tewkesbury, UK: At AZO GmbH + Co. KG (Osterburken, Germany), one of the world's leading suppliers of automated raw material handling equipment, the introduction of the FT4 Powder Rheometer has revolutionised the company's approach to powder characterisation. Replacing older shear cell equipment and a basic powder tester, use of the FT4 has dramatically reduced the time taken to reliably characterise a new powder and enhanced AZO's ability to design and specify optimised solutions uniquely tailored to individual customer needs.
By providing dynamic powder testing capability, the FT4 Powder Rheometer is giving AZO a new set of parameters with which to rationalise the in-process behaviour of powders. This additional information and extra insight is helping the company to develop new, more secure design protocols and to more efficiently identify optimal powder handling solutions for its clients.
"The dynamic testing capability of the FT4 is allowing us to look at our powders in a completely new way,"remarks Michael Mayer, research engineer at AZO. "We're finding Basic Flowability Energy (BFE) [a dynamic parameter] especially useful because it differentiates powders so sensitively. It's now the test we first turn to when we get a new material. But aeration testing is really valuable too because it gives us insight into how the powder will behave in unit operations such as pneumatic conveying. The FT4 is fully automated, so all the testing is quick, easy and highly reproducible."
The teams at AZO are finding that BFE data help to rationalise why certain powders behave well in certain types of equipment. This means that by testing just a small amount of material the company can now identify a suitable processing solution more confidently, ahead of plant trials, which require much larger quantities of material. Other powder properties are also proving highly relevant to performance in specific unit operations. Work to fully exploit the potential of the FT4 is still in its infancy but the expectation is that over the long term it will enable the development of new design algorithms for key processes and significantly extend the company's knowledge base.
For more information about the AZO Group http://www.azo.com/
For details about Freeman Technology's powder characterisation solutions ww.freemantech.co.uk
About Freeman Technology
Freeman Technology specialises in providing systems for the measurement of powder flow properties and has over a decade of experience in powder flow and powder characterisation. With a significant commitment to R&D and applications development, the company delivers extensive know-how alongside its universal powder tester, the FT4 Powder Rheometer. An expert team guides and supports users in addressing their individual powder challenges, the process relevance of powder characterisation data being a key focus. The result is world-leading solutions for understanding powder behaviour, whether in development, scale-up, processing, quality control, or wherever powders have a role. In April 2007 the company received the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation.
Freeman systems are installed around the world in a diverse range of industries -chemical, pharmaceutical, toners, foods, powder coatings, metals, ceramics, cosmetics and many others. Correlating the powder data they supply with processing performance enables clients to quantify and exploit operational experience to optimise their processes. www.freemantech.co.uk
Press information
Trish Appleton, Kapler Communications
Knowledge Centre, Wyboston Lakes, Great North Road
Wyboston, Bedfordshire MK44 3BY, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1480 479280; Fax: +44 (0) 1480 470343;
trish@kapleronline.com
Please send enquiries to
Tim Freeman, Director of Operations
Freeman Technology Ltd, 1 Miller Court, Severn Drive
Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8DN, United Kingdom
Tel:+44 (0)1684 851 551
Fax: +44 (0)1684 851 552
info@freemantech.co.uk
www.freemantech.co.uk
