Contamination in raw material can be a major problem in the production of medical tubes or of other products where quality demands are outstandingly high. Therefore, the usage of highly pure material has an essential importance. Challenging is the detection of contaminations which are embedded in the pellet or granulate material – in particular in colored ones. Damages caused by contaminated material can easily be running in the millions.

Progress by pioneering innovation

SIKORA accepted the challenge of developing an intelligent system, which can detect contaminations reliably and presents its latest innovation, the PURITY SCANNER. The impressing system intelligently combines the advantages of an x-ray measuring technology and an optical system. Thus, impurities of 50 µm in the pellet itself and on the surface are detected. Contaminated pellets are sorted out reliably.

Unique principle

Not only the use of x-ray technology for this application is unique, also the performance of the optical system is exceptional and exceeds previous solutions on the market. The goal is to provide with this combination a 100 % inspection of the raw material used.

«It is vitally important to reliably detect impurities of 50 µm», says Dr. Siegmar Lampe, Head of Research and Development at SIKORA AG.
 
Highest precision even when it comes to non-transparent pellets

«Especially for highest quality demands, the purity of raw material is of crucial importance. Every little contamination is a potential risk for the quality of intermediates and end products».

The possibility to inspect even non-transparent material is a characteristic feature of the PURITY SCANNER. The PURITY SCANNER is the first system that can check colored pellets for impurities due to its specially developed x-ray technology and thus to keep the material clean.

No contaminations from the outside

The progressive PURITY SCANNER features an unique measuring technology as well as a novel transport system of the pellets within the device. During the inspection, the pellets are in an hermetically sealed channel. The material does not come in contact with the ambient air and consequently absolute purity can be guaranteed.

Inspection of homogeneity

In production processes of compounding, in which pellets are blended with other substances and processed so that new pellets are developed, the homogeneity is of significant importance. If the homogeneity inside the pellets is not optimal, it may lead to problems in the production process.

The device is designed for a flow rate of 500, 1,000 oder 2,000 kg/h. By cascading the system bigger flow rates are possible.

Source: SIKORA