As it looked to scale up its production ahead of a new product introduction, Apacor asked Intertronics to help during its manufacturing development phase.
Challenge
Apacor was launching a new particle sampling product. It detects the full range of common indoor air quality target particles including mould, pollen, dander, construction dust, combustion particles, corrosion, and more. It is used for real estate inspections and cleanroom monitoring, and is designed for the rapid collection and analysis of a range of airborne particulates.
For this project, the company needed to accurately apply a liquid onto microscope slides, dispensing droplets in the microlitre range in an array. Both the amount of liquid and the positioning of the droplets needed to be within some fine tolerances. In the initial product development phase, Apacor was dispensing the liquid from hand-held laboratory pipettes, but they knew that this would not be adequate when scaled for full production.
Apacor investigated options across three different possible vendors, including Intertronics. A simple time/pressure dispensing machine, applying the liquid direct from a syringe, proved not to be accurate enough. With another vendor, Apacor evaluated a pneumatic jetting valve. Though there were some positive initial results, it didn’t end up giving the kind of repeatability required. Pneumatic jetting lends itself to dispensing at nanolitre range, so was over specified for the application. In this case, viscosity variations in the dispensed liquid caused changes in the amount jetted, requiring frequent dispensing parameter adjustments, and so not conducive to consistent production. And the jetting valve was very noisy.
Repeatability
Apacor wanted something that gave it more control over the process; equipment that could provide a tighter tolerance compared to simple time/pressure dispensing or the jetting they tested, and one that could be calibrated for certification purposes.
This led to a trial of the preeflow eco-Pen 300, which can dispense at as little as 1 µl and can be used for highly repeatable and consistent dispensing. It is used in multiple industries including laboratory work and biological chemistry, as it can dose and dispense a wide range of material viscosities and can be readily integrated into production processes.
preeflow technology is well proven. The eco-PEN is a precision volumetric, positive displacement dispensing system that gives accuracy and repeatability by a progressive cavity pump principle. By means of turning a specially designed rotor inside a stator, precise volumetric amounts of material are pumped out. Control is by means of specifying the number and speed of rotation. It is completely viscosity independent, and is highly repeatable, with an accuracy of ±1%, >99% of the time.
With the amount of liquid dispensed under control and within tolerance, the positioning of the droplets was the next thing to be considered. Intertronics integrated the preeflow eco-Pen 300 to a Fisnar F4303N ADVANCE benchtop robot, something which they had done many times before. With a resolution of 0.001mm per axis, it was able to place the droplets in the required array accurately each time. Programming the robot is carried out by a teach pendant using industry leading dispensing software that walks the user through step-by-step instructions, and the dispensing operation was created in minutes.
Every part that leaves Apacor must pass stringent quality control checks and failure to dispense at the rate and accuracy required would have resulted in failures.
Matthew Basely, Technical Sales Executive at Intertronics: “It was a case of finding the right fit. With a highly repeatable and accurate dispensing valve in the ecoPEN300, along with the positional accuracy of the F4303N, it is the optimal system in terms of accuracy.”
Integration
Intertronics provided a system that is easy-to-use, simple and reliable. The robot and dispenser integration was incorporated into Apacor’s workflow. Intertronics provided initial training and support with process development as the unit was brought into production.
The relationship means Apacor has purchased another ecoPEN product.
Dr Jonathan Earl, Head of Research & Development at Apacor, said: “The set-up we’ve got is just right. I see no reason why all our dispensing equipment needs wouldn’t be sourced through Intertronics, as we’ve been happy with everything so far.
“Working with Intertronics has been a great experience. Everyone has been professional, friendly and helpful. When we’re discussing the expansion of our product range, Intertronics will be part of that conversation.”
