Combined XRF and OES analysis is particularly relevant to high alloy, stainless steel, copper, brass and bronze applications where a single analysis is produced with high concentration alloy elements from the Thermo Scientific ARL 9900 XRF spectrometer and trace and light elements from the Thermo Scientific ARL 4460 metals analyzer. Just a few seconds are needed for the SMS-3000 series robot to move samples between the system components. Time consuming electro-mechanical transfer systems are eliminated.
A double OES configuration is typical of iron and steel laboratories where two instruments are necessary to permanently provide analysis services and assure fast response times when several urgent samples have to be processed at the same time. In aluminum or fire assay applications, two OES instruments are often required to cope with heavier sample workloads. The new ARL SMS-3000 Series optimizes the entire analytical process rather than only individual components; it is an affordable alternative to the higher cost of two fully duplicate and separate automated instruments, each with its own robot and expensive peripherals like vision systems.
The integration of separate sample preparation and analysis systems in one or more compact ARL SMS-3000 Series cells streamlines full laboratory automation. Samples received via automated air tubes can be immediately processed leading to major cost and significant response time savings. These samples can also be temporarily stored and processed by priority.
Simplified operation and reduced system complexity make the new ARL SMS-3000 Series easy to maintain and service. One screen provides access to the full range of sample tracking and automation user functions. Moreover, each instrument can be used off-line for manual work without interruption of the automatic system operation.
The new ARL SMS-3000 Series offers a choice of configurations based on different sizes of world class FANUC industrial robots, reputed as the most reliable:
- The ARL SMS-3000 entry level version is based on a medium size table top industrial robot which stands on a chassis.
- The ARL SMS-3500 version uses a larger floor standing industrial robot with an arm length with gripper of 1614 mm and 6 axes of movement; it provides increased flexibility in the positioning and interfacing of the sample preparation machine(s).
It shares the same proven options than the other Thermo Scientific SMS versions (vision system for the evaluation of prepared sample surfaces quality, sample labeling, radioactivity measurement and many more).
By eliminating human intervention and integrating laboratory automation mechanisms, the new ARL SMS-3000 Series increases process control efficiency; it leads to more precise, more dependable and fully reproducible analyses available faster in production.
Our company is unique in designing and manufacturing X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (XRF), optical emission spectrometers (OES) and Fire Assay analyzers (FAA). Our competence and responsibilities are not merely limited to one analytical technique or automation but covers the complete system.