Why humidity control is the answer for Smarties.

The last few decades have seen great leaps forward in technology, and products are being created today that were pure science-fiction 20 years ago.

New technologies and products means new manufacturing processes, and the requirement for new quality controls, both formally (via ISO9000 etc) and informally to ensure maximum product quality and therefore customer satisfaction.

Compressed air and industrial gases have been used in manufacturing processes for many years, and ensuring the quality of these vital components has become increasingly important as customers demand more advanced and sophisticated technology.

"Hi Tech" is a phrase often bandied around, and this term can apply to modern manufacturing techniques for traditional consumer products as well as for innovative new products such as silicon chips. For example, the production of the humble Smarty is far more sophisticated nowadays than it was at it's birth, when consumers did not mind so much if their Smarties were a bit off-colour, or the texture was not quite perfect. Nowadays, a few cracked Smarties are much more likely to drive a customer to M&Ms! Cracking or discolouration is an example of the importance of ensuring that the air used in the drying process contains just the right amount of moisture - too dry, and the Smarties crack, too wet and I'm sure you can imagine the mess!

This same principle applies in countless other industries including tablet coating for pharmaceutical companies, engine testing in automotive research and development, environment control in battery manufacturing facilities, humidity control in contained environments such as environmental chambers, clean rooms and glove boxes.

So now we have established that having just the right amount of moisture in industrial gases and compressed air can save time and money as well as ensuring consistent product quality and ultimately (and most importantly!) the satisfaction of our customers.

The downside is that traditionally the type of instrumentation that will accurately pick up trace moisture levels in industrial gases, and provide ongoing monitoring so that any increase or decrease in humidity is quickly spotted before a disaster of runny-Smarty proportions is reached, has been very expensive, and often not rugged enough to withstand extreme industrial conditions.

The R&D gurus at Michell Instruments, The Dew Point Specialists, have solved this problem with the Optidew high performance optical dew-point transmitter.

Optidew is a totally microprocessor-based dew-point transmitter that gives the accuracy and stability of cooled mirror technology at a fraction of the cost. Not only that, Optidew is designed for use in the harshest industrial conditions.

Optidew's design features include:
· Fundamental dew point measurement
· High performance digital control loop technology
· Wide measurement range
· Dew point, temperature and relative humidity outputs
· 0.2°C dew point accuracy
· Zero drift
· Rugged, IP66 industrial housing
· Precision in-process dew point or % rh measurement

Michell Instruments has been a specialist in the field of humidity measurement for nearly 30 years, and all our products are traceable to the major international standards laboratories. We manufacture dew point hygrometers, calibration equipment and process analysers. The full range can be viewed at www.michell-instruments.com

So be a Smarty and let Michell help you to improve your product quality by improving your process gas quality.

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