Differential Weighing with LabX Assures Fuel Cell Performance · 2020-01-27 · chambers on ice...

Weighing and Analysis in the Laboratory

10News

LabAnalytical solutions in the laboratory

Edition 01/2012

The capacity and performance of aviation fuel cells are directly related

to the cell construction and the amount of active substance they contain.

Using a differential weighing application implemented in LabX, China's

Donghua University saves time in quality control and can guarantee cell

performance.

The negative plate of aviation fuel cells are made of a shaped silver mesh con-taining the active substance in the form of a paste. The active substance is in close contact with the mesh and the current collecting plate. This reduces the electron transfer distance, improves the utilization of cell volume and thus improves cell ca-pacity. If the negative plate is too thick or too thin, this results in reduced cell capacity and efficiency. Controlling the active substance filling is therefore key to ensuring cell performance. Using differ-ential weighing to accurately determine the amount of active substance filling ef-fectively saves time in quality control and process analysis.

The School of Mechanical Engineering at China’s Donghua University uniquely un-

derstands the requirements of aerospace fuel cells in terms of research and devel-opment and production quality control. In order to accurately control the amount of paste applied during production, the silver mesh is first weighed alone and then again after molding and addition of the paste. The difference between the two weights is the weight of the applied paste filling.

LabX – efficient and accurateThe differential weighing application was implemented in LabX software in accor-dance with the University’s requirements. The software is connected to a METTLER TOLEDO XP203S balance and the ap-plication is started with just One Click™ on the balance touchscreen. The process incorporated the use of a barcode scanner

Differential Weighing with LabXAssures Fuel Cell Performance

2 METTLER TOLEDO Lab News 10

Publisher Mettler-Toledo AG Laboratory Division Im Langacher CH-8606 Greifensee, Switzerland

Production Segment Marketing LABGlobal MarCom Switzerland

Subject to technical changes. © Mettler-Toledo AG 02/12 Printed in Switzerland.

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which was connected to the balance via the RS232C port. Researchers use the scanner to read the barcode ID on each silver mesh before and after the molding and paste application process. Dealing with hundreds of silver meshes at one time, LabX uniquely identifies each mesh via the barcode, calculates the weight dif-ference between the two weight sets and stores all results correctly in a secure da-tabase.

Simple and practicalThe unique barcode identification means

the weighing order of samples in the same batch is no longer important, making the process much simpler for the researchers. Previously, researchers manually input data into Excel and updated their Pro-grammable Logic Controller (PLC) data file directory. Now, LabX exports the final results in a format suitable for reading by the PLC to facilitate efficient production control and quality inspection of prod-ucts. The researchers just need to do the weighing on the balance!

According to a research project leader in

Donghua University, “The automation is really convenient. It saves us a lot of time and reduces workload. I don’t want to re-turn to the days without LabX”.

Text: Ji Chen, One ClickTM technical support,

METTLER TOLEDO China

www.mt.com/1-click-weighing

LabX provides SOP user guidance on the balance and automatically saves all results.

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The California-based Affymetrix’s

Research Services Laboratory pro-

vides high throughput genotyping

services to customers perfor ming

large-scale microarray-based

studies. ARSL’s goal is to provide

quality data and minimize the time

needed to complete ge notyping

studies. Technicians process

samples in 96-well plates using

the Liquidator 96 for efficient high-

throughput studies.

Many life science labs have adapted PCR applications to fit their specific research needs. Genotyping assays using microar-ray technologies, for example, have helped to identify many disease specific genes and Affymetrix has developed a number of in-novative gene array platforms. The ARSL offers a whole-genome genotyping assay that can provide insight into an organism’s genetic make-up and gene expression pro-file. Here is ARSL’s PCR plate set up protocol for processing samples on a whole-genome genotyping assay using the Liquidator 96, a

manual benchtop pipetting system which maximizes workflow without complicated programming or dedicated technician time.

Aliquot ligated DNA to the PCR plates using the Liquidator 96 1. Dilute the ligated DNA sample by adding

reagent to a 96-well plate using the Liq-uidator 96.

2. Transfer 10 μl each of diluted ligated sample from all rows to the correspond-ing well of each PCR reaction plate. For example (Figure 1): transfer 10 μL of each sample from Row A of the ligation stage plate to the corresponding wells of row A on the plates labeled P1, P2 and P3.

3. Seal each plate with adhesive film and place them in cooling chambers on ice until ready to add master mix.

Adding PCR master mix to samples Using Rainin’s Liquidator 96, add 90 μL of PCR master mix to each sample. To avoid contamination, change the pipette tips af-ter each dispense. The total volume in each well is now 100 μL.

High-throughput Genotyping AssayAchieved With Liquidator™ 96

‘’We use Rainin’s Liquidator 96 for high-throughput applications. As it is versatile for many application areas, we replaced lower capacity pipettes with Liquidator 96 in PCR, purification and hy-bridization processes.’’

Kay Mekaru, Lab Supervisor, Scientific Services, Affymetrix Research Services Laboratory

1. Seal the reaction plates tightly with ad-hesive film.

2. Vortex the center of each reaction plate at high speed for 3 seconds.

3. Reduce the speed to 2,000 rpm and spin the plates for 30 seconds.

4. Keep the reaction plates in cooling chambers on ice until they’re ready to be loaded onto the thermal cyclers.

5. Load the plates onto a PCR block. By switching their liquid handling devices from multichannel pipettes to the Liquida-tor 96, Affymetrix now saves as much as 30-45 minutes for every two PCR plates prepared. Liquidator 96 streamlines many steps in PCR plate preparation, including adding master mix, sample dilution, sam-ple distribution and sample pooling.

www.mt.com/liquidator

1 Ligation stage plate with Sty ligated samples.2 Transferring equal aliquots of diluted and ligated samples into three 96-well reaction plates.3 An equal aliquot of each sample from the Ligation Plate is transferred to the corresponding

well of each PCR plate. For example, an equal aliquot of each sample from row A on the Sty Ligation Plate is transferred to the corresponding wells of row A on PCR plates P1, P2 and P3.


National Starch, the world leader in specialty starch technology, trusts in

Halogen Moisture Analyzers from METTLER TOLEDO. Trust is good, but as

for all analysis devices, control is better. SmartCal is the new and quick

way of verifying the performance of Halogen Moisture Analyzers.

The manufacturing site of National Starch Specialties (Shanghai) Ltd uses two methods for Loss on Drying measure-ments. For routine control, and to cope with the large number of samples, the fast METTLER TOLEDO HG63 Halogen Moisture Analyzer method is chosen. Dry-ing in the oven is used as reference. If the results of the Moisture Analyzer match the reference drying oven method, it is verified that the Moisture Analyzer is working correctly. Additionally, periodi-cal instrument calibration assures valid results. Controlling the instrument per-

formance is time-consuming and, for this reason, is performed at prolonged intervals. Long gaps between calibrations lead to a blind spot in instrument perfor-mance monitoring.

SmartCal eliminates blind spotSmartCal, an innovative and temperature sensitive reference substance, verifies the performance of moisture analyzers in 10 minutes. During a normal measure-ment cycle, the reference substance re-leases a defined amount of moisture. If this moisture amount remains within the

Verifying Moisture Analyzer Performance Within 10 Minutes

control limits, the moisture analyzer is confirmed to be functioning properly. Test frequency with SmartCal has been defined specifically for the process and quality requirements of National Starch with the help of METTLER TOLEDO’s cus-tomer service. For National Starch, moni-toring the status of their moisture analy-sis equipment has never been so quick and easy.

Text: Helen Vogt, Product Manager Moisture Analyzer

www.mt.com/smartcal

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Meeting Worldwide NormsFor Emission Control

Meeting emissions standards with minimal costs is a key task in emis-

sions determination throughout the world. Due to the increasingly strict

requirements of international regulations, determining particulate mat-

ter mass is a definite challenge for environmental laboratories and the

automotive industry. The F_Line Filter Robots automate, simplify and

accelerate your workflow while simultaneously help you to reach norms

with minimal effort.

With the introduction of the F_Line Filter Robots in 2008, METTLER TOLEDO was the first to design automatic filter weigh-ing systems. Today, the Filter Robots are supplied as turnkey solutions for all types of emissions filters from 25 mm cellulose membranes, for human safety validation, to 70 mm quartz filters, for off-road diesel engine certification.

High accuracyThe F_Line Filter Robots comply with all present and upcoming standards in these industries robots and deliver quick results with a readability of 0.1 μg. The Windows® based software, FilterControl, facilitates fil-ter coding via its barcode scanner and al-lows data integration with existing software systems. Due to the advanced measurement technology and absence of human interac-tion in the weighing and documentation procedures, results now reach an un-matched accuracy and precision.

Short throughput times The Filter Robot can easily read-in up to 80 filter IDs via barcodes and has the flex-ibility to measure filters with 47 mm and 70 mm diameters. All process steps are performed automatically without any de-lays caused by transferring samples, filter removal or other interruptions. The inno-vative filter holder allows acclimatization, storage, transport and weighing all in one.With filter weighing becoming four times

faster, the high-throughput from F_Line Filter Robots effectively minimizes time and costs.

Watch the video and see how filter weighing can be automated at: www.mt.com/filter.

Text: Alain Bantli, Product Manager

www.mt.com/filter

Know-how

Join the online webinar

Our expert on filter weighing solutions explains everything you need to know in order to accurately and reliably determine particulate matter on filters using manual or automatic balances.

He reveals best practice techniques, e.g. to minimize external influences on the weighing result, and provides valuable background information on how to successfully manage challenging weighing processes.

Visit us and access this recorded Webinar:

www.mt.com/ webinar-filterweighing

New F-A770 Filter Robot


Flash DSC Technology Revolutionizes Polymer Physics

The Flash DSC 1 is a completely new type of DSC instrument. It has

been developed to obtain information not previously available concern-

ing the formation of structure and reorganization of metastable materi-

als through the use of extremely high heating and cooling rates.

Flash DSC 1 is a completely new type of commercial DSC with a signal time con-stant of less than 1 millisecond. This allows very high heating and cooling rates to be achieved. Although the time constant is so short, the sensitivity of the DSC is still excellent so that measure-ments can also be performed at rela-tively low heating rates. The heating rate range is 1 K/s to 40 000 K/s (60 K/min to 2 400 000 K/min). The maximum cool-ing rate achieved is 4 000 K/s (240 000 K/min).

Isothermal crystallization of isotactic polypropylene (iPP)High cooling rates and rapid switching from cooling to isothermal conditions

(Figure 1) allow fast crystallization pro-cesses to be measured.

The crystallization of isotactic polypro-pylene (iPP) was measured at different crystallization temperatures after cool-ing from the melt at 2000 K/s. Some of the curves are displayed in Figure 2. The time to the crystallization peak charac-terizes the crystallization rate. At 100 °C, the material crystallizes relatively slowly with a peak time of about 2.5 seconds. The curves show that the crystallization rate first increases with decreasing crys-tallization temperature. The peak time at 80 °C reaches a minimum of 0.4 seconds. At lower crystallization temperatures, the crystallization rate then decreases due to

Figure 1: Behavior of the sample temperature after cooling to 50 °C at 1000 K/s.

reduced molecular mobility. At 48 °C, the peak time is about 0.5 seconds.

At still lower temperatures, the crystalli-zation process becomes faster again. The reason for this is the change from hetero-geneous to homogeneous nucleation.

This new technology will undoubtedly expand and enhance the knowledge of complex melting, crystallization and reorganization processes and will be an important tool for polymer and material scientists.

Text: Matthias Wagner,

Product Manager Materials Characterization

www.mt.com/ta-flashdsc

Figure 2: DSC curves of the isothermal crystallization of iPP at tem-peratures between 100 and 46 °C, measured by the Flash DSC 1.

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A Sharper Look at Titration IndicatorsWith a DP5 Phototrode™

Color indicators in titration can lead to large variations from one

operator to another due to varying interpretation of color shifts.

METTLER TOLEDO’s DP5 Phototrode can level reproducibility issues

as a standard eye.

More and more food and beverage products are fortified with calcium, magnesium or even zinc for added health benefits. Deter-mining the content of these minerals can be accurately performed by complicated analytical techniques using atomic ab-sorption or ion chromatography. Alterna-tively, a classic titration can be performed with EDTA titrant and Eriochrome Black T as a color indicator for visual endpoint detection. Subjectivity of the human eye in determining color changes yields poor reproducibility when performing color in-dicative titrations.

A digital look at color changePerforming the classic EDTA titration with a DP5 to detect color change removes analysis reproducibility issues. The DP5 sends a light beam into the sample so-lution and measures this light’s reflected transmittance. More or less light is trans-

mitted depending on solution color. Since the color change alone is measured, only infrequent signal strength adjustment with water is needed, keeping the system easy to maintain and extremely robust.

Using the DP5 combines time tested color indicator titration advantages with the objectivity of spectroscopic analysis. Operator subjectivity can be completely avoided and mineral content accurately determined in today’s functional food products. METTLER TOLEDO One Click® titrators, combined with the DP5, auto-samplers and LabX® titration software for data processing have modernized time tested color indicator titrations for modern food product analysis.

Text: Matthew Eby, Product Manager Titration

www.mt.com/titration-sensors

DP5 Phototrode on an Excellence Titrator's manual stand.


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easu

ring

Prac

tices Good Measuring Practices

For Balances, Titrators and Pipettes

Risk-based lifecycle approach

METTLER TOLEDO, with its

comprehensive Good Measuring

Practices program for titration,

weighing and pipetting, provides

you with a scientific approach to

optimizing your testing efforts. Opti-

mal performance of your laboratory

instrumentation minimizes process

risk and secures internal and exter-

nal audits at all times.

Reduce risk and optimize cost

in just five steps

The five-step guidelines support

you in ensuring compliance with

the requirements of your qual-

ity system at any moment in the

lifecycle of your instruments, and

may significantly reduce the total

cost of ownership of your labora-

tory equipment. The guidelines

begin by evaluating your process

needs, the associated risks and

the regulatory norms of your in-

dustry. Based on this information,

the guidelilnes generate tangible

recommendations for selecting,

installing, qualifying and operating

your instruments.

Thorough analysis

• Evaluate and document the device requirements for current and future applications.

• Identify the limiting factors of your process specifications.

Perfect choice

• Choose the instrument that best fits your process needs to ensure highest accuracy and minimize process risk.

• Select the best option for your after-sales support agreement.

Fast, easy start-up

• Ensure perfect installation and commissioning of instruments.

• Profit from comprehensive user trainings and documentation.

• Achieve immediate operational readiness.

Step 1: Evaluation Step 2: Selection Step 3: Installation & Training


Compliant to regulations

• Ensure consistent and timely calibration and certification.

• Qualify your devices according to IQ / OQ / PQ guidelines.

• Obtain encompassing, trace-able, documentation for quality audits.

Optimized operational efforts

• Define testing and maintenance schemes for your specific pro-cess risk.

• Benefit from our extensive appli-cation database and application support for your daily work.

Step 4: Calibration & Qualification

Step 5: Routine Operation

For more information: www.mt.com/GP

Good Measuring PracticesGuidelines

METTLER TOLEDO’s risk-based guidelines for titration, weighing and pipetting empower you to take the right decision when and where it really matters.

Enjoy every confidence in your process safety and instrument performance day in, day out, knowing that you fully comply with the regulatory norms of your industry.

Good Measuring Practices guidelines satisfy all your needs for quality control and assur-ance, thus providing you with peace of mind at all times.


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ight

Increase ProductivityWith Efficient Moisture Control

When moisture content deter-

mines productivity, the HS153 is

the instrument of choice. The high

performance MonoBlock weigh-

ing cell ensures accurate results

required for precise control of

moisture content in production.

The hanging weighing pan en-

ables 360° free access. Real-time

drying curves and control charts

display performance and boost

productivity in the lab and the

factory.

Easy-to-UseTo start frequently used methods, all you need to do is press a shortcut button. The small footprint of the HS153 requires minimal bench space. When using the optional stand, the instrument is nar-rower than an A4 size sheet of paper.

Robust360° free access to the weighing cham-ber facilitates sample handling. The flat surfaces are easy-to-clean. The weigh-ing sensor is completely sealed. Spilled samples can not obstruct the balance.

www.mt.com/moisture

ProductiveThe drying curve is visualized in real-time on the display. The integrated con-trol charts show how the moisture con-tent of the samples trend over time for optimal process control and increased productivity


Enhanced pH MeasurementWith New SevenCompact™

Be it QA during production or QC

of finished products and raw ma-

terials in cosmetics industry, the

SevenCompact™ series stands up

to demanding data input, mea-

surement and archiving tasks.

Infinite data storage spaceLabX direct software provides no data storage restrictions and displays your measurements graphically.

Broad sensor offeringFind the best sensor for your application with tips and tricks from:www.mt.com/electrode-guide.

One single keypressBy switching to uFocus™ view, you will not be distracted by information of less importance.

www.mt.com/sevencompact

www.mt.comFor more information

Mettler-Toledo AGLaboratory DivisionIm LangacherCH-8606 Greifensee, Switzerland

Stay Up to Date With METTLER TOLEDO

METTLER TOLEDO offers a variety of publications to keep you and your business up to date and well informed. Our offering includes technical journals, such as UserCom, live webinars giving expert advice and attractive videos via our laboratory YouTube channel. Register now and profit from these tools today.

Application Database Live and On-Demand Webinars YouTube Laboratory Channel

We offer comprehensive applica-tion support for weighing, moisture analysis, titration and many other analytical methods. Our titration application database alone holds over 300 applications for all rel-evant industry segments.

e.g. Titration applications www.mt.com/titration_applications

e.g. Thermal Analysis applications www.mt.com/ta-applications

e.g. Moisture Applications www.mt.com/moisture-methods

Our web-based seminars (webi-nars), live and on demand, give you the opportunity to receive specific and relevant information concerning our products and applications. You can also benefit from our reports on the newest and most advanced methods and standards available.

e.g. Thermal Analysis Webinars www.mt.com/ta-webinars

e.g. Automated Chemistry Webinars www.mt.com/ac-webinars

Experience our range of laboratory products with selected videos from our YouTube laboratory channel. The informative videos offer a com-prehensive overview of our product innovations and application solu-tions.

Watch our videos at: www.youtube.com/mtlaboratory

Novel photovoltaic module technologies made it possible to construct an emission-free airplane and the successful 24-hour flight of a solar powered airplane is no longer just a vision! Solar cells offer a clean and sustainable source of power that demands high standards. Material studies are key features used in the constant improvement of module efficiency and lifetime where water analysis plays a major role.

Solar technology pioneerThe world of solar cells is a broad field with an immense potential for exploration and innovation. The world famous project ‘SOLAR Impulse’, which aims to pilot an airplane around the world solely powered by sunlight, is a challenging task waiting for realization. The official

EPFL (École polytechnique fédéral de Lausanne)Pioneering work in solar technology

Karl Fischer C30

Enhance Solar Cell LifetimeWith Automated Titration Analysis

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Differential Weighing with LabX Assures Fuel Cell Performance · 2020-01-27 · chambers on ice...

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Transcript of Differential Weighing with LabX Assures Fuel Cell Performance · 2020-01-27 · chambers on ice...