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One part Photo Electro Formed sieves are so durable they last 10 times longer than others
One-part, Photo Electro Formed sieves and meshes, for the most demanding industrial needs are now routinely manufactured by Tecan. They can be produced in standard and bespoke forms to offer unparalleled screening, filtering and particulate processing accuracy levels - with operational lifetimes many times greater than conventional woven-wire sieves.
A recent example of the company’s ability to out-perform traditional sieves can be seen in their adoption by a division of the world’s largest iron powder producer, Hoganas (Great Britain) Ltd. The company produces metal powders for the automotive sector which have to be precisely measured to ensure they meet various end-user specifications.
The company has made a remarkable move away from traditionally woven-wire sieves by embracing the revolutionary new alternative manufactured by Tecan. The new sieves employ leading-edge Photo Electro Forming (PEF) techniques, believed to be the most advanced in the world, producing one-part high-accuracy sieves with ultra-fine apertures which are highly consistent across the mesh and offer extremely long operational lifetimes.
“We decided to try a Tecan PEF sieve in our quality control laboratory and have been more than impressed by the results,” said Rob Passmore, production services manager at Hoganas. “Typically, we use six sieves in a progressive vibratory stack system, where the top sieve has apertures of 250-micron and the bottom sieve apertures of just 45-micron. The powder is thus filtered down through the stack and sieve distribution measurements taken to confirm batch quality. We used to have many problems sieving fine metal powders with woven-wire sieves. The new 45-micron square aperture Tecan sieves which we use for the finest sieve have solved our problems across the board.”
The old woven-wire sieves would typically last just 2 to 6 weeks, due to the construction method which makes them delicate and easily damaged during handling or cleaning. Furthermore, the woven-wire mesh construction caused a range of particulate filtering problems due to the irregularity of their interwoven shapes and the fact that they become less rigid over time which also compromised sieve accuracy.
The Tecan sieves are easier to clean, need less cleaning and are more robust. Unlike traditional products, the one-part PEF sieves do not have cross-over areas, such as those found in woven-wire sieves. This brings a range of benefits, including the elimination of contamination due to trapped debris, no de-lamination at the edges, consistent cross-sectional thickness and rigidity, and consistently accurate aperture shapes and sizes.
“Remarkably, the Tecan sieves have lasted for many months and exhibit previously unattainable performance levels, making them exceptionally cost-effective,” added Passmore. “After four months of operation we wanted reassurance that the 45-micron sieve was still within its original specification, so we sent it back to Tecan for a ‘check-up’ – not only was it still as originally supplied – we are still using it regularly – that’s nine months so far.”
Typical applications include industrial, medical, pharmaceutical and food processing markets – all demanding the highest standards. The sieves are fabricated in hard nickel which significantly boosts operational life, especially where abrasive materials are being processed, such as industrial diamonds. If desired, the sieves can be gold-plated, in-house, for custom needs.
ISO compliant sieves can be supplied in standard 100mm diameter polycarbonate or stainless steel frames, or 200mm stainless steel frames. In all cases, the sieves may be specified with or without integral hard-nickel support grids. Furthermore, the company can also supply mesh with no frames, again with or without support grids. The full ISO R20/3 and R10 ranges – from 500µm to 3µm can be supplied. They can also be supplied in ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standard frames, and typically better the standard’s aperture tolerance requirements of +/- two micron.
The company has made a remarkable move away from traditionally woven-wire sieves by embracing the revolutionary new alternative manufactured by Tecan. The new sieves employ leading-edge Photo Electro Forming (PEF) techniques, believed to be the most advanced in the world, producing one-part high-accuracy sieves with ultra-fine apertures which are highly consistent across the mesh and offer extremely long operational lifetimes.
“We decided to try a Tecan PEF sieve in our quality control laboratory and have been more than impressed by the results,” said Rob Passmore, production services manager at Hoganas. “Typically, we use six sieves in a progressive vibratory stack system, where the top sieve has apertures of 250-micron and the bottom sieve apertures of just 45-micron. The powder is thus filtered down through the stack and sieve distribution measurements taken to confirm batch quality. We used to have many problems sieving fine metal powders with woven-wire sieves. The new 45-micron square aperture Tecan sieves which we use for the finest sieve have solved our problems across the board.”
The old woven-wire sieves would typically last just 2 to 6 weeks, due to the construction method which makes them delicate and easily damaged during handling or cleaning. Furthermore, the woven-wire mesh construction caused a range of particulate filtering problems due to the irregularity of their interwoven shapes and the fact that they become less rigid over time which also compromised sieve accuracy.
The Tecan sieves are easier to clean, need less cleaning and are more robust. Unlike traditional products, the one-part PEF sieves do not have cross-over areas, such as those found in woven-wire sieves. This brings a range of benefits, including the elimination of contamination due to trapped debris, no de-lamination at the edges, consistent cross-sectional thickness and rigidity, and consistently accurate aperture shapes and sizes.
“Remarkably, the Tecan sieves have lasted for many months and exhibit previously unattainable performance levels, making them exceptionally cost-effective,” added Passmore. “After four months of operation we wanted reassurance that the 45-micron sieve was still within its original specification, so we sent it back to Tecan for a ‘check-up’ – not only was it still as originally supplied – we are still using it regularly – that’s nine months so far.”
Typical applications include industrial, medical, pharmaceutical and food processing markets – all demanding the highest standards. The sieves are fabricated in hard nickel which significantly boosts operational life, especially where abrasive materials are being processed, such as industrial diamonds. If desired, the sieves can be gold-plated, in-house, for custom needs.
ISO compliant sieves can be supplied in standard 100mm diameter polycarbonate or stainless steel frames, or 200mm stainless steel frames. In all cases, the sieves may be specified with or without integral hard-nickel support grids. Furthermore, the company can also supply mesh with no frames, again with or without support grids. The full ISO R20/3 and R10 ranges – from 500µm to 3µm can be supplied. They can also be supplied in ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standard frames, and typically better the standard’s aperture tolerance requirements of +/- two micron.
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