Third generation Spectrotest

Archiv – Spectro of Kleve in Germany has unveiled the third generation of its Spectrotest mobile metal analyser which, says the company, is faster, more accurate and more flexible.Spectro of Kleve in Germany has unveiled the third generation of its Spectrotest mobile metal analyser which, says the company, is faster, more accurate and more flexible.

Spectro’s new mobile analyser offers higher measurement accuracy for arc excitation analyses via its new ’fingerprint’ method, the manufacturer claims. Analysis has been improved thanks to a new readout system, a proven special optic and its ICAL logic system. Several new technologies and applications have been added to this latest version of the Spectrotest to create a flexible instrument for all types of on-site metal identification and metal analysis, according to Spectro. ’It was our goal to make the classic Spectrotest more precise and quicker,’ explains the company’s Product Manager for mobile metal analysers Marcus Freit. ‘€˜To do this, we equipped the instrument with a new readout system, which is a duplicate of that used in our stationary laboratory instruments. Together with the proven optic, covering the entire relevant wavelength range, it makes an unbeatable team. These advances have markedly improved the accuracy and reduced the duration of an analysis.’

Fingerprint method
When analysing via arc excitation, the third generation Spectrotest uses the ’fingerprint’ method which is based on the ICAL logic system. At the beginning of the measurement process, the measured spectrum is compared with spectra stored for reference samples. The comparison can be selected for the iron, aluminium, copper, nickel, cobalt and titanium matrices. Using this automatically selected reference method, extremely exact measurement parameters are available to the Spectrotest for the duration of the measurement. The concentrations of the unknown sample are calculated with the stored calibration data. According to Spectro, common errors resulting from incorrect evaluation of the material can be avoided using the ’fingerprint’ method while ICAL eliminates the need for time-consuming recalibration of the Spectrotest required by changes in location and temperature.
For spark excitation, the Spectrotest adopts the now-familiar automatic program finding (APF Plus) route. At the beginning of the analysis process, APF Plus determines the basic contents of the sample and then automatically sets the Spectrotest to the most suitable analytical program.

Improvement in detail
Many details on the third generation Spectrotest have been improved, according to the manufacturer. Its new ergonomic design is said to ensure straight-forward handling and fatigue-free operation, while a software assistant leads the user through the development of individual sorting programs, including the setting of tolerance values. A data manager has also been integrated to help laboratories with organising and documenting stored measurement results.
‘€˜The Spectrotest has become even more flexible in the third generation,’ says Mr Freit. Its range extends from battery operation in hard-to-reach places to the examination of small fragments or curved surfaces either in steel mills or during sorting in scrap yards. ‘€˜It is suited to just about every task in the metal industry,’ he declares.

Proven technology
The first generation of the Spectrotest mobile metal analyser was introduced in 1979. At that time, the instrument set new standards for on-site metals analysis and even earned an entry in specialist analytical reference books. The second generation of the Spectrotest was developed in 2002 and reflected the technological developments of the previous 23 years; the newer models were much lighter and more manoeuvrable than their predecessors. More than 500 second generation Spectrotests have been sold over the last three years.
Spectro designs, manufactures and services a broad array of the atomic spectroscopic instrumentation used to analyse the elemental composition of solids and liquids. Using optical emission or energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) measurement techniques, Spectro’s instruments address the analysis requirements of a variety of end markets including: metal production and processing; the environmental sector; hydrocarbon processing; aerospace; food processing; and pharmaceuticals.