News. Testing Labs. Assure High Quality Plastic Parts With Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Edition 02/2011

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1 Testing Labs Weighing Analytical and solutions Analysis in the Laboratory laboratory 10 News Edition 02/2011 Assure High Quality Plastic Parts With Differential Scanning Calorimetry Plastics have played a major role in the manufacturing of new vehicles over the last few decades. Differential Scanning Calorimetry is commonly used in testing laboratories in order to provide valuable quality control and failure analysis information. This ensures that only high quality components are manufactured. Advantages of plastics The versatility of plastics has made it the material of choice for the development of various automotive components. Strict government legislations have also made it mandatory for a number of safety devices, such as seat belts, airbags and child safety seats, to be installed in new vehicles. It is, therefore, vital that the plastics components are manufactured under strict conditions and analyzed properly. Plastics have a number of advantages over traditional materials which include: Reduced weight compared to metals. Reduction in the amount of climate damaging emissions, e.g. CO2. Resistance to oxidization. Increased recyclability. Investigating product defects with DSC In order to ensure that only high quality components are manufactured, it is paramount that quality control tests aren t only performed on the raw material, but also during all manufacturing processes leading up to, and including, the end product. Differential Scanning Calorimetry is a powerful technique that offers many solutions for design and development processes as well as for quality control and failure analysis. The example below illustrates how the METTLER TOLEDO DSC 1 was used to investigate a sample of the exterior casing of a polyamide 12 (PA12) hydraulic line that exhibited a small defect resulting in discoloration. The aim of the analysis was

2 Thermal Analysis Figure 1: The example demonstrates the DSC 1 s ability to detect even the smallest and weakest effects, including thermally induced changes, with its amazing sensitivity and outstanding resolution over a wide temperature range. to determine whether a foreign substance contamination had occurred, or if there was a change in the PA12 polymer matrix. The results were evaluated using the STARe software. The DSC curves in Figure 1 show the presence of an additional melting effect at approximately 205 C in both the first and second heating. Such an effect was not observed in the other areas of the component. This clearly indicates the presence of a foreign substance and exhibits a melting effect at 205 C. The temperature at which the effect occurs suggests that the contaminating substance is polyamide 6 (PA6) that had accidentally entered the production process. Text: Matthias Wagner, Product Manager Materials Characterization Publisher Mettler-Toledo AG Laboratory Division Im Langacher CH-8606 Greifensee, Switzerland Production Segment Marketing LAB Global MarCom Switzerland Subject to technical changes. Mettler-Toledo AG 08/11 Printed in Switzerland. 2

3 Fast and Reliable Sample Preparation With Automated Dosing The pressure is on to achieve more with less. With the reduction of Out-of-Specification (OoS) results being one more issue to deal with, how can today s chemical companies make ends meet? Bringing automation into the laboratory The answer is to automate the tedious, repetitive laboratory processes in order to generate better results and, therefore, free up precious time for chemists and analysts so that they can concentrate on higher value tasks. Weighing remains a manual activity in many laboratories leaving the improvement of safety, speed and saving unresolved. The trend of recent years has shown that automated analysis systems are getting faster, safer and more precise. With the advent of faster analytical methods, such as UHPLC, plus rapid data processing software developments, attention is once again focusing on sample preparation as the bottleneck in the process. Reducing Out-of-Specification Results (OoS) Groups from method development, stability testing, formulation and quality control all identify the manual preparation of samples and standards as the most time consuming and error prone part of their process. The preparation of a solution is very time consuming and challenging. Imprecise sample preparations lead to OoS results, which can literally bring lab production to a halt, as any ongoing work must stop until the error source is discovered. The impact upon production environments is catastrophic but what if we could remove the main error contributor, i.e. sample preparation, from this expensive equation? The three main error sources leading to OoS are imprecise powder weighing, incorrect volumetric flask use and incorrect documentation. Thanks to the introduction of Gravimetric Liquid Weighing, Quantos now solves all three problems. A new way to weigh The new QLB liquid dispensing module now makes it possible to prepare each final concentration for calibration/analysis directly into HPLC injectable vials. The QLB doses the correct amount of liquid gravimetrically and is, therefore, more precise and safer than volumetric dosing. QB5 and QL2 Liquid Dosing Modules prepare solutions with concentrations down to 0,01 mg/g. Errors that can occur during manual solid dispenses can even be corrected with the instrument using only the minimum amount of solvent and powder substances necessary. Gravimetric dosing eliminates the larger and more error prone steps, including the tedious volume solution preparation and dilution. Implementing automated powder and liquid dosing into the sample preparation workflow introduces massive gains in speed, safety and savings. The amount of time and money spent on Out-of-Specification investigations and inconclusive results can be significantly reduced by eliminating weighing and sample preparation errors. Text: Jérôme Salichon, Product & Market Manager 3

4 Balance Routine Testing Extensive Balance Routine Testing Solution Helps to Meet Regulations In 2010, statistics from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed a marked increase in the number of warning letters issued to companies worldwide for violating regulations. The main reasons highlighted were failure to explain deviations in components or batches and failure to establish and follow written quality procedures. METTLER TOLEDO offers a GLP compliant and well documented solution to ensure weighing equipment always performs according to user requirements. Process deviations Quality Assurance should involve a range of measures to determine the source of any deviations from the process requirements. Simply discarding the product, or even the complete batch, is not satisfactory. Furthermore, any deviation must be investigated, involving a time-consuming and costly CAPA (corrective action - preventive action) process. Where weighing equipment is involved, METTLER TOLEDO s solutions can form an integral part of any company s Quality Assurance procedures. GWP Verification GWP Verification is a risk-based service which assesses the installed weighing equipment, proves its accuracy on-site and provides an optimized testing and calibration plan based on the global weighing guideline GWP. METTLER TOLEDO verifies the weighing risk associated with a balance of any manufacturer and provides customers with a detailed description on how and how frequently it should be tested. The service has highlighted that the most common problems customers face are: Incorrect determination of minimum weight Difficulty in assessing potential causes of inaccurate measurements Doubts over the required routine tests and calibrations Lack of knowledge regarding test weight selection, including the respective acceptance limits for each user test. As a part of the service, the GWP consultants offer further suggestions for improving the quality of weighing results and determine the potential for cost savings due to an optimized testing strategy. GWP Excellence GWP Excellence is a unique built-in safety feature on all new Excellence XP/ XS Balances with a free upgrade available for existing balances. Using the information from the GWP Verification assessment, all testing procedures can be implemented directly in the balance firmware, i.e. which test is carried out how often and with which test weight. When each test is due the balance user is prompted to perform the relevant test and is given step-by- A balance can be automatically locked if it fails a routine test. 4

5 Tips & Tricks GWP Risk Check GWP Risk Check is a short and simple test for assessing the quality of your weighing procedures. Just answer eight simple questions to receive immediate advice for optimizing your quality management systems. A Lab Technician follows the displayed instructions and prepares the balance for testing with a CarePac. Start the risk check: step instructions on the balance display. The benefits are clear no more forgotten tests or improper testing procedures, which can happen frequently in a busy laboratory environment. Results from the tests are easily printed out to provide full traceability and meet documentation requirements. CarePac weight sets The GWP Verification assessment provides details on which weights should be used for each test. GWP states that routine balance testing with just two test weights is sufficient. CarePac weight sets contain two carefully selected certified weights. One weight is selected to be close to the maximum capacity of the balance, and the other to be around 5% of the capacity, e.g. for an XP2002 Precision Balance, which has a maximum capacity of 2.1 kg, the selected weights would be 2000 g and 100 g. A third optional test weight can be added for customer-specific requirements. The purchase and recalibration costs of just two test weights are considerably lower than for a full set. Complete solution The combination of GWP Verification, GWP Excellence and CarePac ensures that the customer meets applicable regulations when using weighing systems. Thorough documentation of the test procedures, their implementation in the balance firmware and proper documentation of the test results help the customer to avoid deviations, and hence negative audit findings or even warning letters. Text: Daniel Fuchs, Head of Market Management Team Marianne Portmann, Manager Service Business Development and Marketing LabTec

6 Fast Weight Calibration Processes Guarantee Test Weight Availability Weight Calibration With an ever-increasing work load and so many routine equipment tests to be carried out, balances can easily become blocked if test weights are not calibrated in time. ComparatorPac can help to avoid these situations and speed up calibration processes. Routine nightmare Calibrating a weight means determining its exact mass, which is done by calibration labs using comparisons between reference and test weights. In regulated pharmaceutical industries, balances must be tested regularly with reliable and trusted calibrated weights. These weights have to be traceable to the International Prototype Kilogram (at the BIPM - Bureau International des Poids et Measures in Paris) to ensure correct weighing results. However, calibration is an intensive and accurate procedure, often leaving the weights unavailable for several weeks, or even months, due to high back-logs and the intensive work of many calibrations. As a consequence the next routine balance test can t be performed and, therefore, falls out of use resulting in projects or other routine work delays. METTLER TOLEDO now offers ComparatorPac, a new solution that guarantees immediate positive results. It is a ready-to-start solution consisting of 3 mass comparators, reference weights and software that enables the calibration of weights up to OIML Class F2 or ASTM 4 from 1 mg - 20 kg. The XP Mass Comparators with One Touch calibration are simple and fast to operate. In combination with MCLInk software, all data, calculations and reports are generated automatically, eliminating many manual operating steps resulting in 40% shorter calibration lead times. This also means clear labor savings with 40% more available capacity for carrying out more calibrations. In this case, the system has paid for itself within a few months. Weight calibration is an intensive and accurate process, which is likely to become even more important as more industries perform routine equipment weighing tests in order to improve their processes, reduce quality issues and save money. It s all made so simple with ComparatorPac. Text: Roland Tiemens, Head of Metrology 6 A winning combination There are several possibilities for avoiding such unproductive situations. One would be to purchase additional testing weights for the desired balance, which, due to restrictions and procedures, is not always as easy as it may sound. Also, increasing calibration employees to reduce leadtimes can be an option although, but it doesn t show an immediate effect, as new personnel also need to be trained. ComparatorPac consists of 3 comparators, OIML F1 calibrated reference weights and MCLink Software to process calibration data and print reports.

7 Keeping Drinking Water Safe Through Reliable Titration All major US cities are required to test drinking water and water that is discharged through sewage plants by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Water treatment plants need to measure parameters such as ph, alkalinity, chlorine and fluoride using ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) approved methods. These tests are commonly performed manually using multiple steps that prove both time-consuming and error-prone. Excellence T70 Titrator with Rondo 30 Sample Changer. The T70 can easily be expanded with an additional ph or conductivity board, allowing simultaneous measurement of ph and conductivity. Water treatment Drinking water typically comes out of rivers or lakes. It is sent through treatment plants where it undergoes ph and alkalinity testing, which are strong indicators of the water quality. Plants also determine water purity by measuring its conductivity. If the conductivity level is high, it can indicate that there are a lot of dissolved solids in the water, which can lead to a bad taste, deposits and corrosion. In certain areas, plants will use chlorine to kill bacteria that might exist in the supply and fluoride is also often added to the water. Wastewater is treated before being discharged into the ocean, rivers and lakes etc. Regulations require that this water must pass certain criteria and must, therefore, also be tested for ph, alkalinity and, in many cases, ammonia. A better alternative Most plants in large cities run large numbers of samples. Sometimes these tests are done using ph strips or ph meters but these manual tests are not accurate enough and far too time consuming for use in larger cities. Using an auto-titrator, these plants can consolidate most of the necessary tests and automate up to 60 simultaneous samples by connecting to an automatic sample changer. The flexibility of the Titration Excellence model T70 can easily accommodate multiple tests by adding an additional conductivity board allowing plants to perform automated and simultaneous measurements of both ph and conductivity. For example, plants can take 30 sample bottles from 30 locations (ponds, wells or lakes) around the city and bar code them. The bottles are transported back to the lab, loaded onto the sample changer and tested for ph, conductivity and alkalinity in the same sample. Results are correlated with other tests performed on the water to determine whether it is ready to be released. Results of each batch are recorded and stored for future reference. If the quality of the water ever comes into question, the municipality can go back and check the results to ensure that it met all criteria before being released. Text: Al Salazar, Instrument Sales Specialist 7

8 One Click Operation Simplify Your Daily Routines With One Click Many lab instruments require multiple steps to get an analysis or other processes started. This can be a true hassle especially for routine operations, but also makes it hard to use instruments for infrequent users. Therefore METTLER TOLEDO has worked with its broad user base to develop One Click operation: All your routine tasks are executed at the press of One Click! See how it works Karl Fischer Titrator The home screen of the instrument shows all the key tasks of a certain user If a key is pressed, the complete routine is started. No further confirmations and configurations are needed: Just One Click. All the common routines of a user can be a One Click operation e.g. measurement, calibration routines, data evaluation, cleaning procedures etc. The home button on the instrument brings the user always to the home screen, nobody can get lost in the user interface Refractometer 8

9 Analytical Balance Excellence Titrator Density Meter Melting Point One common operation interface across all key Lab instruments Most of the METTLER TOLEDO instruments share the same One Click user interface. This means e.g. that once you know using a titrator it s very easy to use a density meter or melting point instrument as well. Key benefits of One Click operation: Easier and faster execution of tasks Each user sees only the functions/actions he needs Routine users e.g. in production only see what they need and are not confused by unneeded functionality Operation mistakes are avoided SOP are automatically followed Less training is needed See One Click in action in this short video: 9

10 Weighing Smallest Samples With Ease and Precision Product News Excellence (ultra) micro and analytical balances from METTLER TOLEDO set new standards in terms of weighing performance, user-friendliness, and safety for large and small samples. The XP and XS balances are optimized for common tasks in research such as sample preparation for HPLC, GC, IC, etc. Smallest amounts highest accuracy With a capacity of up to 52 g with 1 μg readability and/or up to 220 g with 10 μg readability and the highest level of accuracy, you can significantly save money particularly when using valuable materials. XP2U (Ultra)Microbalance Faster Operation Thanks to Intelligent Design Intelligent functions make it easier to weigh samples of any size and format. Handling of the balance is optimized, and cleaning has become an easy task. Optimized pan for weighing ultrasmall sample sizes. Unique accessories for direct weighing in flasks and test tubes. 10

11 New Electronic Pipette Extends Application Range For testing labs, Rainin s new E4 XLS sets the standard for comfort and productivity. Its ultra-ergonomic grip, extraordinary balance and large full-color screen take pipette performance to new heights. And with its precision joystick and carousel-like menu structure, switching between the E4 s rich array of features and applications is fast and easy. All Rainin XLS pipettes are RFID enabled for advanced calibration and asset management. Joystick control Logical, linear menus and state-of-theart joystick make setting and operating the E4 XLS a breeze. Large color screen The full color screen the largest of any pipette is information rich, easy to read and use. A multi-language function is available. Expandable and upgradable The E4 is the world s first electronic pipette to offer upgrades and future program enhancements that you can download right to your lab. 11

12 Hints & Tips Comprehensive Guide for Day-to-Day Titration Practice What is the most effective way to get the best titration results? METTLER TOLEDO's Hints & Tips brochure, which forms part of the 'Good Titration Practice ', provides information on the parameters that influence the accuracy and repeatability of titration results. It also recommends correct titration practices for secure operation and to maintain quality results. Content highlights: Important aspects of general, coulometric and volumetric titration systems. Hints and Tips for daily use. Theoretical description of GTP influencing factors, e.g. types of errors, reagent handling, how to get the best titration results. Simply sign up to receive a free hard copy of the brochure! To check your titration result reliability go to: Mettler-Toledo AG Laboratory Division Im Langacher CH-8606 Greifensee, Switzerland For more information