Liquid metering technology claims to set a new benchmark in accuracy
A new and advanced liquid metering and dosing technology has been developed and patented by Kettering-based Failsafe Metering International that is said to offer quality assurance defect levels that exceed six sigma requirements. It operates on an entirely new principle of electromechanical liquid measurement, and meters and dispenses single liquids, or meters, mixes and dispenses multiple liquids in ratios to each other, with an accuracy of two decimal places.
When subjected to high pressure, liquids become hydraulic and exhibit a maximum density per unit volume. While in this compressed state, single or multiple liquid input streams can be divided uniformly into precise volumetric shots or dots that are electronically checked individually for high accuracy. If okay, they are then fired forward at high speed to form shots or, in the case of two or more liquids, mixed shots or flow in a precise ratio relative to each other.
With a conventional two-part chemical metering and mixing system, the correct ratio content of the mixture is checked by taking representative unmixed samples at intervals from a specific machine. However, any ratio test results generated would be relevant only to that specific 'off line' ratio check and would not be representative of production output.
Using the Failsafe Metering system ensures that all of the dispensed medium is checked, dot by dot, just before it is mixed and applied. The certification of quality within this new metering process is based on the generation of an individual electronic signal when each metered dot is individually verified, at a maximum density, for its correct volume. The dots are produced at low to high speeds according to adjustable output rates, and the signals generated are sent to a PLC that will immediately shut down the system should one single dot metering not occur, thus preventing any error from reaching the point of application.
For example, in the case of two-component reactive liquid systems, if the required ratio is 10:1 and the metered output is at 9.99:1, the dispensing process is halted. There is no possibility for a ratio error whatsoever because it is checked before it leaves the metering system, whereas, in a conventional
meter-mix-dispense system, the final mix quality remains unknown and cannot be certified.