Kleve, Chicago, March 2009 – SPECTRO Analytical Instruments presents a new range of applications for the SPECTRO xSORT handheld XRF instrument at Pittcon 2009 (March 8 to March 13, Chicago). First introduced to the market in September of 2008, SPECTRO xSORT’s original metal analysis capabilities have been expanded to include applications for RoHS compliance and lead screening as well as for the examination of soil in environmental testing and the direct analysis of ores, concentrates and tailings.
The SPECTRO xSORT, weighing just 1.7 kilograms (3.7 lbs), is an analytical instrument for rapid non-destructive XRF screening analyses. With just a few seconds testing time, it non-destructively analyses the content of all important elements between sulfur and uranium contained in a sample. The modern silicon drift detector (SDD) used in the xSORT processes signals extremely fast. Dirk Wissmann, Product Manager for XRF instruments at SPECTRO, explains: “Depending on the task, users can utilize the high readout rate to measure with the xSORT much faster than with other instruments, or use traditional measurement times and achieve significantly better detection limits and accuracy.”
High Readout Rate, High-Speed Measurements, Attractive Price
Rapid RoHS compliance and lead screening are among the most important of the new applications reports Wissmann: “In the United States, lead residues have recently been found again and again in toys, jewelry and cosmetics. Product recalls and high compensation claims are the result. This subject remains current and encompasses ever more industries worldwide; right through to the classic wholesale and retail trade.” The SPECTRO xSORT can bring all of its strengths into play for this application. The analyzer is non-destructive, offers a high degree of analytical flexibility and has a low purchase price. For screening measurements the high speed xSORT really shows what it can do: “When a warehouse clerk needs to test several hundred products at a time, it makes a big difference whether he/she has to hold the XRF instrument still for 30 or 90 seconds,” explains Dirk Wissmann. “With the xSORT, the clerk is not only finished faster, but doesn’t have any aching muscles either!”
Fast environmental screening analyses are a second important application area for the xSORT. With the instrument, users simply press a button to test the elemental composition of soil or sludge or to discover whether or not an old telephone pole was treated with outdated and now illegal wood preservative. As one would imagine, operation of the instrument is easy: The user places the probe against the soil or sample, presses the trigger and, within just a few seconds, views the elemental contents on the integrated PDA display. Small or thin samples can be examined using the optional docking station. The SPECTRO xSORT is available with various configuration options for especially accurate results and additional ease of use. Options include extremely large surface area detectors for exact soil examination or an integrated GPS module that keeps a protocol of sampling locations when geologists analyze rock samples.
The three new SPECTRO xSORT applications packages - RoHS compliance and lead screenings, environmental examinations and ore analysis - are available immediately, worldwide.
About SPECTRO:
SPECTRO is one of the worldwide leading suppliers of analytical instruments for optical emission and x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. As a member of the AMETEK Materials Analysis Division, SPECTRO manufactures advanced instruments, develops the best solutions for strongly varying applications and provides exemplary customer service. Innovation, instrument concerns and customer relations are its main activities. From its foundation in 1979 until today, more than 30,000 analytical instruments have been delivered to customers around the world.
AMETEK, Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electric motors with an annual turnover of approximately 2.5 billion USD. AMETEK’s corporate growth plan is based on four key strategies: Operative excellence, strategic acquisitions and alliances, geographic and market expansion as well as new products. AMETEK’s common stock is a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 1000 Index.
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