Lödige Process Technology has built the smallest machine in company history, with the aim of meeting the highly specialised demands of the high-containment segment. The Ploughshare® Mixer type L 1 (Lab machine) now available supplements the L series and has a drum volume of only one litre.
What led to this new development was an enquiry by an existing customer, who was looking for a process engineering solution in its development lab for exceptionally challenging dry mixtures. As powdered substances such as these can be highly sensitive, extremely expensive or possibly even hazardous to health and the environment, the only suitable solution was a contained process in a gas-tight container, also referred to as ‘glovebox’. That means: the mixer can only be operated and serviced within a glass safety housing using integrated gloves.
For this reason, the machine must be designed to meet special requirements – and the mini-mixer meets all of them in full. Thanks to its small drum and an angle drive, it is incredibly compact. At the same time, it is consistently easy to operate. Moreover, all components are easy to remove, meaning that particularly wear parts, which must be inserted into the glovebox through an airlock, are easy to replace and reinstall.
The compact Ploughshare® Laboratory Mixer is a special addition to the L series, Lödige’s lab range for small batches. These machines are designed for development and small batch production and are available in several sizes with drum volumes generally ranging from 5 to 50 litres. The L series laboratory mixers cover a wide range of applications in product and process development. In particular, they permit the processing of powdered, grainy and fibrous components, addition of liquids for moistening, granulation and coating, processing of fragile substances without destroying their structure and mixing-in of greases, lecithins and similar substances.
Like other Ploughshare® Mixers for batch operation, the laboratory mixers employ the mixing and fluidisation process introduced to industrial mixing systems by Lödige. This process involves the generation of a fluidised bed. Equipped with mixing tools specifically adapted to the respective task, these mixers achieve maximum quality – which is reproducible at any time. The mixing tool shaft has a bearing on one side.