Gas Mixers for Research Systems and Sensor Screening

Environics gas mixing and gas delivery systems are widely used by Sensor Development Companies and Sensor Manufacturers. Systems from Environics are suitable for production screening (sorting) of sensors and also for research and development. The Environics systems are considered to be a versatile and efficient piece of laboratory equipment.

All the systems are computerized, custom built, mass flow controller based systems, which allow automatic blending and diluting of gases in order to produce precise gas mixes for analytical research or production purposes.

Environics’ most popular mixing systems used by sensor Manufacturers and Developers are:

The Series 3000 Gas on Demand system is a computerized gas panel system and is generally used to dynamically produce and deliver mixes made up of two or three gases, though it is possible to make more complex mixtures. The main controls of the system are Human Machine Interface (HMI), PLC and color touch screen combined.

The Series 4000 is a multi-component gas mixing system that is capable of automatically mixing up to three individual gases in a balance gas. The user interface is a Microsoft^® Windows application that communicates with the Environics system through an RS232 serial interface.

Accuracy: Environics’ technology is based on extremely precise control of thermal mass flow controllers. The mixing systems have the potential to take a high concentration cylinder of span gas and blend it with a balance gas in order to produce percent, ppb, ppm and ppt level standards, all to ±1% set point accuracy. The Full-scale error vs. Setpoint error document highlights the 10x improvement in accuracy of a thermal mass flow controller when Environics controlling technology is used.

Image Credit: Environics

Repeatability: Environics’ systems have a repeatability of +/-0.05% of full scale.

Traceability: The instruments' mass flow controllers are factory calibrated with the help of a computer controlled primary flow standard traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States.

Price Savings: The system will help pay for itself since pure gases are used in place of costly pre-mixed blends.

Optional Alarms: An optional audible and/or visual alarm can be installed in order to alert the operator of particular fault conditions. As a new feature, it is now possible to email these alarms to keep users updated even when they are not onsite. The IP address of the email sever will thus need a static IP address.

Custom Options: Environics has thousands of systems in the field and have manufactured a wide library of solutions and applications in order to meet the requirements of its customers. Common options include: an RS-232 Serial Data Interface, Purge Circuit, Permeation Ovens, Status Board, Extra Component Gas Inlet Ports or Heated Gas Handling System.