Accudyne Systems, Inc. is the engineering, design and production partner for Supercritical Fluid Technologies, Inc., an innovative laboratory equipment company that offers a full line of Supercritical CO2 inspection, extraction and reaction equipment.

SFT PHASE Monitor:

The SFT Phase Monitor is a powerful analytical tool for determining the solubility parameters of various materials in supercritical fluids. It provides direct, visual observation of materials under conditions that may be precisely controlled by the user. Experiments may be performed in liquid carbon dioxide or other supercritical fluids. Applications of the Phase Monitor include the study of physical solubility, phase behavior, and the enhanced solvating effect due to co-solvent addition. Typical materials studied are pharmaceutical compounds, food flavorings, fragrances, monomers, and polymers.

SFT-150:

Whether it's repetitive laboratory extractions or process development and optimization, the SFT-150 provides an excellent introduction to the power and versatility of SFE/SFR technology. Offering the flexibility and safety features often found only in higher priced extraction systems, the unit aids in investigating the feasibility of applying supercritical fluid techniques to various analyses and processing situations without incurring the larger capital investment required for more automated and integrated systems.

SFT-250 SFE/SFR Processing System :

The SFT-250 meets the day-to-day rigors of the research laboratory and may be used for small-scale pilot processing. This unit is simple to operate, easy to modify for evolving application needs, and features many of the performance characteristics of our fully automated SFT-1000.

Situation:

Polymer, fiber, and part manufacturers test consolidation techniques, materials and various other processes on a constant basis.

Problem:

Client cannot build an R & D machine using internal resources and an industry search does not yield an off-the-shelf solution.

Implication:

Necessary research work that must precede commercialization cannot proceed on schedule causing cost overruns.

Solution:

Accudyne Systems has built several machines expressly for this purpose. They include machines that are used in thermoplastic insitu consolidating and E-Beam insitu consolidation. Both machines include extensive controls and R & D functions that allow the operator to adjust a multitude of process variables.

The R & D Flat Tape Laying Machine incorporates three degrees of freedom and is capable of laying 3” wide thermoset prepreg tapes in any orientation to construct flat laminates up to 1m by 1m. The backing paper acts as a transfer layer for the prepreg and is collected on a roll. Tape cuts are made using a stylus that does not penetrate the prepreg backing paper.

The E-Beam R&D machine is outfitted with a 200 keV E-Beam gun for composite curing experiments. All safety systems for guarding against radiation exposure were provided with this machine. In addition, 20MHz and 40MHz ultrasonic compactors were used for laminate consolidation.