Test Equipment and Measurement Instrument Blog

With the weather now warming up as we get closer to Summer – it’s important to regularly check your grain quality. Any small change in moisture can be costly.

Using the wrong moisture measurement method could be costing you a lot more than you think. Identifying which method is right for you starts with understanding the benefits of each of the methods and their limitations.

As a process engineer in a highly competitive industry, it’s imperative you stay up to date with the latest technology and processes. You understand how a small change in your cost or performance structure makes a huge impact on your bottom line.

I’ve just returned from an incredible experience meeting hundreds of scientists and industrial professionals at Analytica, the International Trade Fair for Laboratory Technology, Analysis and Biotechnology in Munich, Germany. It’s never simple to compete against 1,100 exhibitors. However, it’s a little easier when you are in the country of the Hoffbrauhaus… I always underestimate how much scientists love their beer!

How does an NIR analyzer work? What are the benefits of a desktop moisture analyzer versus a portable one? Can I test a specific moisture analyzer on the process line before purchasing? What is the best test instrument that will work for my unique requirements?

As the voice of Kett on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, I am familiar with our products, but have had little opportunity to interact with our customers. So, John Bogart, Kett’s CEO, invited me to find out more at my first tradeshow. I had no idea what to expect as I boarded the plane heading from Denver to Chicago to join John Bogart, our Japanese colleagues and several thousand analytical chemists at Pittcon14.

It’s the first day of Pittcon 2014 and it’s buzzing with scientists, all seeking to find out how the latest instrument advances will help them achieve lab quality results efficiently and simply. We’ve enjoyed speaking to individuals involved in applications as diverse as analytical chemistry, food analysis and safety, drug discovery, water and wastewater analysis, life sciences and other emerging markets looking for new analytics techniques.

The city that launched the boon of American industrial optimism with the historical Chicago World’s Fair, is set to host the largest annual global conference dedicated to laboratory equipment and instrumentation. Early March 18,000 laboratory scientists will converge in Chicago to attend the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, or Pittcon 2014.

As we discussed in last week’s blog, there are two types of friction: static and dynamic (kinetic). These values have traditionally been measured via incline methods and manual strain (or pull force) gauges. We’re now fortunate enough to have automated friction analyzers that provide substantially more precise (repeatable) measurements and are able to quantitatively distinguish very small differences in two samples or two proposed development versions. Moreover, recent technological developments have allowed for the novel, and widely popular, portable friction analyzers in addition to traditional desktop versions.