In past ramblings on particle size analysis we have touched on shakers, ASTM standards, sieve checking, separating small particles, inhibitors like static charges and how to get sieve tests done. A couple of things that we rarely addressed.
Read MoreParticle Size Analysis— Why? [Garden Stones to Micron Dust]
Posted by Art Gatenby on Jun 27, 2019 8:40:00 AM
Topics: Sieve Shakers, Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Testing, Quiet sieve shakers, micron particles, nanometer particles, laser diffraction, segmentation
Do You Re-Certify? Compare with a Master Stack? Check with Calibration Samples?
What Does Recertification Give?
The ASTM E-11 committee has done a great job of establishing three levels of testing. These levels show the probability of a sieve’s mesh to be within the permissible variations. These variations relate to the size of openings in wire-cloth used for test sieves.
Read MoreTopics: Sieve Shakers, Mid-Point Sieves, ASTM, Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Calibration, Sieve Certification, Sieve Testing, Sieving Process, Quiet sieve shakers, RoTap, sieving, test sieve equipment, sieve mesh
For several years, people in the test sieving business have been grousing about the difficulty of making sure that a test sieve certification is what they need. Anyone who is working with close tolerances in the smaller particle sizes, like 300 microns and smaller, have serious issues in matching results from test sieve to test sieve.
Read MoreTopics: Mid-Point Sieves, Calibration, Sieve Calibration, Sieve Certification, Sieve Testing, Sieves, Sieve Analysis
Sieve testing, as I have stated many times, is the Cinderella of particle size analysis because it delivers more value than expected from something that’s so easy to use and relatively inexpensive. However, the problem with standard sieving techniques using wire mesh sieves is that they begin to exhibit accuracy problems in the lower micron sizes.
Topics: Sieve Shakers, "Ask Art", Sonic Sifter, Micron-Sized Particles, Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Testing, Sieving Process
Break the Curse of Particle Size Calculations
Every now and then I’ve had to calculate the results of a sieve test: I’d get the sieves and sample loaded on the shaker, run the shaker, then realize I’d have to start over because I forgot to get the empty weight of each sieve. Or I’d have to carefully brush out the sample onto a balance.
Topics: Sieve Testing, Sieving Process, Sieve Analysis
Jim, the Secret Agent, and the Machine That Changed Everything
Posted by Amanda Ranowsky on Oct 29, 2013 12:03:00 PM
Chapter One:
Jim’s life was dull. So, so dull. He spent his days surrounded by piles of sieves – his glamorous job was to calculate the ratio of particles left in the sieves of each stack after a sample of his company’s product was run through the stack using a sieve shaker. It was a job much like the one his cousin Hiram had, although he seemed to remember hearing that Hiram had found an easier way to do it.
Topics: Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Testing, Sieve Analysis
The primary purpose of a sieve shaker is to provide motion to a sample in a test sieve.
An effective sieve shaker creates a motion that presents all the particles to all of the sieve openings and assists particles in passing through. This requires both rotary and vertical motion.
This process seems simple enough, but let's not be taken in.
Topics: Sieve Shakers, Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Testing, Sieves
Certify Sieves or Calibrate Sieves --- Should You Do It?
Posted by Art Gatenby on Jun 30, 2010 4:57:00 PM
The relative value of a sieve certification process vs a sieve calibration has perplexed me for a long time.
Topics: Sieve Shakers, Mid-Point Sieves, Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Calibration, Sieve Testing, Sieves
I'll bet that most of you have experienced the shock of walking on a thick wool rug on a dry winter's day and getting zapped out of your reverie when reaching for the metal door knob.
The same process of static electricity generation can play havoc with your sieving process.
Topics: Sieve Blinding, Agglomeration, Sieve Testing, Sieves