- Lab automation
- Fills & seals small containers in tray
- Integrated foil cutter
- Suitable for sterile environment
- Tailored to application
The Relco FCS-i Combi is a compact automated system for filling and sealing tubes, vials and other small containers as commonly used in lab automation by medical and diagnostics industries. This equipment uses our proven FCS technology for the high-accuracy foil cutting, placement and induction sealing and combines it with an x/y table and a liquid filling pump.
The user places a pre-loaded tray onto the machine table and presses the start button. The machine then indexes the tray into the working area, it checks for the presence of a tube in each cavity and will precisely dispense a pre-set quantity of liquid. When the filled tubes reach the sealing station the machine will cut, place and induction seal a foil directly onto the sealing surface on or within the tube. Due to the highly accurate FCS-i system it is possible to cut and place a foil to an accuracy of ±0.05mm which means we can apply a seal to a flange without any over-hang and even apply a seal onto a shelf or step inside the bore of a tube.
This equipment can be customized to handle a wide range of different containers and fill various products, we can also add filling stations which handle non-liquids such as lyophilised balls and powders and we can gas-flush prior to sealing. Vision inspection stations can also be introduced for QC validation and this equipment can be built into various isolators as required by the application.
Specifications
| Requirements | description |
|---|---|
| Mains Power | 220-240v a/c Single Phase 5A |
| Compressed Air | 5-7 Bar / 75-100 p.s.i. |
| Components | description |
| Pneumatics | SMC |
| Guarding/Safety | Polycarbonate upper guards, light curtain with independent E-Stop circuit |
| PLC | Allen Bradley with HMI |
| Generators | Relco P800 (800W) solid state induction generators |
| Sealing Heads | Ceramic Punch&Seal cartridges with internal induction coil |
| Reel Holders | Quick change Aluminium & Polycarbonate reel carrier with fully adjustable internal friction clutch |
| Size & Weight | description |
| Weight | 85Kg |
| Dimensions | 610mm x 610mm x 1810mm |
Lab automation is changing the work flow in biochemical and chemical laboratories. In smaller labs, automating the mundane processes improves quality and reduces labour. High sample load centres requires fully automated PCR assays to cope with demand of today’s society.
Relco’s induction sealers hermetically seal multiwell plates, PCR tubes, diagnostic and sampling tools. Sealed containers could be as small as few millimetres in diameter, made of plastic, glass or metal.
Capless sealing is a cost effective technology for preserving sterility inside the container, preventing leaks and contamination. Contents can be accessed either by piercing with a needle or peeling the seal back depending upon materials and process.
Capless sealing enables simple container design without the need for threads and caps. The Relco Punch&Seal system allows for highly accurate foil cutting, placement and induction sealing in one stroke. This technology also overcomes the difficulties of foil handling and placement found with conduction heat-sealing equipment since the induction head is at ambient temperature and the internal vacuum holds the foil in place on the head whilst it is transferred and until the sealing process is complete. Induction sealing also provides increased reliability, greater up-time, a higher degree of process control and a safer working environment as there is no direct heat in the tooling.
A further advantage is that Relco’s sealers can place a seal inside of a container. This way containers can be divided by multiple layers into cavities. This opens new possibilities for design of clever containers with aggregated content. These containers can hold multiple compounds and samples without interference, but when required content could be merged by breaking the foil layers as required.
