Freeman Technology’s business is researching powder behaviour and designing instrumentation for powder characterization. The FT4 Powder Rheometer is a universal powder tester that is really three instruments in one – combining a powder rheometer with a shear cell capability and a compression tester. This allows comprehensive characterization of powders of all types, reflecting the complexity of powders in contrast to traditional single number assessments of flowability.
The patented rheometer methodology provides a totally innovative approach to powder testing by measuring the energies needed to establish specific flow conditions. Major benefits include high sensitivity and the ability to evaluate all packing states, whether consolidated, non-consolidated, aerated or even fluidised. The shear methodology is represented by three sizes of shear cell, the smallest requiring only 1ml of powder. Other measurements include compressibility and permeability, the later using the Aeration Module – an automated mass air flow controller that is used primarily to determine how aeration affects flowability. To ensure exceptional reproducibility all testing methodologies use the unique conditioning process to normalise powder samples prior to testing.
The data derived from measuring dynamic flowability, shear and bulk properties have many applications. Central to all is establishing for any given process or process step, the properties of powders that flow well in contrast to those that do not. Correlation of powder properties with processability is the key to informing formulators on what works well, manufacturers on how to trouble shoot and optimise production, and quality control specialists on how to determine QC criteria.
The FT4 allows the considerable processing experience that most companies have to be categorised and used as a reference for anticipating and resolving future difficulties. The key benefits of this will be continuous improvements of both manufacturing efficiency and control of product quality.
