Successful joint project : Knick developed the special Ceramat WA 155 retractable fitting for optical probes from SOPAT

abr 2023 Process Analytics

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Automatic cleaning of optical probes in adapted Ceramat retractable fitting

Optical probes, such as those supplied by instrumentation firm SOPAT in Berlin, are relatively heavy, particularly when used in ATEX applications, and, on processes that tend to produce fouling, require complex cleaning of the probe window to ensure uninterrupted measurements. To fully automate this cleaning process, Knick worked to adapt its Ceramat retractable fitting in a cooperation arrangement with SOPAT.

We are delighted to announce that we can now offer probes together with a premium fitting.

Dr. Mirco Wegener, Head of Sales & Marketing at SOPAT GmbH

We were happy to take on the challenge of adapting our fitting to match these specific requirements.

John Rohloff, Product Manager at Knick, concurs

Fitting adapted on cooperation project

Fitting adapted on cooperation projectFitting adapted on cooperation projectThe idea of joining forces arose in the context of a specific project from a customer in the chemical industry who wanted to use a SOPAT probe for their application. “The weight of the SOPAT probes compared to O2 or pH probes was the biggest challenge,” says Rohloff, who supervised the project at Knick: “If the probe is installed horizontally, we have high leverage forces to contend with.” In order to withstand these forces, the developers at Knick modified the bearing of the Ceramat, and within just a few months, the revised fitting was able to prove its worth on the customer’s project. Wegener is pleased: “The Ceramat WA 155 has provided us with a fully-automated solution that allows us to use our probes under even difficult process conditions, without the need to remove them for cleaning. An excellent spirit of cooperation with Knick was the key to the rapid project turnaround.”

Complete system enables automatic cleaning

In combination with the Ceramat retractable fitting and the Uniclean 900 electro-pneumatic controller from Knick, the SOPAT probe can be cleaned entirely automatically without having to interrupt the process. The probe is retracted by the fitting and separated from the process. The probe window is then rinsed with various cleaning solutions and dried with compressed air. All this is done without any user intervention – the probe is immediately ready for use again and can be moved back into the process via the Ceramat.