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ITS-90 ISOTHERMAL TOWERS
User Maintenance Manual/Handbook
Isothermal Technology Limited, Pine Grove, Southport, PR9 9AG, England
Tel: +44 (0)1704 543830 Fax: +44 (0)1704 544799 Internet: www.isotech.co.uk E-mail: info@isotech.co.uk
The company is always willing to give technical advice and assistance where appropriate. Equally, because of the programme of continual
development and improvement we reserve the right to amend or alter characteristics and design without prior notice. This publication is for
information only
Page 1 of 22
ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14
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Summary of Contents for Isotech ITS-90
- Page 1 Isothermal Technology Limited, Pine Grove, Southport, PR9 9AG, England Tel: +44 (0)1704 543830 Fax: +44 (0)1704 544799 Internet: www.isotech.co.uk E-mail: info@isotech.co.uk The company is always willing to give technical advice and assistance where appropriate. Equally, because of the programme of continual development and improvement we reserve the right to amend or alter characteristics and design without prior notice.
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
USING THE PC INTERFACE ................................20 Connections ....................................20 Using the Interface ..................................20 CAL NOTEPAD ....................................21 DEVELOPMENT ..................................21 HOW TO INSTALL CAL NOTEPAD ............................22 PROTOCOL ....................................22 Page 2 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14... -
Page 3: Emc Information
The blue conductor should be connected to Neutral and the Brown conductor to Live (Line). Warning: Internal mains voltage hazard. Do not remove the panels. There are no user serviceable parts inside. Contact your nearest Isotech agent for repair. Voltage transients on the supply must not exceed 2.5kV. -
Page 4: Guarantee
INTERFERENCE WITH OR FAILURE TO PROPERLY MAINTAIN THIS INSTRUMENT MAY INVALIDATE THIS GUARANTEE RECOMMENDATION The life of your ISOTECH Instrument will be prolonged if regular maintenance and cleaning to remove general dust and debris is carried out. ISOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGY LTD. -
Page 5: Cautionary Note
CAUTIONARY NOTE ISOTECH PRODUCTS ARE INTENDED FOR USE BY TECHNICALLY TRAINED AND COMPETENT PERSONNEL FAMILIAR WITH GOOD MEASUREMENT PRACTICES. IT IS EXPECTED THAT PERSONNEL USING THIS EQUIPMENT WILL BE COMPETENT WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF APPARATUS WHICH MAY BE POWERED OR UNDER EXTREMES OF TEMPERATURE, AND ARE ABLE TO APPRECIATE THE HAZARDS WHICH MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH, AND THE PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN WITH, SUCH EQUIPMENT. -
Page 6: Health And Safety Instructions
If cased, do not return the apparatus to its carrying case until the unit has cooled. There are no user serviceable parts inside. Contact your nearest Isotech agent for repair. Ensure materials, especially flammable materials are kept away from hot parts of the apparatus, to prevent fire risk. -
Page 7: Do's And Don'ts
DON’T rely on the controller to tell you the temperature of the Isotower. Its job is only to provide an isothermal volume. It is the calibrated working standard that is used to measure actual temperature. DON’T operate the equipment without the ceramic cap in place. Page 7 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14... -
Page 8: Unpacking And Initial Inspection
THE APPARATUS MUST BE CORRECTLY EARTHED (GROUNDED) The units’ on/off switch is located on the power inlet. Take care NOT to switch the unit off when it is hot - allow to cool first. Page 8 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14... -
Page 9: Using Your Isotower
200 times better than copper. The ITS-90 cell inside the heat siphon therefore warms quickly and uniformly. Due to thermal losses, a thermometer under test will conduct heat out of the cell causing a thermal gradient. To balance this loss a heated collar is included above the cell called an Immersion Compensator;... - Page 10 To avoid this it is important to pre-warm the thermometers being inserted close to, or ideally above, the cell temperature before inserting it into the Isotower Page 10 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14...
- Page 11 DO NOT set the top temperature more than 2°C above the melt. There is an over- temperature trip inside the ISOTower preset to 4°C above the melt to protect the heat siphon. Should you trip the unit you will need to contact Isotech for further instructions. Page 11 of 22...
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Page 12: Commissioning Your Isotower
COMMISSIONING YOUR ISOTOWER Switch on and set a temperature 5°C below the cell’s melt/freeze temperature. Allow one or two hours for your Isotower to stabilise. Monitor the cell with a stable thermometer such as Isotech’s 670SQ/25 SPRT and microK bridge. -
Page 13: The Immersion Compensator
Ensure the ceramic cap is in place before use – see Figure 1 for details Figure 1 Always ensure that the ceramic is in place before powering up the Isotower Page 13 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14... -
Page 14: Changing The Length Of The Melt Plateau
DO NOT set the controller more than 2°C above the melt. There is an over-temperature trip inside the Isotower preset to 4°C above the melt to protect the heat siphon. Should you trip the unit you will need to contact Isotech for further instructions. -
Page 15: A Basic Concern
With Aluminium and Sodium neither is affected by the other (Ref. Hansen). Again, the cell would melt badly. In this unlikely event please contact Isotech. The Isotower wants to please you but to get the best from it you need to understand the controller temperature settings and the top heater offsets. -
Page 16: Learning More About Your Isotower
If this is not immediately re-melted then further cooling and ice formation expands the volume beneath the ice bridge and the cell will implode. This is because ice is 8% less dense than water, for example in a Isotech B11/50 cell the water level increases 12mm as the ice increases from 0 to 50%. -
Page 17: Note: Putting Numbers To The Theory
Note: Putting numbers to the theory Traditionally the fixed points of ITS-90 have been used on their freezes. This is because during freezing the metals shrink; In by 2.3%, Sn by 2.5%, Zn by 4.6%, Al by 7.2% and Silver by 4.5%. -
Page 18: Using The Controller
When the SP.RAT is active the lower setpoint display will now automatically update with the current value, known as the working setpoint. The setpoint can be seen by pressing either the UP and DOWN key. Page 18 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14... -
Page 19: Instrument Address
Typically if there was no difference in the temperature then the controller would read “0”. If the immersion compensator was cold by 1°C then the zone controller would be set to +1°C etc. To adjust the controller temperature simply use the up/down buttons. Page 19 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14... -
Page 20: Using The Pc Interface
The Isotech conversion leads are suitable for maximum combined lead lengths of 10M that is adequate for most applications. Connections For RS232 use simply connect the Isotech cable, a 9 to 25 pin converter is included to suit PCs with a 25 pin serial converter. RS422 Connections... -
Page 21: Cal Notepad
DEVELOPMENT Cal NotePad was developed by Isothermal Technology using LabVIEW from National Instruments. The license details are shown on the download page and in the Cal Notepad manual. Page 21 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14... -
Page 22: How To Install Cal Notepad
Should you ever need to uninstall the software then use the Add/Remove Programs option from the Control Panel. PROTOCOL The instruments use the "Modbus Protocol" If required, e.g. for writing custom software the technical details are available from our Document Library at http://www.isotech.co.uk Page 22 of 22 ITS-90 Isothermal Towers Iss.07 – 05/14...
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