Katanax X-FLUXER Manual
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Katanax X-FLUXER Manual

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Summary of Contents for Katanax X-FLUXER

  • Page 1 Automatic fluxer...
  • Page 3 Thank you for having chosen the X-300 fusion machine from Katanax. To enjoy years of reliable, efficient and safe use of this time-saving instrument, please read this manual thoroughly and keep it in a safe and handy place for future reference.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Introduction ..................8 Fusion basics .................... 8 Automatic fluxers ..................8 The X-300 fluxer ..................8 Main features of the Katanax X-300 ............11 Precautions ................... 13 How the unit works ..............14 Heating ....................14 Multiple configurations ................14 Access to the furnace ................
  • Page 5 On-the-fly editing ................... 41 Global parameters ................ 43 Language ....................43 Holding temperature offset ..............43 Startup tolerance..................44 End beep ....................44 Automatic shut-off delay ................. 44 Safety shield protection ................45 Fusion counter ..................45 Special parameters ............... 46 Accessing the Special parameters ............
  • Page 6 Appendix E – CPLive : Networking ..........78 Connecting the fluxer to your LAN ............78 Appendix F – CPLive : Remote access ......... 80 Controlling the fluxer from a remote device ..........80 Allowing Katanax support to access your fluxer ........82 Contacting Katanax ..............84...

  • Page 7: Installation

    Congratulations on your acquisition of the X-300 fluxer, from Katanax. Please read the following section for proper commissioning of your instrument. Do not hesitate to contact Katanax with any question you might have with this crucial step. IMPORTANT: It is advisable that several persons carry this instrument to avoid injuries.
  • Page 8 Motor and fan / impeller sizing information can unfortunately not be provided by Katanax, as those strongly depend on factors linked to each individual installation (pipe diameter, pipe distance to the outside, exhaust baffle type, etc...). Those will need to be calculated locally for each installation by HVAC engineers.

  • Page 9: Leveling

    Crucible holder for details on how to properly assemble the parts that make up the crucible holder, and install the latter in the instrument. Questions ? Should you have any question regarding the proper installation and start-up of your instrument, please contact Katanax directly (see information on page 84) for assistance.

  • Page 10: Introduction

    Therefore, the peak temperature of a sample preparation by fusion is determined only by the type of flux, not the type of sample. Katanax does not recommend exceeding 1050°C when using lithium borates. Katanax does not recommend exceeding 1000°C when using sodium borates.
  • Page 11 X-300T – “Trio”, is a triple station fluxer (three samples) and it is possible to upgrade from one version to the next by adding one or two expansion kits (p/n KP8000A), available from Katanax. The X-300 comes pre-loaded with various fusion methods that can be used as is, or can be customized.
  • Page 12 Crucible holder Unlike some other units, this fluxer involves no moving part to insert and lock the crucible in place. Locking is achieved automatically due to the dynamic geometry during pouring. “Fork” Crucible “Hoop” The straight-walled platinum crucibles are loaded with a few grams of powdered sample, an appropriate flux and often other agents.

  • Page 13: Main Features Of The Katanax X-300

    Some fusion types, such as peroxide and pyrosulfate, do not even require pouring. The X-300 is also designed for such fusions, where the whole crucible is dipped into an acid, after the fusion, to prepare a solution by leaching. Main features of the Katanax X-300 Accuracy  Entirely automated ...
  • Page 14  No gases used, so no post-combustion products released  Minimal heat dissipation; no need for a powerful vent hood  No hazardous voltage on the sealed heating elements Versatility  Expandable from 1, 2 to 3 positions  Makes glass disks for XRF and can also readily do peroxide or pyrosulfate fusions ...

  • Page 15: Precautions

    Precautions High temperature Although this instrument has been built to be very safe, it is still capable of reaching temperatures up to 1200ºC inside the furnace. Care must be taken in order to avoid touching hot surfaces. Even though crucibles and molds are supposed to be cool at the end of a fusion cycle, in order to avoid risks of burns, use appropriate gloves, laboratory tongs or some other adapted tool to manipulate the crucible, mold and glass disk.

  • Page 16: How The Unit Works

    2 + 3 + 2 = 7 (100% of full cavity is used) It is possible to upgrade from one version to the next by adding one or two expansion kits (p/n KP8000A), available from Katanax. Access to the furnace At the beginning of a fusion cycle, stepper motors automatically open the door, move the platinumware holders into the furnace, and finally re-close the door.

  • Page 17: Agitation And Pouring Of The Melt

    Agitation and pouring of the melt A mixing motion of the sample and flux is produced by the alternate rotation of a stepper motors located behind the crucible holders. This motor drives push-bars, which in turn drives the crucible holders with a left-to-right motion to agitate the melt.

  • Page 18: Using The X-300 (Basic)

    A detector ensures that the shield is properly closed before allowing the fusion to start. Katanax recommends working in that default configuration, but it is also possible (at the user’s risk) to entirely disable the locking mechanism if necessary. Refer to Safety shield protection on page 45 for details.

  • Page 19: The Main Running Screen

    Manual override When there is no power (e.g. when cleaning or packing the unit), it is possible to override the locking mechanism to manually open the safety shield. The locking latch bolt can be picked through an oblong opening on the front of the unit, at the left of the shield.
  • Page 20 Here is a short explanation of the various zones and buttons: The graph zone shows the outline of the crucible temperature as a function of time. The “Start” button, quite obviously, is used to launch the currently selected fusion program. This button is used to unlock the safety shield (see Operation of the safety shield, page 16).
  • Page 21 This activates the sample tracking screen. See Introduction data logging at page 71 for more details on how to use this feature. The “tilted crucible” icon/button is used to tilt the crucible holder a bit, for easier insertion of the crucibles into holder.

  • Page 22: Loading A Program

    The Copy button is useful to duplicate an existing program, to create a derived recipe. More details are given at page37, Managing fusion methods. The Delete button is used to erase a program from memory. More details are given at page 37, Managing fusion methods.

  • Page 23: During A Fusion

    Touch the green button to confirm, or the red to cancel. Preset methods Cancel Accept During a fusion While the instrument is running, the main screen will display additional information and buttons, as well as a general estimated timer showing the total time remaining to the fusion program.

  • Page 24: The Right Ingredients

    Sample preparation Besides the traditional requirements for a sample to be representative, uncontaminated and dry, Katanax recommends that the sample be ground to <100µm. This is to ensure that the fusion be completed within a reasonable time. Additionally, the sample must be fully oxidized before heating the crucible...
  • Page 25 IMPORTANT: Heating a sample containing metallic species at high temperatures will cause an alloying reaction, damaging the crucible, and possibly damaging the instrument. Flux blend Typical fusions use a mix of lithium metaborate (LiM) and lithium tetraborate (LiT). Lithium metaborate alone typically offers a better sample solubility, but can lead to crystallization of the bead.
  • Page 26 After the choice of the right flux, the flux-to-sample ratio is probably the second hardest question to answer. This section intends only to explain general concepts. For more specific information, the customer is invited to contact Katanax directly. To obtain the best readability possible on the analytical instrument, one wishes to put as much sample as possible in the preparation.

  • Page 27: Care Of The Platinumware

    The NWA may be added in solid (powder) form, or as an aqueous solution. Katanax also sells flux blends that contain predetermined amounts of non-wetting agent. Please contact Katanax to obtain this time-saving product. Oxidizing agents As previously mentioned, it is of key importance that the sample be oxidized.

  • Page 28: Crucible Installation

    Katanax offers a versatile polishing kit (p/n KP9004A or KP9005A, for 115 V or 230 V respectively) comprising a set of very fine diamond pastes with a rotary tool fitted with various soft buffing pads.

  • Page 29: Mold Installation

    (The hoop remains horizontal.) Fork Hoop IMPORTANT: Katanax recommends that the crucibles be filled while not in the instrument. This allows to avoid accidental powder spills on the holders, and ensures that the crucibles are not installed in the very same position every fusion (in which case they could be prematurely damaged).

  • Page 30: A General Fusion

    IMPORTANT: Forgetting to install the molds will cause the crucibles to pour the hot molten glass onto the instrument. In such case, no damage will occur, but sample will be lost. NOTE: If you find that your molds do not fit properly in the fingers, then maybe the fingers are not configured for your mold size.

  • Page 31: Making Solutions

    IMPORTANT: Katanax does not recommend attempting to prepare solutions in a fluxer not fitted with the optional solution magnetic stirrers. When making a solution, the process is quite similar to making glass disks, but the mold installation changes for the following: 9.

  • Page 32: Description Of The Fusion Steps

    Description of the fusion steps All fusion programs in the X-300 are built the same way, and have nine (9) steps. Here is the list of those steps, along with the corresponding icon: Heating 1 Typically used to pre-heat the sample, with little or no agitation.
  • Page 33 Cooling 1 Used for natural-cooling of the mold, or stirring of the solution Cooling 2 Used for blower-cooling of the mold Each step is launched when the preceding one is completed. It is also possible for a step to have a null duration (i.e. zero seconds), and would simply be jumped over.

  • Page 34: Programming The X-300 (Advanced)

    Programming the X- 300 (advanced) When specific sample types do not seem to be easily processed by a preset fusion method, it is necessary to manually modify the parameters of critical fusion steps. Viewing the fusion parameters Without risking changing a parameter, any user can look at the values and settings of the current program, step-by-step.
  • Page 35 We are now familiar with the graph zone, which shows the outline of the crucible/mold temperature function of time. fusion step being edited represented as the portion of curve between the two vertical red lines. large crucible with thermometer represents a heating step, and the numeral “4”...
  • Page 36 The icon in the lower left corner has now switched to a graph icon. Pressing this button will bring you back to the main running screen. If we scrolled fusion steps towards the right, until we reach the pouring step, we would obtain a screen similar to the following: Icons and symbols have the following meaning: The large crucible pouring into a mold...
  • Page 37 This icon switch provides the user with the possibility to configure a fusion method as a “solution-making” method, and when turned on, will automatically position the holders in optimal location beaker loading/unloading. This block represents the settings of “shaking” feature. After pouring action, one can program the crucible to shake up and down for a...

  • Page 38: Unlocking The Advanced Mode

    The three rows (1, 2 and 3 on the right-hand side) allow the user to optionally set three distinct fan speeds (in percent) and corresponding durations. This permits special “quenching” operations; most fusion users do not need to use those and will simply set zero-durations for two of those sub-steps and 100% fan power for a few minutes in the last one, as in this example: Note on the tilting angles during cooling...

  • Page 39: Managing Fusion Methods

    After touching the padlock button, a numeric keypad will pop up, ready for password entry. Type the password, which is 2014. If you make a mistake while typing, press the backspace button to clear your entry. If you summoned the numeric keypad by error, you can close it by pressing the locking padlock icon.

  • Page 40: Preparing A Fusion Program

    Heating 1 and Heating 2, or Heating 1 and Heating 3, and so on, without affecting anything. For standardization purposes, Katanax tends to use the last heating steps, and leave the first ones empty when not needed.

  • Page 41: Pouring Step

    Heating above those temperatures could cause flux evaporation that could bias the subsequent analysis. A warning will appear when going over 1100°C. Please contact Katanax if you feel that your sample type needs higher temperatures, so that we can assist and develop a lower-temperature method.

  • Page 42: Cooling Steps

    Basic pouring parameters Pouring can be completely turned off and on by pressing the red and green vertical switch. If pouring is on, the crucible tilting angle and speed can be controlled with the plus and minus buttons. Generally, a pouring angle of 120° with a speed of more than 30% works well.

  • Page 43: On-The-Fly Editing

    one to two minutes is a very good starting point. Thereafter, “Cooling 2” can be set for as many minutes as needed, and this parameter will be roughly proportional with the combined weight of the melt and mold. Special cooling profiles Some advanced fusion users like to start cooling the bead with forced air immediately after pouring, until it starts solidifying;...
  • Page 44 Note, however, that there are logical limitations, and the firmware will automatically limit the accepted parameter range to prevent nonsensical or error- causing combinations. All parameter modifications will take immediate effect. If the step of modified parameters has already been executed, the modified parameters will have of course no effect on the current execution.

  • Page 45: Global Parameters

    Global parameters In addition to recipe-specific parameters, your fluxer provides extra versatility through flexible parameters that will apply to all fusion programs. To modify the global parameters, first unlock the advanced mode (see page 36, Unlocking the advanced mode), then touch the Global Parameters icon that is now available on the main display screen.

  • Page 46: Startup Tolerance

    Startup tolerance Basically, when you start a fusion, the crucibles will enter the instrument only once the furnace has reached the calculated holding temperature (based on the temperature of Step 1 and the selected offset value). Therefore, there may be a delay when you press Start, to allow for the furnace to heat up or cool down to the holding temperature.

  • Page 47: Safety Shield Protection

    Safety shield protection By default, the checking of the safety shield position and locking should be enabled, to maximize protection. However, it is possible to disable this security feature. WARNING: Disabling the safety shield protection can lead to serious injuries by extreme heat.

  • Page 48: Special Parameters

    IMPORTANT: None of the parameters below is actually memorized until the user presses “UPDATE”. Please contact Katanax is you feel one of the motion offsets needs to be adjusted. These parameters have been factory-set and should require no further adjustment.

  • Page 49: Loop Operation

    Loop operation Once set to “ON” (green light), this setting will cause the next started fusion program to be run in endless loops. Right after the last cooling step, the holders will re-enter the furnace and the fusion program will start over. Pressing the Stop button cancels the Loop operation, and the instrument resumes normal operation.

  • Page 50: Fusion Troubleshooting

    Glass disk sticks to the mold If disk top surface is concave (disk adheres to the mold walls), add non-wetting agent at the beginning or during the fusion. Katanax recommends lithium bromide. Glass disk contains undissolved particles Some sample may not be completely dissolved.

  • Page 51: Non-Homogenous Disk

    It is caused by the mold not containing enough flux, by the mold not being leveled or by an excessive amount of non-wetting agent. Add flux or level instrument/mold holder accordingly. Non- homogenous disk When holding the glass disk in front of a light source, if you can observe powdery residues, then some sample may not have dissolved.

  • Page 52: Periodic Inspection

    If unsure, do not hesitate to get in touch with a Katanax technician (see page 84, Contacting Katanax). Assistance by phone or email is always free of charge.

  • Page 53: Holders Alignment And Functionality

    1. This visual inspection should be done every fusion cycle. Look for vitrified, darker or colored spots on the ceramics parts that make up the holders. In the case that a spillage occurs on one or more parts of the holders, clean or replace immediately.

  • Page 54: Air Filter For The Molds Cooling

    Verify that mold holders are perfectly horizontal. Note that the mold holders are installed on a system that will give them an oblique angle, but should still keep them in the horizontal plane. Verify that flux spillage is not present on holders anywhere. (Refer to appropriate section in case flux deposits are found.) Verify that crucibles holder(s) is (are) free to rock and pour into the molds, without rubbing or hitting anything.

  • Page 55: Element Terminal Connections

    Stand on a small step to look directly down each of the chimneys. Their inside wall should be smooth and solid white. If it is deemed necessary to clean the inside of the chimneys, continue to the next steps. Turn the instrument off and let it cool down. Slowly pull each chimney to remove them.

  • Page 56: Thermocouple Junction

    Visually inspect the door and furnace insulation. Verify that no parts are threatening to fall or are presenting severe cracks that could impair functionality. The “pillar”-shaped insulation part that protrudes from the furnace door is particularly vulnerable to mechanical stresses. Please make sure not to break them as you perform the following steps.
  • Page 57 2. Access the Special parameters window (see page 46). 3. Press on the “^^^^” button to slide the holders in the furnace. 4. Press the “vvvv” button to slide the holders out of the furnace. 5. Repeat these operations 4 or 5 times to verify that no jerking movement occurs.

  • Page 58: Service Operations

    Should you have any question, or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us (see page 84, Contacting Katanax). Note that your unit is able to be remotely diagnosed by Katanax service personnel, with a few configuration steps described in Allowing Katanax support to access your fluxer, on page 82.

  • Page 59: Crucible Holder Installation

    fasten the collar onto the rocking shafts, and so must not be un-tightened at this point. 4. One must start by removing the Hoop: Locate and un-tighten the screw that is all by itself (not in a group of 4). You do not need to fully remove the screw.

  • Page 60: Mold Holder Configuration, Assembly And Alignment

    Remove any mold from the mold holder(s). Notice that each mold holder unit is made up of two long Black Ceramic “fingers”, both fastened to a common aluminum support. This support is in turn fastened to the motor plate by a single screw, which is threaded through a spring, to allow for some movement in case the fragile fingers are accidentally bumped into.
  • Page 61 finger “B” are symmetrical). Each such pair of fingers is clamped down at its other end onto the mold finger support, which is in turn fastened to the rocking motor plate with a single screw per mold position. Please refer to page 57, Mold holder removal, to learn how to remove the mold holders and supports.

  • Page 62: Heating Element Replacement

    Installation of the mold fingers on their support 1. Remove the rectangular “washers” from both sides of each mold finger support, to free the fingers. (Be careful: they are sharp and fragile) 2. Based on the instructions in the preceding paragraphs, position the pair of fingers as required for the first mold.
  • Page 63 2. While a heating element can be replaced on an X-300 that is still hot (using appropriate protective gloves) Katanax strongly recommends letting the unit cool down completely overnight. 3. Remove the instrument’s top/back panel. (See page 62, Top/back panel removal for details.)

  • Page 64: Top/Back Panel Removal

    9. Remove the central screw of the ceramic terminal connector. Support the terminal with one hand to keep it in place. 10. Gently pull the ceramic terminal and the heating element at the same time, horizontally toward the front of the machine. 11.

  • Page 65: Side Panel Removal

    3. Locate and remove the screws, as indicated in orange, below. (Four on top, three in the back, and one large on each side.) 4. Remove the top/back panel. Side panel removal This fluxer has two sturdy side panels topped with a handle. It is necessary to remove those panels to access the crucible swing mechanism and sensors or motor controllers.

  • Page 66: Bottom Panels Removal

    1. Disconnect the instrument from the wall outlet. 2. Remove the screws marked below (or symmetrically, if you are remove the other side’s panel). 3. Slide the panel upwards to remove it. Bottom panels removal Under the zone where the platinumware holders swing in and out of the furnace, this fluxer has two panels that act as a protective shield for the electronics underneath.
  • Page 67 In the same horizontal plane as the front bottom panel, but farther back in the instrument, there is a second panel called the “back bottom panel”. WARNING: This panel is attached to loaded springs, and so removing it requires extra precautions. Please contact Katanax if you feel you need to remove this part.

  • Page 68: Appendix A - Technical Specifications

    Appendix A – Technical specifications Electrical Voltage ......195-250VAC Frequency ...... 50-60 Hz Electric power ....3000 W Embedded breaker ..250 VAC, 15 A In-wall breaker type ..250 VAC, 15 A (not included) Physical Weight ......54 kg (120 lbs) Height ......

  • Page 69: Appendix B - Warranty

    Katanax reserves the right to make changes in the design or to make additions or improvements with respect to its product without incurring any obligation to...

  • Page 70: Appendix C - Firmware And Program Transfers

    Especially, samples containing un- oxidized material should be fused with extreme care. If unsure, please contact Katanax. We will be glad to prepare an adapted method for your specific sample. Name Applicable to...

  • Page 71: Backup Or Restore By Usb

    USB flash drive, especially before upgrading the firmware of your instrument. This can also be useful to transfer fusion programs among several fusion instruments. Alternately, you might have received from Katanax a firmware upgrade that you want to install on your instrument. Backup fluxer to USB drive 1.
  • Page 72 A dialog will appear, requesting a password and what data to download. The password is “111111” (six times the digit one). You may have to drag the dialog window to the left, to show the keyboard and then type the password. Select “Download Project Files”...

  • Page 73: Appendix D - Cplive : Data Logging

    In your X-Fluxer, data logging is turned off by default. Once it is turned on, at each fusion cycle the user will have the possibility to enter a sample identification name or number for each fusion crucible, either via the touchscreen keyboard or with the optional barcode reader.

  • Page 74: Enable Data Logging

    Enable data logging The Data Logging feature must be activated on the fluxer, in order to record sample identification codes (sample tracking). On your fluxer, unlock the advanced mode (see page 36). Click the global parameter button: Locate the switch located by the barcode reader icon. Press the switch so that it lights up in green, like below: Data logging is now enabled.

  • Page 75: Sample Tracking

    Sample tracking To track samples, the user enters sample names or identification codes before starting the fusion. (Data logging must be enabled to do so.) In the main screen, click on the barcode reader icon: In the data sampling window, enter the password “2014” to unlock the save button.

  • Page 76: Copying Logs To A Usb Drive

     Keyboard mode activated :  Barcode mode activated : If the “Barcode” mode is enabled, a green halo will inform the user of what position is ready to be scanned: You can click on the screen to select a different field, if you want to scan another position.

  • Page 77: Accessing Logs Through Ftp

    Click on the disk icon : After approximately 5 seconds, the fluxer will have transferred the logs onto the USB drive. Remove the USB drive from the fluxer and insert it into a computer where EasyConverter has been installed. On that computer, open the “datalog” folder in the root of the USB stick. There will then be a folder named “Fusion logs”...

  • Page 78: Structure Of The Data Log Files

    You can now open that Excel file to see the log for that day. Structure of the data log files Once converted into Excel format, you will see that the log files each follow the same format, with the columns arranged as follows: Column A –...

  • Page 79: Error / Warning Codes Listing

    Error / warning codes listing Error Code Description Door motor slipped. Over-temperature door motor drive. Pre-Warning – Over-temperature door motor drive. Short to ground - Loop A Door motor. Short to ground - Loop B Door motor. Element #1 low power detected. Element #2 low power detected.

  • Page 80: Appendix E - Cplive : Networking

    Appendix E – CPLive : Networking Connecting the fluxer to your LAN It is possible for users to access data log files from stored on the fluxer and even to control it remotely. For these actions to be possible, the fluxer must first be connected to your local area network (“LAN”).
  • Page 81 If you need to check the connectivity and obtain the IP address of your fluxer on the network: Click the global parameters button: Write down the IP address of your fluxer, e.g. 192.168.2.18 in the example below: If this field shows “0.0.0.0” there is a connectivity issue. Verify the cable and check your LAN wall socket for signal.

  • Page 82: Appendix F - Cplive : Remote Access

    It is possible to remotely access the touchscreen of your new-generation fluxer remotely, through a computer, a tablet or a cellphone. Additionally, with your explicit permission, it is possible for a Katanax technician to access it, thus allowing for remote diagnostics of your unit.
  • Page 83 Double-click on the connection profile you just created to initiate the actual connection process. You may receive a warning that the connection with the fluxer will not be encrypted. Tick the box and click on “Continue”. 10. If the initial handshake is a success, you will be prompted for a password, which is six times the number one: “111111”...

  • Page 84: Allowing Katanax Support To Access Your Fluxer

    For diagnosis purposes, you can grant a remote access to your fluxer, to a member of the Katanax service and support department. Contact our Service department at service@katanax.com and provide us with the serial number of your unit. (The serial number is located on the back of the unit, but also in the Global Parameters screen.)
  • Page 85 Activate the WAN remote access switch. This will allow Katanax to remotely access the screen of your fluxer. (You may turn the switch back to Off once the service is done.)

  • Page 86: Contacting Katanax

    Contacting Katanax Katanax sales and technical staff can be reached at the following address: Katanax inc. 2500, Jean-Perrin, suite 100 Quebec, QC Canada G2C 1X1 Tel.: (+1) 418-915-4848 E-mail: info@katanax.com Web: www.katanax.com When contacting us, kindly have the serial number of the instrument at hand.

This manual is also suitable for:

X-300X-300mX-300dX-300t

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