Lab News July - September 19

Product Focus: Ovens

PCTE sell the Utest brand of ovens. They come as 50, 120, 250, 500 and 700L models. The 500 and 700L ovens are 3-phase whilst the others are single phase. PCTE stock all of the sizes and we generally have at least one ready to go of each size at a time. We have found the Utest Ovens to be extremely popular in the last 2 years. We were interested in what features made them so popular, so we have surveyed our customers and have the following advantages. 
 
1. The door lever snaps shut. This means a technician with only one hand free (ie carrying a tray) can nudge the door and know it is closed and latched. 
2. The electronics is protected from the dust meaning they are more durable in a soil lab.
3. We carry extra shelves and spares parts such as relays, fans, heating elements and controllers so repairs are quick and there is little downtime.
 
These things seem small but add up to a winning combination. Please call us today or check them out here, for more info.  

Multiplex, or Single Task Machines (ie CBR, Marshall etc) 

Utest offer an incredibly diverse and flexible range. Its one of the reasons PCTE represent them. One area where this flexibility comes to the fore is with the Multiplex platform. The Multiplex machine is able to be reconfigured to perform CBR, Marshall, UCS and Triaxial tests. The Multiplex frame is supplied with a 50kN load cell and a displacement transducer. The customer can then add platens, breaking heads or pistons dependent on the required configuration. 

In order to perform each of the tests the user must re-programme the BC100 controller to include the correct specimen size, displacement and force rates to ensure the correct results are given.

The Multiplex Frame is capable of displacements between 0.00001 and 51mm per minute. The maximum piston travel is 80 and the maximum distance between columns is 280mm.  

Areas where this flexibility is a real advantage are: 

• Where customers has a number of labs performing a different standards and needs the ability to reconfigure the system on demand and get equipment on site.

• Or a customer looking to add capabilities into the future as they scale their business.

• It is perfect for a university where yearly projects may cover different tests and being able to use the same frame saves on resources.

• Finally it can provide the researcher with the flexibility to explore custom configurations.