Company Announcements

Fluence Analytics (formerly Advanced Polymer Monitoring), a manufacturer of industrial and lab systems for polymer and biopharmaceutical applications, announced in May that it raised a Series A funding round, led by Energy Innovation Capital.

In August, Anton Paar announced an innovation partnership agreement with the University of Michigan’s Chemical Engineering Department. Dr. Michael Solomon will use the company’s TwinDrive MCR 702 rheometer.

As part of its research partnership program, Anton Paar announced in September a collaboration with University of Colorado Boulder Professor Christine Hrenya, who will use the company’s MCR 502 powder rheometer.

Nanoindentation firm Nanomechanics announced in August an exclusive distribution agreement with Scanwel for the UK and Ireland.

In September, MTS Systems announced that John Morris Group, its PCB sensors division, will support the company’s entire portfolio of test and sensing solutions in Australia and New Zealand, including MTS Materials Testing Systems products.

Product Introductions

TA Instruments, a Waters company, introduced in August the Discovery HP-TGA 750, a high-pressure thermogravimetric analyzer, calling it the first and only benchtop high-pressure TGA available. It enables measurement of reactions with fast kinetics.

In October, TA Instruments unveiled the new ElectroForce DMA 3200, which combines fatigue and Dynamic Mechanic Analysis (DMA) technologies into a single mechanical test platform. It features a frictionless ElectroForce motor with 500 N of force, which extends the range of DMA experiments to much larger samples and higher loads.

In September, Fluid Imaging Technologies launched the Nano-Flow Imaging Particle Analyzer, calling it the world’s only imaging nano particle analyzer. It provides digital images of particles ranging in size from 300 nm to 30 µm using oil immersion technology for enhanced optical resolution. This is the sixth model in the FlowCam product line.

Mettler-Toledo launched in September the new DMA/SDTA 1+, a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer/Simultaneous Differential Thermal Analysis system. It features an automatic switch mode that controls the measurement and automatically changes from force controlled to displacement controlled. The maximum oscillation frequency value is 1,000 Hz.

In September, Lloyd Instruments, an AMETEK firm, launched five cost-effective universal testing machines for materials testing up to 100 kN. They are especially suited for metals testing. Features include a 17.8 in (452 mm) wide working area and a crosshead travel of 42.1 in (1,070 mm) that is extendable to 65.7 in (1,669 mm).

In October, Halo Labs introduced in Europe the HORIZON low-volume, high-throughput biopharmaceutical particle analysis system. Based on Background Membrane Imaging technology, the system analyzes subvisible and visible particulate matter.

Fluence Analytics unveiled in October the ARGEN protein and polymer stability monitoring product, utilizing continuous light scattering measurements. The company calls it the only instrument on the market that allows for the simultaneous, stressor-dependent testing of 16 samples.

In October, Spectro Scientific launched the MiniLab EL Series oil analysis tool for nondestructive testing of high-performance engines in aircraft, racing cars and railway environments. The systems provide lab quality results in less than 5 minutes using only a 5 mL sample of oil.