Katanax K1 PRIME, Manual

Page 1: ...Automatic fluxer 1...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...his time saving instrument please read this manual thoroughly and keep it in a safe and handy place for future reference Should you have any question regarding the use maintenance or repair of your in...

Page 4: ...How the unit works 13 Heating 13 Agitation and pouring of the melt 13 Cooling 13 Solution agitation 13 Using the K1 Prime basic 15 The main running screen 15 During a fusion 17 The right ingredients...

Page 5: ...odic inspection 39 Warning 39 Inspection schedule table 39 Flux spillages 39 Visual integrity of heating elements 40 Element terminal connections 41 Thermocouple junction 41 Service operations 43 Warn...

Page 6: ...find 1 solution agitation module 1 unbreakable Teflon beaker 1 magnetic stirring bars Location Vent hood Molten flux additives and some samples may produce vapors and gases that need to be extracted...

Page 7: ...t in the lower range of voltages heat up times will be longer than in the recommended voltage range It is possible that the instrument show heating errors due to this because the microprocessor monito...

Page 8: ...e mineralogy grain size or orientation effects and the result is perfectly homogenous In sample preparation by fusion the sample never actually melts It is merely dissolved into a solvent This solvent...

Page 9: ...success Katanax has updated the concept making it sturdier and easier to use than ever The K1 Prime comes pre loaded with various fusion methods that can be used as is or can be customized All fusion...

Page 10: ...le an appropriate flux and often other agents The crucible is inserted into the crucible heater and locked by the locking bar s crucible lid A removable spill protector is provided so that any pouring...

Page 11: ...old holder that is not suitable for your mold please order as follows Part number For mold with nominal diameter KP0037A 30 mm KP0038A 32 mm KP0039A 35 mm KP0040A 40 mm A blower underneath will provid...

Page 12: ...into an unbreakable beaker instead of a mold which contains a dilute acid that is automatically stirred by a magnetic system optional Some fusion types such as peroxide and pyrosulfate do not even re...

Page 13: ...o 7 samples hour Simplicity Simple intelligent high performance heaters Easy installation Intuitive touch screen color LCD graphics interface Easy icon and menu navigation Low maintenance easy compone...

Page 14: ...ements are powered at voltages below 24 V reasonable precautions must be taken Disconnect power cord before attempting any cleaning maintenance or repair operation Be careful that no liquid infiltrate...

Page 15: ...ing this tilting motor rotates the crucible heater further forward to an adjustable pouring angle at an adjustable speed The melt pours naturally into the mold and the crucible heater is automatically...

Page 16: ...rnatively powered magnetic coils produce a rotating magnetic field under the beaker By placing a laboratory type magnetic stirring bar in the acid before fusion the agitation will be automatically sta...

Page 17: ...e following not all buttons icons will appear depending on the instruments settings Here is a short explanation of the various zones and buttons The graph zone shows the outline of the crucible temper...

Page 18: ...mong existing programs Clicking on the program name itself will also allow you to rename it More details on this are given at page 31 Managing fusion methods The Copy button is useful to duplicate an...

Page 19: ...ll parameters can now be freely changed More details are given at page 27 Programming the K1 Prime advanced Entering the password is also required to access the Global parameters screen Duringafusion...

Page 20: ...step number in red See page 24 Description of the fusion steps for more information on this topic The Stop button as the name implies is used to halt an ongoing fusion process stopping all motors Thi...

Page 21: ...or neutral flux 50 LiT 50 LiM Here is a list of common oxides along with the recommended flux Simple oxide Recommended flux K2O Na2O BaO SrO Li2O CaO Ag2O MnO MgO PbO CoO Lithium tetraborate Bi2O3 FeO...

Page 22: ...ible on the analytical instrument one wishes to put as much sample as possible in the preparation However putting too much sample will over saturate the flux and leave undissolved sample particles in...

Page 23: ...ich reacts at around 700 800 C and lithium nitrate LiNO3 which reacts at around 500 600 C Several minutes at the reaction temperature must be allowed before heating up further and temperature ramping...

Page 24: ...ll cause the crucibles to pour the hot molten glass onto the instrument possibly damaging it Ageneral fusion Here are the steps required to perform a fusion on the K1 Prime fluxer 1 Turn the instrumen...

Page 25: ...present Then the flux melts and dissolves the sample The mold is heated at the same time At the end the crucible is tilted to pour into the mold A blower cools the disk 12 At the end of the cycle care...

Page 26: ...ty the connector pointing to the right and then slide it rightwards to connect it fully 9 5 Put the beaker on the agitator In the last steps of the fusion program the magnetic stirrer will automatical...

Page 27: ...again with little or no agitation Heating 4 Typically used to melt the flux Heating 5 Typically used to dissolve the sample in the flux with a vigorous agitation Heating 6 Typically used to de gas th...

Page 28: ...emperature with no rocking the rocking parameter must be set to 0 Most fusion programs will not use all heating steps Note that all heating steps 1 to 6 are identically structured and could be used in...

Page 29: ...ange a parameter any user can check the current values and settings of the current program step by step This is done by pressing the Settings icon in the lower left corner of the main running screen T...

Page 30: ...eps of the current program The small crucible with red thermometer icon is placed just besides a cell where the target crucible temperature is displayed The Minus and Plus buttons will be used to chan...

Page 31: ...ft 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 ob...

Page 32: ...scrolling to the next step will show us the available parameters for a cooling step And we now recognize the duration parameter as well as the crucible tilting angle and motion speed The two crucible...

Page 33: ...n incorrect password on the numeric keypad Managing fusionmethods Fusion methods can be managed just like files on a computer In the main screen you can press the icon corresponding to Copy Delete and...

Page 34: ...ly two temperature plateaus you could use 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 ste...

Page 35: ...ssing on the plus and minus buttons to limit the heat up rate The other ramping values besides Fast are given in C minute Slow heat up rates are particularly useful with a solid oxidizer when we want...

Page 36: ...thermal stresses would remain in the solid disk This can cause hazardous bursting of the produced disk in the next minutes hours or even days On the other hand and again there are exceptions if the b...

Page 37: ...rim during Cooling 2 Solution programs To create a fusion dedicated to making solutions the best is to either directly use the Solutions program or create a copy of it if parameter edition is require...

Page 38: ...can change the instrument s interface language by selecting your preferred language in the list Automatic shut offdelay When the instrument is idle for a certain period of time the heating will be aut...

Page 39: ...cking Allow more time for the still air cooling i e before starting the cooling blower Diskcrystallizes Crystallization reaction cause the transparent melt in the mold to become milky opaque during co...

Page 40: ...n flux and will also cause damage to platinumware Make sure to use the proper type and amount of oxidizer Oversaturation A fusion being a dissolution reaction it is perfectly possible to obtain an ove...

Page 41: ...of death by electrocution those procedures shall be executed only by trained personnel Inspection scheduletable Frequency Checkpoint Description Action if problem found Page Every fusion Flux spillag...

Page 42: ...tegrity ofheating elements IMPORTANT Always disconnect the instrument from the power outlet when working with panels removed Risk of electrocution In the K1 Prime heating elements build a surface oxid...

Page 43: ...ermocouple cover 1 7 Locate the mold heater connector on the side of the round mold heater under the thermocouple cover 1 8 Visually inspect and verify that both terminal connectors are not overly oxi...

Page 44: ...d 1 3 Visually inspect the thermocouple junction Verify that no mechanical shock has occurred which could have damaged the thermocouple junction 1 4 Now look inside the mold heater where the mold woul...

Page 45: ...on The crucible heating element comprises a single wire wound in a spiral into ceramic insulators plates The resulting assembly is inserted into a soft thermal insulation shell Then a clear tube is in...

Page 46: ...ir contact brackets You should have in your hand two screws two washers and two small contact brackets 4 3 Manually tilt the crucible heater back to the upright position 5 With the crucible in the upr...

Page 47: ...From the instructions above the crucible heater is in a partially disassembled state You are ready to install the new heating element 1 Make sure the instrument is still disconnected from its power ou...

Page 48: ...ater gently tilt the heater forward in the pouring position 7 Using thin pliers gently pull on the two element leads No need to pull hard the idea is to just relieve any compression stress which could...

Page 49: ...n completely 2 Wear surgical style gloves They will protect you from the insulation fibers and will protect the heating element s clear tubes from your skin oil 3 Remove the mold and mold holder if ne...

Page 50: ...the mold heater is in a partially disassembled state You are ready to install the new heating element 1 Make sure the instrument is still disconnected from its power outlet 2 Wear surgical style glove...

Page 51: ...Ensure that the heater s cavity is completely clean before installing a new element 4 Carefully insert the new element into the connector and into the opening on the top of the heater s soft insulatio...

Page 52: ...ed to fully oxidized material Metal Samples containing un oxidized material Applicable to metals that can be attacked by acids or bases This method has a low temperature oxidation period in which the...

Page 53: ...rd and what data to upload 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 4 Select Upload Project Fil...

Page 54: ...will erase ALL fusion programs currently stored on your fluxer 8 Touch OK 9 Now choose where you want the data to be fetched By default you will have to double click on USBDISK then click on its sub...

Page 55: ...ns Electrical Voltage 117 127 VAC or 220 240 VAC Frequency 50 60 Hz Electric power 1300 W max consumption Main fuse 115 VAC 12 A 230 VAC 10 A Physical Weight 30 kg 66 lbs Height 40 cm 16 in Width 28 c...

Page 56: ...the written consent of Katanax Minor adjustments are not covered by warranty Katanax disclaims any responsibility for misuse misapplication negligence or improper installation and maintenance of equip...

Page 57: ...x inc 2500 Jean Perrin suite 100 Quebec City 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...