June 2008 Editor's Picks: Esco Technologies and Hawk Measurement

Esco Technologies
Transfer hatches are easy to clean
The new line of stainless steel transfer hatches from Esco Technologies (Hatboro, PA) are constructed entirely of stainless steel and feature internal coved corners. The hatches incorporate frameless, tempered-glass doors and single-piece, molded gaskets without joints. X.Q. Lin, president of Esco USA, says these features make the transfer hatches easier to clean than traditional pass boxes.

Lin adds that the transfer hatches include reliable mechanical interlocks designed without parts that could fail.

The hatches maintain a physical barrier between a cleanroom and the external environment. The devices permit material transfer without requiring personnel to enter a cleanroom, thus protecting the external environment from contamination. The units are suitable for pharmaceutical cleanrooms as well as biological safety laboratories.

Hawk Measurement
Versatile level switch offers high sensitivity
The "Vibration Smart Switch" is the newest addition to Hawk Measurement's (Middleton, MA) series of point-level switches. Jack Evans, president of Hawk, says the highly sensitive device detects the level of pharmaceutical water, powders, solids, and finished products within a process tank.

A piezoelectric crystal vibrates two tines of the switch's sensing element at their resonant frequency. When material touches the tines, it dampens the signal and activates a relay. The relay can be used to turn a filling cycle off or on.

Evans says the unit can be installed easily at the top or bottom of a process tank or silo. Operators can rotate the switch's head without affecting its conduit connection. An integral version of the switch contains the electronics and probe in one unit. Users can choose to install the unit's display in another location.