Combined dry and wet laser particle size analyser---NKT6100-B

Product Overview

The NKT6100-B Smart Fully Automatic Laser Particle Size Analyser is a high-performance analytical instrument developed by NKT, drawing on years of technological innovation and expertise in particle characterisation. Designed specifically for laboratories in large enterprises, universities and research institutes, it is suitable for a wide range of applications, including powder application research, new material development, powder quality control and production process optimisation. The instrument incorporates multiple innovative patented technologies, featuring a three-lens optical system combined with NKT’s next-generation forward, lateral and backward detector arrays, significantly expanding the measurement range and comprehensively enhancing instrument performance. On the hardware side, it utilises a fifth-generation ultra-high-speed data acquisition motherboard to ensure more comprehensive and precise collection of scattered signals. It is equipped with an industry-leading one-touch switching system for dry and wet methods, enabling seamless conversion between testing modes within one second. The proprietary Laser Intelligent Management System (LIMS) further enables the indefinite extension of the laser’s theoretical lifespan. The dry-wet dispersion system employs a residue-free piping and direct-injection sampling design, effectively preventing the deposition of large particles and ensuring zero residue of the sample in the piping after testing. This design not only guarantees the accuracy of testing for different samples but also significantly improves the reproducibility of repeated tests, ensuring that every measurement result is accurate and reliable.

Scope of Application

• Industrial Minerals and Powders: Non-metallic powders such as heavy calcium carbonate, talc and kaolin, and their aqueous/solvent suspensions; metallic powders and slurries such as aluminium, copper and rare earths; dry building materials such as cement, ceramic powder and graphite powder, as well as ceramic slurries and graphene dispersions;

• Energy and Chemical Materials: Dry samples including lithium battery anode and cathode materials, catalysts, phosphors, rubber and plastic additives (powders), powder coatings and magnetic materials; wet samples including drilling fluids, battery slurries, catalyst suspensions, phosphor slurries and rubber additive emulsions;

• Pharmaceuticals and Biologics: dry samples such as active pharmaceutical ingredient powders, micro-pellets, ultrafine powders of traditional Chinese medicine, and spray-dried formulations; liquid-based samples such as pesticide suspensions, spray formulations, liposomes, protein-based formulations, and vaccine adjuvants;

• Food and Household Chemicals: dry samples such as starch, protein powders, powdered pigments, dye powders and powdered cosmetic raw materials; wet samples such as dairy products, beverages, sauces, pigment pastes, dye solutions, paints, inks and emulsions;

• Environment and Geology: Dry samples such as dust, aerosols, soil particles and dried sediment samples; wet samples such as silt, suspended sediment particles, water treatment flocculants and environmental water samples;

• New Materials and Specialised Industries: Dry samples such as 3D printing powders, laser cladding powders, metal micropowders, propellant powders and nano-ceramic powders; wet samples such as carbon nanotube dispersions, silver nanoparticle sols, graphene oxide solutions and polymer composite slurries.

Technical Explanation

1  End-to-end, one-click intelligent testing – minimised operation, consistent results

With built-in, editable SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), the entire testing process—from water intake, degassing and background measurement, through to sample dispersion, data acquisition, saving and cleaning—can be automatically executed at the touch of a button. By leaving complex operations to the instrument, the operator need only load the sample, significantly reducing reliance on operator experience. This mode completely eliminates the inevitable procedural variations and subjective errors associated with manual operation, ensuring that test data remains highly consistent and reliable regardless of the operator or the time of testing. It perfectly aligns with GLP laboratory standards and quality traceability system requirements.

1  One-Click, Instant Switching Between Dry and Wet Methods — Rapid Transition, Seamless Integration

Equipped with an industry-leading one-touch switching system for dry and wet methods, the software triggers a seamless transition between testing modes within one second, without the need for any hardware replacement or waiting time. Users can proceed directly to wet analysis immediately after dry testing, completely breaking down the barriers of traditional mode switching and significantly enhancing testing efficiency and the instrument user experience.

1  LIMS Laser Intelligent Management System – Intelligent Optics, Sustained Stability

Integrated with the advanced LIMS Laser Intelligent Management System, this enables precise and intelligent control of the laser light source. The system monitors the optical path status in real time, instantly activates the laser upon receiving a test command, and rapidly reaches a stable operating state within 3 seconds, drastically reducing waiting times and enhancing testing efficiency. Upon completion of the measurement, the system automatically shuts down the laser, fundamentally eliminating power wastage from idle standby. This intelligent management technology effectively prevents light attenuation caused by prolonged laser operation, significantly extending the service life of core components. Theoretically, the laser is designed to require no replacement throughout its lifetime, delivering ultimate reliability and ultra-low maintenance costs to customers.

1  Ultra-High-Speed Signal Acquisition System — Transient Capture, Insight into the Minute

Equipped with a fifth-generation ultra-high-speed signal acquisition motherboard, the system achieves an ultra-high sampling frequency of 10,000 times per second. Thanks to this hardware-level breakthrough, the system can comprehensively and synchronously capture all particle scattered light signals without omission within the 0.1-second instant that a sample passes through the measurement zone. This completely resolves the issue of signal loss caused by the random orientation of particles, thereby ensuring the utmost precision and high repeatability of particle size distribution results.

1  Forward-Reverse Fourier Composite Optical System — Three-Lens Synergy, Consistent Precision

Employing a proprietary forward-reverse Fourier composite optical path, this system integrates a Fourier collimating lens, a filtering lens and a standard Fourier transform lens to form a high-performance three-lens optical system. It ensures precise and stable optical alignment throughout the process, providing a solid foundation for the high-precision measurement of core particle size parameters.

1 Sixth-Generation Long-Life, High-Stability Photodetector — Meticulously Engineered for Consistent Precision

The core photodetector array is equipped with Nektar’s proprietary sixth-generation high-stability photodetector. Manufactured using specially selected, high-performance raw materials imported from Germany, it possesses exceptional resistance to oxidation and ageing, ensuring virtually no degradation in photoconversion efficiency over a ten-year period. The theoretical lifespan of the detectors matches that of the entire instrument, requiring no replacement throughout its lifetime. This fundamentally ensures the long-term consistency and accuracy of measurement data, whilst delivering exceptionally low lifetime maintenance costs.

1  Intelligent Real-time Dew Point Monitoring and Early Warning System — Anticipating Risks Before They Arise

Designed specifically to safeguard the measurement accuracy of the laser particle size analyser in harsh environments. This system integrates high-precision sensors with intelligent algorithms to monitor the micro-environmental conditions within the instrument’s core optical system in real time, whilst proactively predicting the risk of condensation. By issuing immediate risk control alerts and intervening proactively before physical phenomena occur, it fundamentally prevents data deviations caused by light scattering due to condensation on the optical window, ensuring the authenticity and precision of particle size distribution results.

1  Residue-Free Sample Design – Zero Residue, Authentic Data

Featuring an innovative flow path system design, the layout of the tubing and the drainage structure have been comprehensively optimised. At its core is a self-cleaning circulation pump incorporating patented technology; its unique structure and fluid dynamics design ensure that no residual liquid remains in the tubing or pump chamber after testing. This approach completely resolves the cross-contamination issues caused by sample residue in traditional instruments, guaranteeing the independence and absolute accuracy of each test result at the hardware level, and significantly enhancing the instrument’s test reproducibility and reliability.

1  Operational Error Protection System — Intelligent Safeguards, No Fear of Mistakes

A comprehensive intelligent error-proofing system is built-in, integrating hardware interlocks with intelligent software decision-making. The system detects non-compliant operations in real time, immediately triggering active alerts and interrupting the process. It does not respond to invalid commands, thereby fundamentally eliminating hardware damage caused by human error. This greatly enhances the equipment’s durability and operational safety, giving you complete peace of mind.

1 Professional-grade dust and vibration protection — Unfazed by environmental fluctuations, ensuring consistent data

Featuring a professional, integrated sealed dust-proof system and anti-vibration design, it effectively prevents the ingress of external dust and the transmission of vibrations. This design ensures the long-term stability and precise focusing of the core optical system; detector positioning requires no manual adjustment, significantly reducing maintenance frequency and guaranteeing exceptional repeatability and reliability of measurement results, even in complex industrial environments.

1 Multi-impact dry dispersion technology — Efficient deagglomeration, powerful dispersion

Utilising multi-impact dry dispersion technology, high-speed airflow guides the powder through multiple stages of physical collision, achieving efficient deagglomeration of ultra-fine and easily agglomerating powders. This ensures particles pass through the detection zone in a single-particle state, significantly enhancing the accuracy and repeatability of ultra-fine dry powder measurements.

1. Second-level quick-change sample window system — innovative design, instant operation

Equipped with a revolutionary quick-change sample window mechanism, featuring a user-friendly snap-fit and guide design. Without the need for any tools, users can independently complete the entire process of removing and installing the sample window within 10 seconds, greatly simplifying maintenance procedures, significantly reducing instrument maintenance time, and ensuring continuous operational efficiency in high-throughput testing environments.

1 Intelligent Multi-dimensional Reporting and Analysis System — Flexible, Efficient, Intelligent and Intuitive

Equipped with professional-grade particle size analysis software, it integrates a robust database and a multi-dimensional reporting system. It supports multi-format report export and customised editing, and features a function for comparing multiple data sets on a single screen, significantly enhancing data interpretation efficiency and report generation flexibility, whilst fully meeting the requirements of research, quality control and compliance.

1 High Repeatability

The NKT6100-B offers excellent repeatability, with measurement results remaining highly consistent across multiple experiments, typically maintaining the error margin within a very narrow range. This outstanding repeatability stems from the instrument’s precision optical system design and stable laser light source, ensuring that the conditions for capturing particle-scattered light signals are identical in every test. Whether testing consecutive batches of samples or measuring the same sample at different time points, the laser particle size analyser provides stable and reliable particle size distribution data. It effectively mitigates the impact of human operational variations and environmental fluctuations on results, thereby providing robust data support for quality control in both scientific research and industrial production.

1 High accuracy and resolution

The NKT6100-B offers excellent accuracy and resolution. Through its precise optical system and advanced data processing algorithms, it is capable of performing high-precision particle size distribution measurements on particulate samples. In terms of accuracy, the instrument utilises a stable laser light source to ensure uniform and consistent beam intensity. Combined with a precision detector array, this keeps measurement errors within an extremely narrow range—typically within ±0.5%—accurately reflecting the sample’s true particle size characteristics. In terms of resolution, the laser particle size analyser can clearly distinguish between particle populations of different sizes; even minute differences in particle size can be effectively identified. Its resolution reaches the 0.01-micrometre level, meeting measurement requirements across a wide range of particle sizes, from the nanometre to the millimetre scale.

1  Multi-peak resolution

Nektar’s latest software combines powerful features such as multi-peak resolution algorithms, dynamic compensation algorithms and noise detection.

Complies with the latest pharmacopoeia requirements;

Offers a software solution that complies with the requirements of the GMP Annex on ‘Computerised Systems’, featuring electronic signatures, user roles, access control, security policies, log management, data integrity and traceability.