Oxfordshire-based equipment provider of large electronics systems M-Solv, is benefiting from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group’s DriveSureTM technology.
The fully integrated panel-mount pump drive solution for OEMs removed risks associated with the separate specification of pump motors, gearboxes and drives. Such risks include incorrect matching of drive output torque to the pumphead design torque requirement throughout the pump operating range.
Four DriveSureTM peristaltic units mounted to a spray deposition system for thin film batteries will aid M-Solv’s R&D at a leading university. The units proved easy to fit and set up, as well as being simple to control via analogue signals.
Spray deposition system for thin film batteries
"We recently encountered a new application involving a spray deposition system," explains M-Solv’s Strategic Technologist Dr. Taku Sato. "The spraying takes place in a glove box, a sealed container filled with gases such as nitrogen for the processing of sensitive materials."
To facilitate the spraying, M-Solv opted to use Watson-Marlow’s DriveSureTM, an integrated range of brushless DC drives and combined speed control boards for pumps in panel-mount OEM peristaltic applications.
DriveSureTM can be integrated with Watson-Marlow’s 100, 300 or 500 series pumpheads and is designed for applications delivering flows up to 6100 ml/min, with a 50:1 turndown speed achievable.
"We had used DriveSureTM units previously in an inkjet application, controlling fluid flow for an ink delivery system. It proved very successful," says Dr. Sato. "As a result, we returned to Watson-Marlow for pumps for the spray deposition system."
Pump drive solution system
In the new application at M-Solv, four DriveSureTM units are deployed in a pneumatic spray deposition system. Each DriveSureTM pump is mounted in line with its spray head and connected to a reservoir containing the fluid to be applied. The substrate is then moved beneath the spray head to receive the fluid at a flow rate of between 1 and 50 ml/min.
"Key attributes of DriveSureTM that lend themselves to this particular system are flow rate, accuracy and pulse suppression," states Dr. Sato.
According to Dr. Sato, the delivered system has the potential to be scaled commercially, if industry demand should materialise.
The equipment manufactured by M-Solv is typically destined for niche, large-area markets, including photovoltaic solar panels, flat panel displays, and smart windows.
The company has enjoyed strong organic growth over the past two years and today employs around 45 people at its headquarters in Kidlington and a satellite facility in Hong Kong. Most of the company’s output is supplied to OEMs in Asia for assembly into final end-use products.