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Product category: Instrument Cases, Benchtop and Wall-Mounting Enclosures
News Release from: QED Design and Manufacture | Subject: Instrument Cases
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 12 January 2006

A suitable case for protection

A novel instrument for measuring the ash content of coal features a customised carry case designed and supplied by packaging systems specialist, QED Design and Manufacture.

Natural gamma radiation (NGR) is the unrivalled technology for measuring the ash content in coal, helping producers to maximise their saleable tonnage and enabling customers to check the quality of delivered coal, often leading to price reductions One of the forerunners in the field and now exporting its instruments to countries on five different continents is Bretby Gammatech of Melbourne, Derbyshire

Formed in 1994 following the privatisation of the British Coal ash monitoring team, it developed the online NGCQM (natural gamma coal quality monitor) system for monitoring conveyed coal and more recently applied NGR technology to a portable system, the Ash Probe.

Comprising a display unit and separate probe for inserting into piles of coal, the latest MkII Ash Probe features a customised carry case designed and supplied by packaging systems specialist, QED Design and Manufacture.

The main instrumentation, complete with QWERTY keyboard, LED display, rechargeable battery and onboard computer, is protected in a modified version of QED's ABS thermoplastic Instrument Case, modified with a shoulder strap, removable lid, tailored inner moulding and a fully-sealed base compartment, to prevent the ingress of moisture and coal dust.

Compact and light in weight, combined with high impact strength and outstanding durability, the QED case allows Bretby Gammatech's Ash Probes to be shipped and deployed around the world, to such hostile environments as Siberian opencast sites, where temperatures can fall to -35C, or Indian mines, where extremes of over 45C are often experienced.

Based in Harrietsham, Kent, with over 40 years' experience of supplying military and high technology companies, QED specialises in the design and manufacture of custom cases and containers for transporting and protecting sensitive electronics, instrumentation, computers, test equipment and production prototypes.

Employing in-house CAD/CAM technology, it produces thermoformed and moulded ABS and polyethylene plastic containers of all dimensions, as well as aluminium and thermoplastic-faced flight cases, fitting them internally with customised cushioning systems and mountings.

Bretby Gammatech previously used standard US-made PELI watertight and crushproof cases, for which QED is also a distributor, but turned to the Kent specialists when it wanted additional features to make its portable instruments more convenient and manageable on site.

Employing a 285 x 182 x 200mm Instrument Case with 50mm deep lid and 150mm base, the Ash Probe container features a detachable lid, for improved user mobility and easier access to the display unit's controls, and incorporates a webbing shoulder strap, so the base can be hung around the neck, leaving hands free to operate the probe and keyboard.

To reduce portable weight, the main catches are fitted onto the removable lid, at the same time preventing them snagging on clothing.

Vacuum formed from ABS, with IP65 weatherproof seals, the case incorporates a modified inner moulding, which forms a robust flange and watertight seal for holding the Ash Probe's main instrument panel.

All of the internal instrumentation, including 12V battery, LCD, processor and serial data port, is mounted on this pre-assembled stainless steel panel, which is simply slotted into the base and secured by captive bolts, screwed into threaded inserts around the flange.

Weighing just 4kg with lid and 3.5kg without, the portable display unit can be readily carried over uneven terrain, whilst the self-coloured black, scratch-resistant finish is ideal for the working environment and easy to clean.

"QED's custom container is ideal for the purpose and we're very happy with the service they provide", says Bretby Gammatech's MD, Paul Taylor.

"The revised lightweight carry case makes our instrumentation easier to use and protects units from mechanical shock and vibration when they are shipped around the world".

Costing around GBP 13,750 fully fitted, the MkII Ash Probe has been sold to such important coal producing countries as Russia, Vietnam, China, Colombia, India, Canada, Australia, Spain and the Ukraine, through Bretby Gammatech's growing network of overseas agents, as well as within the UK.

Thanks to the capacity to measure ash content to closer than 1% accuracy, payback for coal producers and customers can be rapid, either through increased revenue resulting from more consistent product or the facility to reject inferior deliveries.

Indeed, one Ukrainian customer, using an Ash Probe on a coal supply arriving by train, discovered a 40% ash content reading, well above the 15% expected, and was able to reject the costly consignment immediately.

With conventional methods, the train could not have been held up long enough even to analyse the results.

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