Articles

The Power of Automation at TEL

With over 400,000 TEL airflow monitors and controls in laboratories all over the world, our products are trusted for their precision and ease of use.

Testing, testing

From the initial design process, right through to prototyping and launch, all of TEL’s products go through rigorous testing procedures to ensure that they work across a number of different environments and under a diverse range of conditions (intense heat or high humidity for example), and a large part of how these products work so effortlessly throughout these conditions is automation.

In situations where there may be hazardous chemicals, dangerous temperatures or difficult breathing conditions, automation offers a way to fully operate our products whilst keeping the user, and others in the vicinity, safe, as well as making cost and energy savings too.

TEL’s Auto Sash Controllers is a great example of automated technology done well. Containing a passive infrared sensor (PIR) which constantly monitors the work area in front of the fume cupboard, the auto sash controller ensures that the sash closes automatically when an operator is not present.

Using an automatic sash closer will maximise and guarantee energy savings, reducing costs and carbon emissions, with research indicating that the installation of one of TEL’s auto sash controllers can save customers approximately £1000 in energy costs per fume cupboard per year.

Semi automatic

However, there are occasions where automated features aren’t required by the user, and so the auto sash controller can also be operated manually, via the Tiptronic touch-sensitive feature or using an optional footswitch when the user is present.

And, after customer demand, TEL has recently modified the auto sash controller with a new auto stop function. Automatically stopping the opening sash at the sash working height of 500mm (this may be adjusted subject to user preference to 400mm), ensuring a safe face velocity of 0.5m/second, the new capability precludes the need for users to fit their own stopping devices.

TEL’s upgraded auto sash controller also features a new, more easily navigated menu, which has been restructured into function groups, allowing users to quickly access specific functions without scrolling through all menu items.

Says TEL Director, Richard Eady, “Automation brings with it a huge number of benefits, and as a company which thrives on being innovative and effective, of course TEL embraces the use of it, not only in the end product, but also in our manufacturing processes too. Because TEL utilises the fastest methods to build our airflow technology products, it means that our route to market is as efficient as it can be, helping our customers complete their projects in the quickest time possible.”

You can discover more about the recent upgrades to the auto sash controller by clicking here >
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