Over the last 25 years ICP-OES spectrometers, also known as ICP-AES or ICP plasma spectrometers, have become an indispensable tool for chemical elemental analysis. Optical emission spectrometers with inductively coupled plasma (ICP plasma) excitation sources offer ease of use, high sensitivity and precision and relative freedom from interferences. ICP-OES systems have now become the analytical method of choice for a wide range of applications.

Since the introduction of its first ICP spectrometer, SPECTRO has managed to continuously set performance benchmarks.

The MicroLab® combines automation and artificial intelligence in an all-in-one oil analysis tool, making on-site oil analysis possible for any fleet. 

MicroLab 40 is designed primarily for fleets operating equipment with hydraulic components or heavy equipment gears and transmissions. This would include off-road mining and construction vehicles as well as over-the-road equipment with hydraulics such as bucket trucks, fire engine ladder trucks or solid waste trucks. The MicroLab 40 is also used in applications for offshore drilling equipment. In addition to the basic oil chemistry and extended elemental analysis provided with the MicroLab 30, the MicroLab 40 model includes a particle counter which provides critical analysis for cleanliness of hydraulic oils and gear oils to determine the health of those oils and mechanical condition of those components.

• Simple to use – no special operator required
• Fast – results in less than 15 minutes
• Easy to read reports – color-coded alarms and maintenance actions

The FDM 6000 is a portable, battery operated fuel dilution meter that determines the concentration of fuel dilution present in an oil sample within a matter of minutes. The FDM 6000 uses a unique patent pending fang design to pierce the cap of a disposable sample vial and draws in the headspace from the vial. The headspace flows over a SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) sensor which reacts specifically to the presence of fuel vapor with a detection range of 0 – 15%. It can detect diesel, gasoline or jet fuel in engine oil. It conforms to ASTM D8004 – “Standard Test Method for Fuel Dilution of In-Service Lubricants Using Surface Acoustic Wave Sensing”

The FerroCheck 2000 Series of portable ferrous analyzers offer accuracy and convenience for total ferrous measurement of in-service lubricating oil and grease. Fast and easy to use samples are analyzed in less than 30 seconds. Small sample volumes of just 1.5 ml of oil or 0.75 ml of grease are needed to measure ferrous content in part per million (ppm) by weight.  The FerroCheck measures the total ferrous content of both small particles from normal machine wear and large abnormal wear particles.

Principle of Operation

The core of the FerroCheck 2000 is a pair of precision rounded coils that when powered, generate magnetic fields. When a small amount of in-service oil is inserted into one of the coils, ferrous particles, such as Iron, Nickel, and Cobalt, interact with the magnetic field and introduce current changes in the coils. The amount of current change is proportional to the amount of Ferrous particles in the oil, calibrated by weight in parts per million (ppm).

The sample vial that holds the oil or grease sample is designed to optimize the position in the measurement coil. Before the measurement, the coils are automatically balanced electrically, removing the impact on measurement from ambient temperature variation. The result is repeatable and stable measurement regardless of operator and environmental temperature, which is critical for a large service team doing on-site oil and grease analysis in the field.

The Spectro FieldLab 58 is a rugged, portable expeditionary fluid analysis system that gives operators in the field the ability to perform comprehensive, mobile lubricant sampling. The battery-powered device enables complete lubricant assessment for condition monitoring and rapid results that permit informed maintenance decisions. It takes only 3 ml of oil to perform a comprehensive oil analysis and no chemicals or solvents are needed for sample preparation or cleaning. The complete analysis, with all four tests, only takes about 5 – 7 minutes, depending on oil viscosity.

The Needs for Portable Field Labs

Downtime for mission critical equipment, such as high value military assets on the ground or in the air, are costly terms of dollar expense, mission completion and human lives. Oil analysis is one of the most important and reliable techniques to keep these assets up and running. However, logistics hurdles including oil sampling, bottling and transportation to labs, delay the on-time delivery of oil analysis and reduce the effectiveness of the oil analysis program.

Military and commercial field service professionals managing fleets of high value assets require portable light weight devices that provide rapid oil analysis results with similar quality as oil analysis labs.

Funded by the Unite States Department of Defense (DoD) in 2009 then developed and commercialized by Spectro Scientific, the FieldLab 58 Expeditionary Fluid Analysis System (EFAS) was designed to fill this need.

FluidScan is a handheld Infrared analyzer for lubricant and grease condition and contamination monitoring

The FluidScan® 1000 series handheld Infrared oil analyzer provides direct quantitative measurement of a lubricant’s condition and plays an important role in Machine Condition Monitoring  (MCM) for proactive and predictive maintenance in Reliability Management programs. It determines when oil needs to be serviced due to degradation of the oil chemistry or contamination by other fluids such as water or the wrong oil. It is compliant with ASTM D7889 “Standard Test Method for Field Determination of In-Service Fluid Properties Using IR Spectroscopy”.

The MiniVisc 3000 series (formerly the SpectroVisc Q3000 Series) viscometers are the first truly portable, solvent-free, temperature-controlled kinematic viscometers, providing high-accuracy measurements for easy detection of viscosity variations caused by contamination, mix-up and oil degradation. The devices were designed to determine kinematic viscosity at 40C in the field for applications where immediate results are essential for determining the health of critical equipment.

MiniVisc 3000 viscometers use a patented split cell design that enables measurement of kinematic viscosity using only a few drops (60µL) of oil. When closed, the center pieces of the split cell form a funnel with 100 micron gap allowing oil to flow down by gravity. Sensors along the funnel are triggered when oil flows by and flow time between two sensors is measured. The kinematic viscosity is then calculated. When opened, the split cell can be easily cleaned with a non-abrasive cleaning pad and ready for next sample. The split cell is controlled at 40C throughout the measurement.

Monitoring lubricant condition in machine wear when and where it is needed significantly reduces the time required for laboratory analysis and improves machine reliability. Spectro Scientific offers a wide range of portable devices with field simplicity and lab accuracy. The product combinations are powerful for different applications as together they provide more comprehensive analysis of oil condition, contamination and machine wear condition. All Spectro portable devices are battery powered, use small amounts of oil, and do not require solvents or chemicals to clean. They are light weight and ideal for field use.

The building blocks of the combination kit are the FluidScan 1000 Series handheld IR oil analyzer, MiniVisc 3000/3050 kinematic viscometer, and FerroCheck 2000 total ferrous magnetometer.

The LaserNet 200 Series allows reliability professionals to quickly and easily assess machinery health in just minutes. By testing only a few milliliters of fluid, users see a complete picture of machine wear and particulate contamination. This enables the user to determine filtration efficiency, the type of wear mode occurring, and the change in ferrous debris concentration, for maintenance action.

With a simple push of a button, a comprehensive picture of machine wear is generated with only a few parameters:

• Particle cleanliness codes, such as ISO 4406 and ASTM D6786, indicate the overall cleanliness of the oil
• Ferrous Wear Severity Index (FWSI) indicates overall severity of the machine wear condition
• Count of large cutting, sliding and fatigue wear, along with non-metallic particles, indicates the source of the particles

Having this information allows reliability professionals to make informed decisions on the maintenance of their critical assets.

SpectrOil 100 Series is a precision benchtop RDE-OES elemental analyzer for lubricants, fuel, coolants and water.

The SpectrOil 100 Rotating Disc Electrode Optical Emission Spectrometer (RDE-OES) is the eighth generation of the market leading RDE elemental spectrometer. It is widely used in commercial oil laboratories, on-site or trailer labs, as a proven means of precisely determining elemental composition in lubricating oil, coolant, light or heavy fuels, grease, and process water. It also supports the Joint Oil Analysis Program (JOAP) calibration with results that correlate to those from the SpectrOil MNW, the only approved spectrometer for elemental analysis of lubricating oil for US and NATO military use (Model SpectrOil 120M). It is also a key component of Spectro’s TriVector™ MiniLab 153 on-site oil analyzer.

LubeTrak compiles individual MicroLab oil reports into a consolidated database of historical information. This allows fleet managers to view and manage their MicroLab oil analysis results across the entire fleet. This fleet-level view can be used to assess the health of the entire fleet to optimize maintenance program and practices.

LubeTrak’s web-based, subscription data management system provides pre-configured reports and the option to custom-design reports. LubeTrak offers companies an on-line reporting solution to view, track, trend and share oil analysis results throughout your organization. The dashboard graphics provide an equipment overview, consolidates the latest results, and shows ‘red-flag’ problems.

SpectroTrack is an Information Management System (IMS) optimized for laboratories that specialize in the analysis of in-service (used) lubricants for machine condition monitoring. The browser-based system is the ideal tool for accessing historical and trend information about an organization’s high-value assets. The software provides a single end-to-end view of a sample lifecycle from sample submission and receipt to results entry. The software also provides all trending, imaging, numerical and textual asset data in one secure location. Clients can see a comprehensive, historical view of fluid condition for an engine, department or an entire fleet.

SpectroTrack comes fully integrated with the Spectro Scientific instrument line including:

• Spectroil Q100 Oil Analysis Spectrometer
• SpectroLNF Q200 Particle Shape Classifier and Particle Counter
• SpectroVISC Viscometer
• FluidScan Handheld Lubricant Condition Monitor

A Holistic Approach to On-site Oil Analysis

TruVu 360™ Enterprise Fluid Intelligence simplifies and streamlines the on-site oil analysis process, so high-quality information and actionable intelligence leads to effective decision making.

• Closes the gap between recommendations on the oil analysis report, maintenance actions taken and findings for continuous improvement
• Offers an intelligence dashboard so management has visibility into the effectiveness of the global program

TruVu 360 Real-time Fluid Intelligence platform delivers real benefits that meet business goals and objectives:

Speed

• real-time reporting enables immediate decision making
• rapid feedback for continuous improvement

Quality

• Highest quality information from freshly collected samples
• simple process with fewer hand offs ensure higher quality data
• lab-quality results on-site without the complexity of a traditional lab

Simplicity

• intuitive interface with built-in intelligence
• simple flow minimizes human error

Intelligence

• closed loop feedback improves diagnostic accuracy over time
• Maintenance dashboard for management views of cost savings and program key performance indicators (KPIs)

MiniLab EL Series is for high performance engine development and maintenance.

Engine oil analysis is a reliable and mature non-destructive testing (NDT) technique used to monitor the condition of the engine in development, on the production line and for in-service maintenance. High performance reciprocating engines and jet turbines are complicated mechanical systems with many high speed moving parts.

With five simple tests, the MiniLab EL delivers comprehensive on-site oil analysis, providing immediate actionable results, saving time and reducing costs. Highlights of this system include:

• One product, delivering lab-quality analysis outside of the lab
• Simplified workflow for the non-expert user, no chemist required
• Simplified data handling and report interpretation

The InfraCal Model ATR-SP is recommended for measuring oil in water, TPH in soil or FOG in wastewater concentration levels when using hexane, pentane or Vertrel MCA as the extracting solvent. Measurement data obtained with this analyzer will correlate to EPA Method 1664 as both procedures are based on evaporation techniques and measuring the residual oil and grease. The analyzer is equipped with a built-in cubic zirconia horizontal attenuated total reflection (HATR) stainless steel sample stage. The InfraCal 2 ATR-SP is a direct replacement for the original InfraCal HATR-T2 used worldwide for the determination of TOG/TPH in water and soil.

• Minimum Detection Limit Water: 0.3 ppm
• Minimum Detection Limit Soil: 3 ppm
• Method Compares: EPA 1164 & ISO 9377-2
• Solvents: Hexane, pentane, cyclohexane & Vertrel MCA