Fluigent FLOW-RATE PLATFORM User Manual

FLOW-RATE PLATFORM

User Manual

FLOW-RATE PLATFORM

Version 6A

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 5

2. GENERAL INFORMATION .............................................................................................................. 6

3. PACKAGE CONTENT ...................................................................................................................... 8

4. FLOW UNIT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................. 9

4.1 FLOW UNIT Front and Back .......................................................................................................... 9

4.2 Connection ................................................................................................................................. 11

5. FLOWBOARD DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................ 14

5.1 Description ................................................................................................................................. 14

5.2 Connection ................................................................................................................................. 15

6. START WORKING WITH THE FLOW-RATE PLATFORM ................................................................. 16

6.1 Quick start procedure ................................................................................................................. 16

6.2 Use at high temperature and high flow-rate .............................................................................. 16

6.3 Use a XL Flow Unit ...................................................................................................................... 16

7. CLEANING PROCEDURE .............................................................................................................. 18

8. DUAL CALIBRATION .................................................................................................................... 20

8.1 Principle of single and dual calibration ....................................................................................... 20

8.2 Example of calibration: FC-40 ..................................................................................................... 20

9. ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER FLUIGENT PRODUCTS...................................................................... 22

9.1 Principle ..................................................................................................................................... 22

9.2 How to connect FLOW UNIT models to Fluiwell.......................................................................... 22

10. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 24

11. SPECIFICATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 26

Page - 3

FLUIGENT

Siège social : Biopark – 1 mail du Professeur Georges Mathé – 94800 Villejuif – France

Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

www.fluigent.com

SA à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital de 141 284.95 € - Siret : 487 636 409 00038 – N°TVA UE/EU VAT Number : FR 53 487 636 409

GUARANTEE TERMS :

What This Warranty Covers

This warranty is granted by Fluigent and applies in all countries.
Your Fluigent product is guaranteed for one year from the date of delivery at your laboratory against defects in
materials and workmanship.
If found to be defective within the warranty period, your Fluigent product will be repaired or replaced free of
charge.

What This Warranty Does Not Cover

This warranty does not cover routine maintenance, or damage resulting from the failure to maintain the
product in accordance with instructions provided by Fluigent. This warranty also does not cover damage that
arises from accidental or intentional misuse or abuse, alteration or customization, or repaired by unauthorized
persons.

How to Get Service

If something goes wrong, contact the Fluigent dealer from whom you purchased your product. Arrange a
mutually convenient time for Fluigent service representative to discuss over the problem and find a solution to
fix the issue. Will be favored any remote repairs, but in case more actions need to be taken, the system will
come back to Fluigent offices (for no additional cost, only if it is under warranty).

The warranty conditions are:

 Do never open the FLOWBOARD and the FLOW UNIT devices
 Do not use other cables than cables provided by Fluigent
 Prevent foreign objects or liquids from entering the FLOWBOARD
 Prevent foreign objects from entering the FLOW UNIT
 Do not place the product in an unstable location, place the unit in a location with a level surface

and a strong and stable support

 Respect the temperature compatibility (from 5°C to 50 °C)
 Filter your solution, if possible add a filter in the fluidic path (§ 10) and clean your FLOW UNIT

after each use, especially the FLOW UNIT XS (cf § 4.3). The diameter of the FLOW UNIT XS capillary is
small: 25 µm. Fluigent rejects any liability in the event of clogging or surface modifications.

 Do not allow the FLOW UNIT to dry with media in the capillary tube without flushing clean first.
 Fluigent advises to realise a cleaning procedure after use.
 The FLOW UNIT yellow plugs must be installed for storage
 Check the fluid compatibility with the FLOW UNIT wetted materials before using it or ask

Fluigent customer support.
 The customer is responsible for fluid used with the FLOW UNIT. Before use, the customer has
to check the compatibility of the fluid with the FLOW UNIT .

For specific use, please contact our Support team at [e-mail]

Page - 4

FLUIGENT

Siège social : Biopark – 1 mail du Professeur Georges Mathé – 94800 Villejuif – France

Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

www.fluigent.com

SA à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital de 141 284.95 € - Siret : 487 636 409 00038 – N°TVA UE/EU VAT Number : FR 53 487 636 409

WARNINGS:

 Do never open FLOWBOARD and FLOW UNIT devices. Refer all servicing to after-sales service

department ([e-mail]).

 Prevent foreign objects or liquids from entering the FLOWBOARD, this may cause a short-circuit

failure or other malfunction. Failing to respect this advice would:

- Expose you to direct current/voltage in case the device is under voltage which may lead to
severe damages

- Void deie’s arrat

- Discharge our company from any liability regarding physical or device damages

 Do not place the product in an unstable location, place the device in a location with a level

surface and a strong and stable support.

 The diameter of the Flow Unit XS capillary is small: 25 µm. Filter your solution, if possible add

a filter in the fluidic path (§ 10) and clean the Flow Unit XS after each use (cf § 4.3).

Page - 5

FLUIGENT

Siège social : Biopark – 1 mail du Professeur Georges Mathé – 94800 Villejuif – France

Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

www.fluigent.com

SA à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital de 141 284.95 € - Siret : 487 636 409 00038 – N°TVA UE/EU VAT Number : FR 53 487 636 409

1. Introduction

The new Flow-Rate Platform provides a solution for measuring and/or controlling1 flow-rates for any fluidic
applications. Combining the FLOW UNIT models and the FLOWBOARD will give you the opportunity to check at
all times flow-rate and volume of liquids flowing through your fluidic system. The five (5) different FLOW UNIT
models offer an extensive choice of flow-rate ranges to best match your required precision, from 8 nL/min to 5
mL/min. Beside water based solutions, a second calibration for hydrocarbons is available on three (3) different
FLOW UNIT models (S, M and L), see §8.

This user manual will show you how to install and use the Flow-Rate Platform for your daily work. It will
describe all the Flow-Rate Platform functionalities and will help you to connect all the different FLOW UNIT
models and the FLOWBOARD, and to use it with all the equipment.

1

with Fluigent MFCSTM-EZ (and MFCSTM), the Flow-Rate Control Module and a specific dongle.

Page - 6

FLUIGENT

Siège social : Biopark – 1 mail du Professeur Georges Mathé – 94800 Villejuif – France

Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

www.fluigent.com

SA à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital de 141 284.95 € - Siret : 487 636 409 00038 – N°TVA UE/EU VAT Number : FR 53 487 636 409

2. General information

The Flow-Rate Platform enables flow-rate measurements, in a wide range of flow-rates thanks to the five (5)
models: XS, S, M, L and XL.

The flow-rate acquisition is based on a thermal technology. A heating element on the microchip adds a minimal
amount of heat to the medium for the thermal flow measurement. Two temperature sensors, symmetrically
located above and below the source of the heat, detect even the slightest temperature differences, thus
providing the basic information about the spread of the heat, which itself is directly related to the flow -rate.

It is possible to use the Flow-Rate Platform with any flow control systems, from pressure controllers to other
types of flow controllers, provided that the flow-rate applied to a FLOW UNIT does not go beyond its range.
The Flow-Rate Platform enables you to measure the flow-rate and the volume of fluid introduced during your
experiment.

Five (5) different FLOW UNIT models are available. They depend on flow-rate ranges and calibration.

Here is a picture of the five (5) FLOW UNIT models
with different ranges, among which three (3)
models with a dual calibration (S, M and L models).
All the fluidic specifications are diplayed in the
table below .

Note: The Flow-Rate Platform can work at its best performances with FLUIGENT pressure flow control solutions
MFC“™ ad MFC“™-EZ). More details on

www.fluigent.com.

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FLUIGENT

Siège social : Biopark – 1 mail du Professeur Georges Mathé – 94800 Villejuif – France

Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

www.fluigent.com

SA à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital de 141 284.95 € - Siret : 487 636 409 00038 – N°TVA UE/EU VAT Number : FR 53 487 636 409

FLOW UNIT

XS S M L XL

Sensor

inner

diameter

25 µm

150 µm

430 µm

1.0 mm

1.8 mm

Maximum

pressure

200 bar

200 bar

100 bar

12 bar

5 bar

Wetted

materials

PEEK and Quartz

Glass

PEEK and Quartz

Glass

PEEK and

Borosilicate Glass

PEEK and

Borosilicate Glass

PEEK and

Borosilicate

Glass

Calibrated

Media

Water

Water

Isopropyl Alcohol

Water

Isopropyl Alcohol

Water

Isopropyl Alcohol

Water

Range

0±1.5 µL/min

0±7 µL/min

0±70 µL/min

0±80 µL/min

0±500 µL/min

0±1 mL/min

0±10 mL/min

0±5mL/min

Accuracy

(m.v =

measured

value)

10% m.v. above

75 nL/min

5% m.v.above 0.42

µL/min

20% m.v. above 4.2

µL/min

5% m.v. above 2.4

µL/min

20% m.v above 25

µL/min

5% m.v. above

0.04 mL/min

20% m.v above 0.5

mL/min

5% m.v.above

0.2 mL/min

7.5 nL/min below
75 nL/min

21 nL/min below

0.42 µL/min

210 nL/min below

4.2 µL/min

0.12 µL/min below

2.4 µL/min

5 µL/min below 25

µL/min

1.5 µL/min below

0.04 mL/min

100 µL /min below

0.5 mL/min

10 µL/min below

0.2 mL/min

Lowest

detectable flow

increment

3.7 nL/min

10 nL/min

0.06 µL/min

0.7 µL/min

3 µL/min

Warning:

Please note that the maximum pressure depends on the FLOW UNIT model. Ensure that the

pressure applied to a FLOW UNIT does not go beyond this value at all times.

The Flow-Rate Platform suits your own fluid controller. If you use a pressure regulator you may have to enter
a maximum pressure below this value. If you use other flow controller, be aware that pressure may go
higher than 100 bar very easily and may cause damage to your FLOW UNIT.

Page - 8

FLUIGENT

Siège social : Biopark – 1 mail du Professeur Georges Mathé – 94800 Villejuif – France

Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

www.fluigent.com

SA à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital de 141 284.95 € - Siret : 487 636 409 00038 – N°TVA UE/EU VAT Number : FR 53 487 636 409

3. Package content

The Flow-Rate Platform package contains the following items:

 One FLOWBOARD
 At least one FLOW UNIT and its yellow plugs for storage
 A USB cable
 A connection kit:

-With the XS, S and M FLOW UNIT models, the Flow-Rate Platform package can contain (not always
included) one kit CTQ_KIT_LQ : To LQ flo uit oetor for /’’OD tuig, one meter of PEEK Tubing Blue
/’’ OD .’’ ID, 1 green sleeve /6’’ OD * .’’*.6,  adapter PEEK /6’’ to /’’ OD tubing (cf

§9.2, ).

-With the L and XL FLOW UNIT models, the Flow-Rate Platform package can contain (not always
included) one kit CTQ_KIT_HQ:

Two Flow Unit HQ connector ¼-8 Flat Botto for /’’ OD tuig,  ferrules

for HQ flo uit,   FEP tuig /’’ OD * .’’ID.

NB

: With the XL Flow Unit model, 15 cm of /’’ OD PEEK tubing with 1.4 mm ID is added (cf §8).

 FLUIGENT Software Platform in a USB stick
 This user manual

If any part is missing or damaged, please contact your local dealer or FLUIGENT immediately
([e-mail]).

Page - 9

FLUIGENT

Siège social : Biopark – 1 mail du Professeur Georges Mathé – 94800 Villejuif – France

Tel : [phone] – Fax : [phone]

www.fluigent.com

SA à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance au capital de 141 284.95 € - Siret : 487 636 409 00038 – N°TVA UE/EU VAT Number : FR 53 487 636 409

4. FLOW UNIT Description

4.1 FLOW UNIT Front and Back

XS, XL FLOW UNIT models

The two (2) fluidic ports are on the sides of the device.

The front of the FLOW UNIT displays information about the range and the calibration:

The letter idiates the odel; Here it’s XL.
The droplet indicates the calibration. Here there is a single white droplet. It indicates that the

sensor is calibrated for water (cf §2).

The back of the FLOW UNIT also displays information about the range and the calibration:

The letter indicates the odel; Here it’s XL.
The droplet indicates the calibration. Here there is a single white droplet: it indicates that the

sensor is calibrated for water.

The range is displayed clearly: 0 ± 5.0 mL/min.