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Minebea-Intec and Sartorius EX Scales for Use in Hazardous Areas

Minebea-Intec offers a wide range of weighing equipment for use in hazardous areas.  Weightec (NZ) offer fully trained sales and service staff to offer advice on the best solution to your application.

Click here for more information on the Minebea-Intec EX product range, or scroll down for more information on hazardous areas.


Description

A hazardous area is commonly understood as an area:

• Where explosive atmospheres may be or are present; and,
• One which requires special precautions to be taken in respect of the use of or construction of, fittings or electrical equipment.

Although gases and fumes are traditionally thought of as the main causes of explosions, "Hazardous areas" aren't restricted to just including gases.

Accumulated dust is a major cause of explosions worldwide, with the Masterton dust explosion of 1965, which left 4 workers dead and 6 badly injured being one of the more notable dust explosions close to home. In this case, although the plastic dust had been swept and cleared regularly, large quantities had accumulated under the factory floorboards and an electrical spark ignited the dust, causing a fire visible from over 40km away.

Internationally, there are more recent examples of dust explosions. The most notable recent example was in 2008 at the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Georgia USA. Like the 1965 Masterton explosion, this was caused by accumulated dust particles, but killed 13 people and injured 42.

Other high risk applications include:

- The chemical industry
- The pharmaceutical industry (active ingredients and auxiliary materials)
- Power-generating companies or power plants (coal dust)
- Wood-working industry operations (wood dust in filters and silos)
- Metal-working industry operations (swarf in traps)
- Food and feed industries (dust from grains and sugar in filters)
- Industries that use plastic granulates

Another primary application for hazardous area equipment is the paint and automotive paint industry, where scales are used in tinting rooms.

Minebea-Intec and Sartorius EX-protected scales and power supplies significantly reduce the risk of an explosion caused by using electronic weighing equipment in hazardous areas. Modern production methods require the accuracy that electronic weighing equipment can offer, but also require the protection of EX-rated equipment.

We offer hazardous area-trained technicians and sales staff to advise you on the requirements for your application. International approval certificates allow Sartorius and Minebea-Intec explosion protected weighing technology to be used worldwide (CENELEC, FM,CSA,SAA approval ratings) for zones 1, 2, 20, 21, 22, and class I, II, III, Divisions 1 and 2.

With a range of scale capacities and accuracies from as small as 0.001g, Minebea-Intec and Sartorius EX-rated industrial equipment offers the flexibility, safety and accuracy required for modern production standards.