Eirich presents new laboratory mixer

  1 EL1nano is perfect for tests involving small quantities of materials for nano measurements
© Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich GmbH & Co KG

Efficiency and precision in research

In recent years, more and more customers have approached Eirich with a request for an even smaller size of mixer to help them with development work involving expensive raw materials. They were looking for a mixer that could respond better to the often very small volume requirements of downstream production steps and product sample sizes – one that would therefore create significantly less waste material in the process. At the same time, they were also on the search for a solution that could be easily upscaled to larger mixers. Today, fundamental research and development work at this scale often depends on laboratory machines or even entirely manual, user-specific methods such as the use of a pestle and mortar, but of course the operating principles behind these methods are not available at a larger scale. As a result, research results generated under these circumstances normally cannot be translated to the next development stage, or this is only possible with great difficulty. The new EL1nano from Eirich offers a perfect solution for helping customers meet these requirements by ensuring that the basic idea of combining minimal material quantities with excellent scale-up capabilities is present right from the first phase in the development process – both in research institutions and in customers’ laboratories.

Particularly when it comes to developing new materials, e.g. for storage devices for electric energy such as lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, technical ceramics, or in powder metallurgy, the raw materials are often extremely expensive or only available in very limited quantities through internal material synthesis. Thanks to EL1nano, it is now possible to conduct test series with minimal quantities of raw materials – without having to make any compromises in terms of the quality of the mixing results.

  2 EL1nano can be operated using interchangeable mixing tools
© Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich GmbH & Co KG

“It is definitely not a workable solution to use a larger mixer and fill it below the minimum fill level stated by the manufacturer. As a good rule of thumb, high-quality mixing results require the mixing pan to be filled to at least 30 %, better to around 50 %,” explains Stefan Gerl, Head of Process Engineering at Eirich. “With the EL1 unit, this meant that a minimum of 300 ml needed to be processed in the past, whereas this has now been reduced to just around 30 ml on the EL1nano, which corresponds to around two tablespoons full.”

A small all-rounder

EL1nano is based on the original tried-and-tested Eirich mixing principle introduced some 100 years ago: The rotating mixing pan, a variable-speed rotor tool, and a fixed, two-part wall scraper combine to deliver optimum mixing results. In addition, the mixer also offers an adjustable tilt angle of 0°, 10°, 20°, and 30°. To maximize flexibility and ensure that this new system offers the all-decisive scale-up capability for a wide range of different applications, EL1nano can be operated using interchangeable mixing tools that have the same geometry as the corresponding tools on larger mixers. The compact frame of the machine enables easy installation and allows it to be used in glove boxes, which makes for extremely safe operation when working with toxic, potentially explosive, or reactive raw materials.

The control system is implemented via an intuitive touchscreen interface that allows the mixing tool speed to be freely adjusted and its direction of rotation to be reversed. The integrated timer function assists with precise monitoring of the mixing time. A USB interface is provided for data exchange so that operational data can be exported.

Broad range of potential applications

EL1nano is aimed at numerous industries, including in the areas of battery technology, the chemical industry, technical and medical ceramics, as well as the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry – particularly in areas in which raw materials are used that are particularly precious or expensive or are only available in very limited quantities.

An international audience of expert industry and trade representatives was able to take a first look at the unit at the Batteries Event 2024 in Lyon in October. The first machines were scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2025.