The results of a unique collaboration between four market leading companies serving the powder processing industries will be unveiled on Booth #2443 at Interphex 2012 (1-3 May; New York, USA). This new turnkey isolated milling suite encloses the innovative ARTMiS Automated RealTime Milling System within Powder Systems Ltd's (PSL) containment unit, providing a secure, advanced processing solution for those dealing with highly potent and/or high value materials. 

Introduced last year, ARTMiS brings Sturtevant's Micronizer® Jet Mill together with a Malvern Insitec particle size analyzer and the Schenck AccuRate PureFeed® Feeder to deliver a fully automated system for jet milling that offers exemplary process control for optimal manufacturing efficiency. Built on the expertise of all three companies it simplifies and optimizes the jet milling process, reducing operational requirements to the input of a particle size distribution set point and introduction of the feed. ARTMiS then delivers a closely controlled, consistent product with minimal manual intervention, simultaneously maximizing process throughput and reducing the need for manual analysis. Its installation within PSL's advanced containment unit extends all of these benefits to those handling toxic or hazardous materials, such as pharmaceutical actives.

The Micronizer® Jet Mill at the heart of ARTMiS is a low-maintenance unit that delivers a narrow particle size distribution. With a sanitary design it is suitable for processing the broadest range of material types, including those that are heat sensitive. The Insitec continuously monitors, in real-time, the particle size of the material exiting the mill, measuring complete particle size distributions in less than one second. These data are used to precisely moderate the feed rate via a simple PID control loop that acts on the Schenck AccuRate PureFeed® Feeder, a pharmaceutical industry designed unit which controls feed rates at very precise accuracies.  

The PSL isolator is the optimum solution when containment of the jet milling process is required. The isolator provides full operator protection through high containment to nanogram levels, and a controlled, safe environment while performing size reduction of active ingredients. It has been designed for enhanced operator viewing, ergonomics and an assured explosion protection system is fully integrated into the design. PSL's nitrogen purge systems are able to achieve less than 1% RH.

For further information about ARTMiS visit www.malvern.com/ProcessEng/partners/artmis.htm