Breaking the mould

In a new monthly column, Werner Aebersold, segment manager of Burkert Fluid Control Systems, looks at the next phase of manifold production and warns that those system providers who ignore the benefits of partnering with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will struggle to stay ahead of competitors.

We all know that tolerances to the 'nth degree' often dictate the difference between success and failure for pharmaceutical production. However, the tools that are employed to attain consistent product excellence are often overlooked. In many cases, production is often based on the maxim 'if it ain't broke, then don't fix it', but things are changing in the manufacturing world, with integrated systems being looked at in a new and different way.
In this context, the pros and cons of using bonded manifolds to build complete fluid systems continue to be widely debated in the pharmaceutical industry. Yet now, with the major developments and enhancements made in their production, the question is not whether they are cost efficient and reliable, but how the end-user can benefit from pre-assembled and pre-tested units.
Importantly, from the instrument manufacturer's point of view, integrated products and solutions point the way forward to greater efficiencies of the systems as well as the provision of precision tolerances.
Bonded manifolds have, for many years, provided an ideal solution for transferring and handling liquids and gases; and are particularly suited to applications where fluids must pass between a series of valves, reaction chambers and heater modules. However, due to the nature of these applications, contamination has continued to be an issue.
It is true to say that developments in the manufacturing techniques of manifolds and components have dramatically reduced this risk; although such risk could be further minimised if specifiers looked to system providers rather than component providers.
Working to provide a total solution, a typical system provider will optimise the layout of manifold and fluid components: by placing the valves in optimum relation to one another, thereby reducing dead volume, which in turn minimises contamination. Such a solution offers a real move forwards within the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries.
With current trends in the market seeing miniaturisation play a key role in the production process, OEMs have woken up to the fact that working with system solutions providers, rather than component suppliers, is the more effective way to provide quick and efficient processes in instrument divisions.