Our experience

The Expert Lab Service team successfully engineered and commercialized the first digital heating microscope with automatic shape characterization by computer vision ~30 years ago. We also invented the motorized double-beam optical dilatometer and the optical fleximeter ~20 years ago. They attracted attention in diverse industrial fields and are now widely appreciated.

While applying our continuous innovation practice, we still support 10-15 years old systems by providing consumables, spare parts, upgrades. And we will support yours.

You can count on our experience.

Absolute Optics

The new Absolute Optics design features an optical bench with 4 high-resolution monochromatic sensors, totaling an unprecedented 60 Megapixel. The Heating Microscope, Dilatometer and Fleximeter functions are upgraded with a much larger field of view and higher resolution.

Initial Length Measurement

In addition to a physical thermal separation between the optical bench and the heating zone, the Absolute Optics design mounts lenses and optics on low thermal expansion monolithic supports. This configuration allows to consider the sensors as reference points, allowing to make a direct measurement of the initial sample length. The caliper is no longer needed.

Absolute Optical Fleximeter

The Absolute Optical Fleximeter calculates the sample’s curvature from the direct measurement of three reference points. There is no need to subtract a calibration curve recorded from a rigid reference sample.

Differential optical dilatometer

The wide field of view allowed by 60 Megapixel sensors can simultaneously frame and measure both the specimen and its reference. The real-time correction accounts for the distortions caused by the high thermal mass disproportion between the thermocouple and the sample in fast heating cycles. The new Differential Optical Dilatometer function is available in both Vertical and Horizontal sample layouts.

Quiet analysis

The wide field of view of the new Absolute Optics effectively minimizes the number of movements required in order to keep measuring at large material deformation. Increasing the overall stability and repeatability.

Easy and quick installation

The new monolithic design enables an easy and quick installation. There is no need to realign the optics after shipment or after moving the instrument from one location to another. The user has only to remove safety blocks inside the optical bench, then provide power, monitor, keyboard and mouse. The instrument is ready to measure after few easy steps.

The highest resolution, where mostly needed

Our motorized sensors (dilatometer, fleximeter) have the highest resolution on the market.
High resolution involves lower number of motions during the test, leading to better precision and reduced noise.
Additionally, our extreme measurement ranges allow to study the most challenging materials.

The brightest light, focused

Our optical system features 3 high power 440nm blue LEDs, in order to provide the sharp and stable contrast between the sample and the background through the complete temperature and measurement ranges.
The intense light produced by the LEDs is furthermore focalized, producing bright images at fast framerates.
As a side benefit, the exposure of operators to such intense blue light is minimized.

Fail-safe furnace

Never worry anymore about your sample falling onto the furnace chamber or, worse, directly on its heating elements. Our squared furnace design leaves the region underneath the sample holder completely empty.
If your sample falls - for any reason - it will lay over the refractory and the test will be automatically stopped.

Thermally focused furnace geometry

ELS-MDF furnace is carefully engineered in order to uniformly concentrate the heat in a longitudinal region in its center (its thermal focus), where the sample holders are positioned.
This makes possible to uniformly heat up horizontal dilatometer and fleximeter samples along the same axis where the measurement is carried out, and where all sample’s mass is distributed.
The optical system is calibrated in order to match optical focus and thermal focus, so that the sample is always well-positioned.

Heating element options

We provide differents solutions with their respective prices:
- Kanthal, up to 1250°C
- Platinum, up to 1400°C
- Platinum/Rodium, up to 1600°C
- Molybdenum disilicide, for Microscope and Vertical Dilatometer, up to 1700°C

High-throughput

Thanks to our lightweight furnace design, ELS-MDF features the fastest cooling rate, allowing to cold restart after just 90min of cooling.
Our customers enjoy up to 6 daily tests.

Reinventing the core of Optical Thermal Analysis

The firmware is the control software: it glues together all the hardware components and orchestrate them in order to achieve the complex optical-thermal measurement, combining image analysis, thermal regulation and motion control. It also provides advanced measurement features, which are unique in the optical-thermal analysis market.

Autofind

Let the software find sample’s borders. Just click Autofind and use your time to properly setup the test metadata.

Autofocus

Our smart algorithm will determine the best focus position for you. The Autofocus button is all you need to click.

Characteristic points

Automatically identified, and not limited to the heating microscope. We have defined industry-related points for the dilatometer and fleximeter, for example maximum/minimum deformation and speed of, bloating, etc… Let’s talk together and implement even more!

Multi-samples regions of interest

With independent, conveniently graduated grids, makes possible to analyze up to 8 samples at a time in Microscope mode.

Motor movement compensation

Allows to predict the sample behavior during motion time lapse, and apply the appropriate correction when the analysis resumes.

Model Predictive Control

The algorithm is based on a physical model of the furnace, parametrized in a system of non-linear differential equations. MPC provides excellent setpoint tracking.

Software Supremacy

Both our instrument’s control firmware and our open-source data analysis package receive weekly updates to quickly respond to bug reports and customer’s requests, and to stay on top of innovation.

Discover our software

Simulating rapid cooling with the Flash-Cooling option

The optical dilatometer allows to study the effect of fast cooling caused during industrial firing cycles

Simulating industrial fast cooling

Cooling is an integral part of the firing process of many materials, and contributes in determining fundamental mechanical properties of finished products. For example in the temper of metals and glass, which provides exceptional resistance thanks to the abrupt cooling of the material.

The industrial production of ceramics also causes a very fast cooling, from the maximum firing temperature down to slightly above quartz transition, which determines the specific volume of glassy phases and, consequently, possible residual tensions.

The accurate simulation of industrial firing cycles is a major objective of the ELS-MDF instrument. The contactless optical measurement technique allows to follow the sample without being subject to thermal interferences during very fast transients, with a precision unmatched by traditional, contact-based mechanical techniques.

Flash-Cooling: how does it work

The flash cooling option brings the ELS-MDF optical system to its extreme application, allowing to observe negative gradients of several degrees celsius per second.

The motorized furnace can be configured to securely open in any point of the software-defined thermal cycle. The sudden opening of the furnace causes a huge radiant heat loss, combined with a strong ascensional air current which contributes to further remove heat by convection.

The analysis endures this event, and keeps recording and controlling the system. Once cooled below a limit, the furnace can be configured to later close again and automatically restart heating. Alternatively, it can terminate the test, wait for complete cooling, close the furnace and start a new test, all without any operator intervention.

This mode allows to verify the effect of flash cooling over the specific volume of the material, autonomously executing the entire sequence:

Heating
Flash cooling
Heating
Slow cooling Learn more in our Case Study: The effect of cooling rate on the specific volume of glassy phases

Security: our priority

The flash cooling option intoduces an additional protective carter. This mobile shield protects the furnace both while closed and while opened, preventing the operator from accessing the hot zone of the instrument.