The FH100 Peristaltic Pump

This Tuesday’s product focus post is centered on a pump technology we haven’t touched on yet- the Thermo Scientific FH series of peristaltic pumps. While we’ve spent quite a few posts focusing on centrifugal and rotary lobe pumps, and even a few posts talking about one of the most critical parts of a peristaltic pump- tubing- we haven’t touched on it explicitly. So we’ll start the post with a quick overview of the theory of operation.

A peristaltic pump head consists of only two parts: the rotor and the housing. The tubing is placed in the tubing bed- between the rotor and housing- where it is occluded or squeezed. The rollers on the rotor move across the tubing, flushing the fluid. Tubing behind the rollers recovers its shape, creating a vacuum and drawing in fluid behind it. A pillow of fluid is formed between the rollers. This is specific to the ID of the tubing and the geometry of the rotor. Flow rate is determined by multiplying speed by the volume of this pillow. The pillow volume stays fairly constant except with extremely viscous fluid.

This simple method of operation has some inherent advantages over other pump types. Peristaltic pumps allow for contamination free pumping- product only comes in contact with the tubing or hose material. Also, because the pillow size is constant, we are able to achieve a high level of volumetric efficiency, critical in dosing or metering applications where high accuracy is required.

Most peristaltic pumps include integral drives and are easy to use and program. They are ergonomic and ideal for lab usage. They can be run dry, self-prime, and are capable of pumping fluids with high quantities of entrained air.

Now that we’ve given a brief overview of peristaltic pumps and some of their innate advantages, let’s focus on what makes Thermo Scientific’s FH series a category leader. The FH series is composed of four primary categories; the FH10, FH100, FH100D, and FH100M.

The FH10 series is composed of the FH10, FH15, and FH30 pumps. These units are provided as complete pump systems, consisting of a pump, motor, and control, in a stackable steel housing. Standard flow ranges from 0.002 mL/min to 105 mL/min and pressures up to 2.4 bar. They are considered instrument quality and provide an excellent alternative to syringe pumps.

The FH100 series are ideal for general purpose transfer and metering applications. The FH100 and FH100X unites use a digital control to provide robust, economical control. Flow ranges from 0.5mL to 3,000 mL and 14 mL to 4,000 mL on the FH100 and FH100X units, respectively. They feature intuitive control keypads for easy start, stop, and speed control, as well as options for external 4-20 mA controls. Pump tubing is available in a wide variety of materials, including USP Class VI materials in both bulk coils and “link” or “element” styles.

The FH100D and FH100DX build upon the robust platform of the FH100 series and are specifically designed for critical metering and dispensing applications. Systems can be set up to dispense by volume, time, or set intervals. The unit’s powerful motor provides better than 0.25% speed control accuracy and repeatability as well as remote control operation. Accessories include Gore Sta Pure pump elements as well as dispensing guns for agar plate fills. These units are ideal for filling, chromatography packing, sample prep, chemical feed, and tangential or cross flow filtration. The FH100D and FH100DX handle flow ranges similar to the FH100 and FH100X and can handle pressures up to 60 PSIG, for use in longer filtration cycles.

The FH100M Multi-Channel Peristaltic Pump

The final member of the FH family is the FH100M multichannel pump. With flow ranges from 1.2 uL/minute to 760 mL/min, and three modes of operation: flow, timed flow, and programmable cycle- the FH100M multichannel pumps can save considerable time and resources while greatly improving process efficiency. Pump heads are load with tubing cassettes, allowing for fast tubing changes and the elimination of auxiliary hardware common in other multi-channel designs. With up to 12 channels, the FH100M series are ideal for bioassay, electrophoresis, chromatography, and pH control applications.

Tubing formulations available for all pumps include platinum cured silicone, Tygon E-3603, Tygon E-LFL, Bio-Pharm silicone, Pharmed BPT, and Viton. Tubing is offered in three grades: general purpose, precision tubing links, and HRT (High-Resilient tube) elements. Precision tubing links optimize accuracy, life, and pressure performance, while HRT elements can handle high pressures and are ideal for longest life performance.

To conclude, the Thermo Scientific FH family of digital peristaltic pumps offers superior performance and precision handling that has long been the hallmark of the Thermo Scientific and MasterFlex product ranges. They are designed to handle a wide range of fluids in broad range of applications. Contact a Holland sales engineer today for more information about this exciting new product offering.