polab® Laboratory AutomationScalable systems for automated quality control in industrial plants

polab® laboratory automation offers a complete, modular portfolio for automated quality control – from sample preparation and fully automated laboratory systems to fast reactivity measurement, all tied together by one control software. The range scales to any plant size, from small units to the largest integrated cement works and research labs, delivering fast, representative data, an excellent return on investment and improved workplace safety.

The polab® portfolio at a glance

Four products cover the complete quality-control chain and can be used individually or combined into one fully automated laboratory:

polab® APM – Sample preparation. A compact combined mill-and-press unit that produces pressed tablets for XRF and XRD. It is the core module inside every larger polab® laboratory and is also available as a stand-alone unit.
polab® AMT – Robotic automation system. The full-size, robot-based laboratory system for medium to very large plants, with the highest throughput and the most flexible configuration. Alternatively to Linea: choose AMT when space and throughput allow a full robotic setup.
polab® Linea – Belt-based automation system. The compact, belt-based laboratory system for labs with limited space and low-to-medium throughput. Alternatively to AMT: choose Linea when space is limited and throughput needs are moderate.
polab® Cal – Automated calorimetry. The first fully automated isothermal calorimeter, adding clinker and cement reactivity data in under 60 minutes – integrated or stand-alone.
polab® AQCnet – Control software. AQCnet stands for Advanced Quality Control and is the software layer that operates and monitors the laboratory. It connects the analysers and manages sample tracking and data. The "net" refers to its foundation on the Microsoft .NET Framework. IQCnet (Intelligent Quality Control) is an add-on for AQCnet and provides the AI control loop.

polab® AMT – Robotic laboratory automation

thyssenkrupp's robotic laboratory automation system – the full-size solution for medium to very large industrial plants.

The polab® AMT manages sample handling via an ABB industrial robot. Because components are arranged in a circle within the robot's reach, the system is compact and fully modular, allowing easy future upgrades. Its small footprint fits into existing buildings and reduces investment costs. The AMT integrates the established polab® modules for capsule reception and sample preparation into one proven modular design.

Key facts

Throughput: up to 32 samples per hour in the maximum configuration – suitable for the largest industrial plants.
Sizes: available in standard and large; the large option houses up to four pneumatic tube receivers, four polab® APM mill/press units, a double storage system and further components such as two granulometers.
Sample flow: pressed tablets for XRF, XRD or colour analysis travel on a belt system to the analysers and are returned to the automation system for cleaning afterwards.
Control: operated via a tablet computer on the housing, or from any connected mobile device or computer – running on polab® AQCnet.
Clean & serviceable: a central dedusting system keeps the lab clean; most units sit on a self-aligning rail system for complete removal and reinstallation in minutes, without stopping the whole system.
Safety: the enclosed aluminium-and-glass housing provides maximum workplace safety, so the surrounding laboratory can be used as a working space.

polab® Linea – Belt-based laboratory automation

Thyssenkrupp Polysius' belt-based laboratory system – optimised for laboratories with space constraints and low-to-medium sample throughput.

The polab® Linea features a narrow design and transports samples via transport belts and handling units. Like the AMT, it is fully modular and enclosed in a modern aluminium-and-glass housing; individual modules can be removed for service while the overall system keeps running, limiting interruptions to quality control.

Key facts

Throughput: up to 16 samples per hour.
Maximum configuration: one pneumatic tube receiver and two polab® APM mill/press units; optional daily-composite sample storage and a particle sizer.
Sample flow: pressed tablets travel on a belt system to the XRF, XRD or colour analysers and back into the automation system.
Control: tablet computer on the housing or any connected device, running on polab® AQCnet; each module links to a central dedusting system to minimise maintenance.
Serviceability & safety: asy aligning without robot or automation knowledge rail system for fast module exchange; enclosed housing for maximum workplace safety.

System comparison: AMT vs. Linea

Both polab® AMT and polab® Linea are fully automated laboratory systems built from the same modular polab® components and run by the same polab® AQCnet software. The choice mainly depends on required throughput and available space:

	polab® AMT	polab® Linea
Sample handling	ABB industrial robot, circular layout	Transport belts + handling units, narrow layout
Throughput	up to 32 samples / hour	up to 16 samples / hour
Sizes	standard and large	compact single configuration
Max. configuration	up to 4 tube receivers, 4× polab® APM, double storage, 2 granulometers	1 tube receiver, 2× polab® APM, optional storage + particle sizer
Best suited for	medium to very large plants, high throughput	space-constrained labs, low-to-medium throughput
Control	polab® AQCnet, tablet / mobile	polab® AQCnet, tablet / mobile

Mill & Presspolab® APM – Sample preparation

Pressed tablets are the common way to prepare samples for both XRF and XRD analysis. In many cases a single pressed tablet serves both analysers, reducing cost and preparation time. Fused beads, by contrast, cannot be used for XRD and cost roughly ten times as much as a pressed tablet. Since its launch in 2002 the polab® APM has become the standard for preparing XRF and XRD tablets, with hundreds of units in use worldwide.

Advantages at a glance

Combined mill and press in one small unit – minimum footprint of just 600 × 1230 × 735 mm (W × H × D)
Patented grinding unit for efficient, gentle grinding, optimised for both XRF and XRD requirements
Excellent reproducibility and high sample throughput; integrated ring-cleaning device on the APMplus
Predefined automatic and user-specific preparation routines, selectable as a combined or single process
Operator panel for simple, intuitive operation

Operation

The sample is ground to analytical fineness (typically d90 < 30 µm) with a grinding-aid and binder combination, then pressed into a steel ring. The binder makes tablets vacuum-stable for XRF and supports automated cleaning. The ring is transferred to the XRF or XRD analyser and, after analysis, returned, cleaned and re-used – the best compromise between high sample load, low cost and reliable analytical quality.

Low-wear grinding vessel

Wear is the most critical issue in grinding tools, because material wear shifts analytical results over time. After long-term testing of tungsten-carbide grades, thyssenkrupp Polysius' standard grinding vessel processes considerably more than 40,000–50,000 samples without changes in analytical results – ensuring stable results and minimum spare-part requirements.

Configurations

APMbasic: for small laboratories with more manual steps. The operator pours material into the dosing system and launches preparation via the touch panel; grinding and pressing then run automatically (sample loader, grinding-aid dosing, patented grinding unit, tablet press).
APMplus: the first full-scale automation unit with a one-square-metre footprint. Available with a 20-position turntable or an automation interface, with automated cleaning between samples. As a stand-alone it delivers rings to a chute, magazine or analyser belt; “APMplus for integration” forms the core of all larger polab® laboratories (AMT / Linea), with dosing by robot or handling device and recipes retrieved from polab® AQCnet.

polab® Cal – Automated isothermal calorimetry

The first fully automated isothermal calorimeter – developed with Calmetrix® to close the gap between process control and product quality control.

Reactivity – the ultimate target of many thermal processes – cannot be reliably deduced from chemistry and mineralogy alone, but it can be quantified by measuring heat release over time (for example, the heat of hydration of cement or lime). Where reactivity analysis previously took at least 24 hours, polab® Cal delivers results in under 60 minutes. It can be fully integrated into polab® laboratory automation systems or run as a stand-alone unit in R&D and product development.

Advantages at a glance

Highly reproducible automated mixing; fast, accurate sample preparation with proven visibility of the initial peak
Reactivity data in less than 60 minutes, extendable as required
Air-conditioned housing keeps all materials and the calorimeter at ideal temperature
24/7 operation for higher throughput and asset utilisation
Integrated data-evaluation package with predefined mathematical routines
At lime plants as an automated supplement to the wetdrycurve: maintains consistent clinker quality. At the cement mill: enables optimised separator operation and reduced clinker content – for optimised specific cost of clinker and cement

Digital process control

polab® Cal analyses calorimetry curves with predefined or user-defined routines, replacing traditional visual inspection. Results can be correlated with data from the automation system or a LIMS database, letting users tune reactivity targets for greater consistency while reducing clinker-production cost. Applications include cement plants, research centres, and cement-admixture and binder development.

polab® AQCnet – Control software

polab® AQCnet is the control layer of every polab® laboratory. It operates the automation systems, handles sample tracking and movement through the lab, and manages the data.

AQCnet communicates with instrumentation from all major analyser manufacturers – typically XRF and XRD analysers and laser particle sizers, and, depending on local requirements, colour, moisture and C/S analysers. Its open interface concept allows further components to be integrated to the customer's needs.

Communication with laboratory automation

Regardless of the level of automation, however, thyssenkrupp follows a strategy of offering a similar look and feel for all interfaces. Upgrades of all systems are possible and existing configurations transferred.

Interfaces to analysers

AQCnet communicates with analysers and devices of most known manufacturers. Typical installations include an XRF and XRD analyser, as well as a particle sizer. Depending on requirements, common additional analysers comprise colour measurements, moisture measurements and C/S analysers. The open interface concept can be used to connect a range of options, both laboratory-based and in the plant.

The database

The AQCnet database is a working archive. Optionally, polab® AQCnet interfaces with customer’s LIMS and most known suppliers are supported. Data stored on an AQCnet server comprises:

Configuration data, including application websites and device management
Configuration data for sample management
Measured values of the samples
Storage of sample data for up to 15 years
Process measurement values of the control loops
Messages/alarms

Adaptive mixture control

When processes that use heterogeneous natural resources need a specific final composition, such as in the cement industry, blending is often required. This requires very good control of incoming and outgoing materials and is one of the key tasks of polab® laboratory automation. To achieve optimal blending, thyssenkrupp uses an adaptive mixing concept in its raw mix controller. The concept and the results go far beyond simple spreadsheet mix calculation, and the targeted composition is constantly compared relative to realised changes from changed weigh feeder settings.

First, raw material analyses are used to evaluate whether actual values have approached the target values by changing weigh feeders in the plant. If the target has not been reached, the analyses determine, together with the composition of all additives stored in the database, the level of correction necessary in the plant. This adaptive mix control approach can work on different focal points. It can be used to correct the actual analyses on the spot, or it can be set up to assure a well-homogenised silo after the raw mill. In this case, large volumes of material are corrected to achieve a targeted composition.

The adaptive mixture controller adjusts the feed quantity ratio of the initial components so that the mixture corresponds to the quality setpoint values. Using an adaptation algorithm, the controller dynamically estimates the chemical composition of the individual feed components.

Through this self-learning function the controller automatically adapts itself to the constantly changing material properties and ensures constant material quality.

Innovation

polab® laboratory automation systems are continuously adapted to customers' needs in sample preparation and analytical methods. The polab® APM in the larger systems supplies optimum pressed tablets for XRD analysis – indispensable for checking clinker and cement quality in plants using alternative fuels and raw materials. And with polab® Cal, fast isothermal calorimetry now closes the link between production control and cement quality, delivering reactivity data within 60 minutes to hold targeted product qualities.