November  15, 2010

TOKYO, November 15, 2010 - Yamatake Corporation of the azbil Group has announced that on November 16 it launched the FDW20, a low dew point version of the current FINEDEW™ chilled mirror hygrometer. The FDW20 enables precise dew point measurement for drier atmospheres.

Humidity (dew point) is, along with temperature, one of the key thermal environment indices; it is typically measured at 25°C, 50% RH. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly important to measure the humidity (dew point) of drier atmospheres. For example, this capability is important for the pharmaceutical, chemical and food-processing industries that use highly hygroscopic raw materials; for the steel and nonferrous metal industries that have to control the humidity of the oxidizing/reducing atmosphere in heat-treatment furnaces; and for the manufacture of button batteries, lithium-ion batteries and organic EL devices, which involve materials that must be protected from moisture and chemical contamination. Moreover, in addition to the usual objectives of improving quality control and yields, in these industries there is a new focus on energy saving - aimed at realizing a low-carbon society - and this is leading to a growing demand for finer measurement and control of dew point.

To respond to these new requirements, Yamatake has developed the FDW20 low dew point version of the FINEDEW chilled mirror hygrometer, which offers an expanded measurement range.

This new FDW20 hygrometer can serve as a key product in future solutions envisaged by Yamatake to facilitate more precise atmosphere control in industries where there is an increasing need to make humidity (dew point) measurements for drier gases. Such fine dew point measurement is needed for research into a wide range of basic technologies such as CO2-fixing, which has been receiving much attention in recent years, and also for research into controlled atmospheres for the magnetic field pressing of rare earth magnets.

The FDW20 Series unit price is 2,600,000 yen; annual sales of 100 units are forecast in 3 years.

Driven by the philosophy of "human-centered automation," the azbil Group works hand-in-hand with its customers, as a partner in energy-saving, helping to realize their environmental objectives, and thus contributing to the global environment.

FDW20 features

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Unrivalled measurement stability The FINEDEW low dew point version (FDW20) can measure dew points as low as -55°C. Normally hygrometer sensitivity tends to be poor in such dry atmospheres; for this reason, problems can be encountered with measurement stability and fluctuations are observed. However, the FDW20 features the FINEDEW's compact sensing core, noted for its excellent thermal response, and this has now been coupled with Yamatake's renowned control technology. The result is a dramatic improvement in measurement stability.

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National reference standard traceability The FDW20 has been calibrated using a specific secondary standard※1 kept at Yamatake's Measurement Standards Center and which can register dew points as low as -50°C. Supplied with each FDW20 is an inspection data sheet reporting the test results for 6 dew points: -50°C, -30°C, -10°C, 0°C, 10°C, and 20°C.

※1 Specific secondary standard: calibrated using the specific reference standard that serves as the national reference standard of Japan.