Online and offline, pressureless or under high pressure, in the laboratory or in the field – the versatility of PAMAS particle counters is evident and typifies how over the years, the continued developments have ensured that PAMAS remains a world leader in liquid particle counting. For almost 30 years PAMAS has been manufacturing automatic particle counters for fluids. Within minutes, the user knows if and to what extent a fluid sample is contaminated. A milestone in the history of development was already achieved in 1999 with the introduction of the PAMAS S40.
Read below, a short interview with Michael Schumacher, Head of R&D at PAMAS GmbH:
Mr. Schumacher, you have been working at PAMAS in the development department since 1995. What gave the impetus to develop a completely new portable particle counter at the end of the 90s even though there was already a portable device with the PAMAS S2?
Caterpillar approached us because they recognized the importance of contamination control to improve the reliability of their hydraulic systems. They couldn’t find a suitable system and we weren’t happy with the electronic systems at that time, so we combined our requirements and designed a system that was in advance of its time. In the 1990’s, touchscreens were future technology, a portable automatic particle counter that was below 10kg was not known and complete digital signal processing was brand new.
Over the years, customers’ demands have certainly changed or evolved?How did you react to that?
The S40 hardware basis is still state of the art. If applications require changes, we can add features easily. We have modified and adapted the S40 frequently to fit into new applications for new and existing customers. I am sure that the S40 will be the foundation for our future mobile particle counters for a long time.
How do you think the market will develop or change in the future?
Particle counting is a key technology in many industries from pharmaceutical to hydraulics. From the system developer point of view, requirements are comparable. However, from our customer point of view, specific adaptions are required for each application. We observe emerging industries very closely to adapt our products continuously to their requirements so that we can always supply the ideal solution for the problem.
Our main goal is to be perceived as a reliable supplier. We are the reference manufacturer for particle counting systems and we work hard to fulfil that claim.
After almost 30 years of research and development, the portable particle counters of the PAMAS S40 product series are now available in a multitude of adapted product versions for the cleanliness control of oil, fuel, phosphate esters as well as for water and water based fluids.
