SciAps XRF Technology Detector Protector Technology
End punctured XRF detectors permanently — even on turnings.
Detector Protector Technology (DPT) safeguards the heart of a handheld XRF analyzer: the detector. A rigid, high-strength window with a sub-100 µm grid takes the abuse of a Gaylord box of turnings without bowing into the detector or letting a chard through — and without giving up any speed.
It is standard on every X-200, X-505 and X-550 bought with the Alloy App. Across more than 1,000 units in the field, not one detector has been punctured.
Why High-End Detectors Get Punctured
Measuring the ultra-light elements — Mg, Al, Si — takes a very thin window, and a thin window offers the detector almost no protection. Jam that analyzer into a Gaylord box of turnings and one of two things happens: a weak protector bows inward until the detector breaks, or a chard small enough to pass the mesh reaches the window behind it. Either way it's an expensive repair, and the analyzer is off the floor while it happens.
DPT is rigid, so it doesn't bow, and its grid openings are smaller than 100 µm — a turning has to be finer than a human hair to get through. Even with the Prolene window torn from the jamming, the analyzer still reads a 6063 in two seconds, because nothing ever reached the detector. The Prolene or Kapton window is a consumable you replace yourself.
Built Tough, Still Fast
Rigid — Won't Flex
It won't bow into the detector the way weaker protectors do under the pressure of a box of turnings.
Fine < 100 µm Grid
A chard must be finer than a human hair to reach through the grid and touch the detector.
No Speed Compromise
Still blazing fast on every alloy, and the fastest on aluminum — 0.3% Mg in 2 seconds, Mg in 6061 in 1 second.
Force-Tested to 68 N
A beer can collapses at 28 Newtons. DPT was still holding at 68.
Detector Protector Questions
Which SciAps analyzers come with Detector Protector Technology?
DPT is standard on every X-200, X-505 and X-550 purchased with the Alloy App — there is no upgrade to buy or box to tick.
Does DPT slow the analyzer down?
No. The analyzer remains blazing fast on alloys and the fastest on aluminum: as low as 0.3% magnesium in 2 seconds, and magnesium in 6061 in 1 second.
How strong is the window?
It held at 68 Newtons under a force gauge. For comparison, a beer can collapses at about 28 Newtons. The grid openings are under 100 µm — thinner than a human hair — so a turning has to be smaller than that to reach the detector.
What happens if the Prolene window tears on turnings?
The Prolene or Kapton window is a user-replaceable consumable. Even with it damaged from jamming, the analyzer still measures a 6063 in 2 seconds, because the detector underneath was never touched.
Why do XRF detectors get punctured in the first place?
Measuring light elements such as Mg, Al and Si needs a very thin window, which offers little protection. Weak protectors bow inward under pressure and break the detector, or let a small chard through the mesh. DPT is rigid, so it does neither.
Has a detector ever been punctured with DPT fitted?
Not so far. Out of more than 1,000 units equipped with DPT, not a single detector has been punctured.