What do aircraft, food, automobile, and medical application industries have in common? The answer to this question is the autoclave.
Did you know that autoclaves are the sterilisation apparatus of choice in laboratories and industrial settings?
Autoclaves play a major part in many different industry sectors.
Without an autoclave, most of these sectors may not be able to do what they have been doing for so long.
In the medical and laboratory sector, autoclaves are used for sterilisation while tyre manufacturers use autoclaves for vulcanisation.
These machines are used to heat treat composite materials used in the aircraft and automobile industry.
Therefore, in this article, we will take a look at the following:
- Autoclaves Being Used As Steam Sterilisers In The Medical Sector
- Autoclaves Being Used In The Tyre And Construction Industries
- Aircraft Components That Are Produced In Autoclaves
- Why Autoclaves Are So Important For Labs
Autoclaves Are Used As Steam Sterilisers In The Medical Sector
Autoclaves are essential equipment for many different industrial sectors. Without an autoclave, our everyday lives would look completely different.
They are also used in dentistry, development and research of food production, veterinary medicine, and pharmaceuticals facilities.
These machines are used in the medical sector for sterilisation of medical and lab equipment as hot steam is considered the best way to kill germs.
Autoclaves work by pumping out air multiple times from the chamber of the machine. The vacuum created by pumping out air is then filled with steam.
The hot steam may be generated inside the chamber or outside. The ideal temperature for steam sterilisation ranges between 120 and 143 degrees Celsius.
The food industry relies on autoclaves to kill unwanted micro-organisms. Steam sterilisation is used for this purpose.
Food-borne germs are destroyed by applying pressure of up to 7,000 bar.
Autoclaves Are Used In The Chemical, Tyre, And Construction Industries
Autoclaves are commonly used in the chemical industry. For example, gases are made to react in an autoclave by applying pressure.
The manufacturing of polymer plastics is done using a similar process. Tyre manufacturers make use of autoclaves to vulcanise raw rubber.
During this process, raw or artificial rubber is transformed into a finished product by adding sulphur and other substances.
The construction industry is another sector that makes use of autoclaves. Wood is impregnated under pressure for using in buildings.
Other construction materials such as porous concrete and sand-lime bricks are manufactured using autoclaves.
Laminated safety glass is another product that is manufactured with the use of an autoclave.
The autoclave is used to permanently laminate a glass sandwich and a prefabricated foil to make safety glass.
Autoclaves are commonly used in many other high-tech industrial sectors.
Aircraft Components Are Produced In Autoclaves
The aircraft industry commonly uses carbon fibre materials with more and more aircraft assemblies being made of carbon fibre these days.
Carbon fibre is essential for aircraft components because it has high strength and is lightweight.
It can carry a greater payload with lower fuel consumption qualities. It can also be used to lower harmful emissions from the aircraft.
These are some of the many benefits of using carbon fibre materials in the aircraft manufacturing industry.
Autoclaves play an important part in manufacturing carbon fibre sheets for the aircraft industry.
Prepregs or pre-impregnated fibre sheets are inserted into the chamber of the autoclave. Then, a vacuum will be generated underneath the foil.
The material is pressed and then hardened at high pressure and high temperatures inside the chamber of the autoclave.
The result is a very strong material with minimum weight.
Carbon fibre materials are also used in the motorsports automobile industry.
The weight of the automobile plays an important part when participating in motor racing.
In fact, every gram of weight that can be saved will count towards the success of the racing driver - whether on two or four wheels.
That's why autoclaves are very important in these industries.
Why Autoclaves Are Important For Labs?
Steam sterilisation is an important process in every laboratory. This process is usually performed in a steam steriliser or an autoclave.
The autoclave plays an important part in maintaining a clean and sterile lab.
It uses steam heat to destroy any microbial life that may be present on contaminated loads.
To destroy a microbe cell through heat, the temperature of the autoclave should be raised to a point where the proteins in the cell wall break down.
Steam is a great way to kill germs. That's why autoclaves are so important in laboratory settings.
If you are searching for the best autoclave supplier in Australia, then look no further than Medical Equipment Services Australia.
We were originally established in 1952 in order to provide electro-medical products to healthcare professionals across the country.
The company (Medical Equipment Services) was acquired by Medical Equipment Australia in 2009. Since then, we have also expanded into the dental industry.
For all your medical and dental supply requirements, please call us today on 1300 342 013 or contact us through our website.
