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When should I use STA-PURE® tubing?
STA-PURE tubing is ideal for applications that use the Mitos FREE FLOW™ Valve and/or Watson Marlow peristaltic pumps. When used in the FREE FLOW valve, STA-PURE tubing provides a longer element life than silicone, by being able to endure over 5 million open/close cycles. When used in peristaltic pumps, STA-PURE tubing provides long life in high pressure applications that require a consistent flow rate. STA-PURE tubing is ideal for the stages when your product is most valuable.
What is the typical life of STA-PURE® tubing?
STA-PURE tubing has been shown to last 18 times longer than platinum-cured silicone. In some applications, STA-PURE tubing has withstood 4 months of continuous pumping!
How many times can a STA-PURE® assembly with fittings be steamed in place (SIP)?
Mitos, with its partner i-4, developed the first and only stainless steel fittings system for STA-PURE. Extensive tests have been performed and can certify that any STA-PURE tube with i-4 fittings is suitable for up to 9 SIP cycles. Per your request, additional testing can be performed.
How can I make my fluid handling system cleaner or more sanitary?
To facilitate a more sanitary system, Mitos focuses on its fittings. Most fittings are stainless steel pipe with tri-clamps that have a silicone or EPDM gasket sandwiched between the fittings. Mitos has taken attention to the fact that when standard silicone and EPDM gaskets are tightened into place, they create a dam that blocks full drainage of the system. This happens because both materials are elastomers and expand under pressure. Poor engineering forces that expansion into the bore of the fitting to create the dam. Mitos' i-logic™ gasket system significantly reduces this extrusion. The materials of construction are the same as currently used, but our engineering prevents extrusion, an important concern in the biotech industry.
Mitos can also improve the sanitation of fluid-handling systems that use silicone tubing or hose. In many current systems, a plastic or stainless steel tri-clamp with a hose barb end is inserted into the silicone tube to connect it to another length of tubing or hose. A gasket is then used to seal the two tri-clamp fittings together. Within such a fitting system is a sealing face on both sides of the gasket and a large crevice where the silicone meets with the stainless steel or plastic of the hose barb. This crevice can provide an ideal home for unwanted contaminants.
What Mitos customers know is that our molded fittings can significantly clean up this fitting system. A molded fitting is a sanitary tri-clamp fitting made of silicone that is seamlessly and permanently bonded to the silicone of the tube. Our molded fittings feature integrated gaskets that eliminate not only all the seams and crevices, but also the sealing face. The same molding technology is used to make manifold assemblies with Ts, Ys, crosses, elbows and reducers. These assemblies are also free of seams and crevices and provide a continuous bore. This eliminates potential failure points that could lead to major loss of product.
What is Ra and how is it measured?
Ra is a measure of the average of the "peaks and valleys" on a surface. Ra is measured on stainless steel components by dragging a very tiny needle across their surface and averaging the measurements. The higher the Ra, the greater the distance between the peaks and valleys of the surface; the lower the Ra, the lesser the distance between the peaks and valleys.
If viewed microscopically, stainless steel looks like the Himalayan Mountains when freshly cut. Electropolishing is a process by which the mountain tops are smoothed out to lower the Ra of the surface. Having a low Ra on product contact surfaces is important because it makes cleaning easier, as it is much more difficult for unwanted contaminants to get trapped in the "valleys".
What are the true dimensions of sanitary fittings?
An important characteristic to notice about sanitary Tri-Clamp fittings is that some of their outer diameters (ODs) are identical, while the internal diameter (ID) is different. This can be a significant difference, as connecting two fittings with different IDs can produce holdup areas and prevent drainage, defeating the purpose of a sanitary system.
For example, the OD of a 1" and 1 1/2" Tri-Clamp are the same (1.984"). It is the ID that differs, 1" and 1 1/2" respectively. Therefore, it is important to use the ID when ordering your fittings. The same is true for the 1/2" and 3/4" mini Tri-Clamp fittings.
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