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regulated industries like medical device control, repeatability, and accuracy – technology is
manufacturing where processes are tightly available to make both dispensing amounts and
validated, and markets have high expectations. location positioning highly precise. To determine
which equipment is most suitable for process
Improving your process development, manufacturers should first be clear
Application of materials by hand is almost always about what level of precision and accuracy is
the least repeatable approach. While it can be done needed, and then choose accordingly.
precisely, manual dispensing can be physically One popular technique, which has been around
intensive and relies on a highly skilled workforce. since the 70s, is time-pressure dispensing, where a
Reliance on highly proficient operators is a risk, as pulse of air in a syringe barrel forces liquid out
they leave, fall ill or retire. Inevitably, the smaller in through a needle or nozzle. The process can be
size the application is, the less likely that a human controlled by the applied pressure, the timing of the
can unfailingly manually apply material to within air pulse and the diameter of the needle. These
the required tolerances. We are increasingly machines are a successful step for dispensing
conscientious about workplace ergonomics and precision for innumerable companies, as evidenced
health & safety. A fully manual approach may by their ubiquitous presence in factories and
involve higher rework levels, more waste, unwanted ongoing demand. They perform to adequate
exposure to chemicals and a higher chance of RSI. accuracy in many cases, with improved benchtop
Dispensing systems can improve precision, by housekeeping. However, they do not meet the high
giving the user more control over the process. levels of precision demanded in a more
Different technologies offer different levels of sophisticated assembly.

November 2020 • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA • p5