Hardened aerospace grade stainless steel is used to produce all of ICL’s die sets. The 3mm to 19mm dies are used primarily for KBr pellets for transmission analysis by IR spectroscopy, while the larger dies are most commonly used for producing briquettes for XRF spectroscopy.
The 13mm Macro-Micro die is chosen by most spectroscopists for KBr pellets, and it is available with paper inserts with a variety of small apertures (1.5, 3, 5, & 11mm) that enable the user to make micro-pellets with a 13mm die set and also provide a useful frame for mounting and storing the pellets.
All ICL dies have an upper and lower stainless steel section for ease of disassembly and they are sealed with viton seals.
For ease of use, the weight was reduced in all die sets in the 13mm to 40mm range by adding an outer shield of aluminum. This feature makes them much easier to handle than 2 piece dies made completely from stainless steel due to their lighter weight, but without sacrificing strength or durability. The dies can be evacuated with a vacuum pump to reduce the moisture in the sample. 13mm and 20mm dies are typically used with 12 to 20 ton presses, while the larger size dies are used with 20 to 40 ton presses and are most commonly used for briquetting samples for XRF analysis.
To enable preparation of the finest quality pellets and briquettes, anvils are optically polished to a mirror finish and are free from scratches or digs. All die sets in the 13mm to 40mm size range are available with optional extremely hard tungsten carbide polished anvils for use with abrasive samples.
Water jacketed dies can be used for heating and cooling solid samples, and they are available in 5mm to 40mm diameter sizes.
Our water jacketed dies enable heating and cooling of solid samples while they are under pressure, and are particularly useful when electrical appliances cannot be used. For heating, boiling water is passed through the inlet flow tube and circulated through the water jacket.
Cold water can likewise be circulated through the water jacket for cooling. Water jacketed dies come complete with the die, the water jacket and a pair of hardened polished anvils. Anvils are interchangeable with our 5mm to 40mm die sets.