Electron Machine Corporation: Pioneering Industrial Refractometers

The refractometer, an instrument that measures the refractive index of a substance, has long been a staple in labs across various scientific fields. However, the transition of this tool from its conventional lab-bound limitations to vast industrial applications was driven mainly by the innovative efforts of the Electron Machine Corporation under the leadership of its founder, Carl Vossberg, Jr.

Electron Machine Corporation takes immense pride in its distinguished history and entrenched presence in the electronic instrumentation industry. Carl Vossberg, Jr., the brain behind Electron Machine Corporation, pursued electronics at City College of New York, Columbia University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During WWII, he collaborated with the U.S. Office of Strategic Service (now the CIA), contributing to creating remote radio transponders, artillery tracking systems, weapon fire detection controllers, and video transmission.

Post-war, Carl Vossberg Jr. endeavored to harness his electronics expertise for industrial purposes. He established Electron Machine Corporation in 1946, initially operating out of a radiator repair shop in New York. The company birthed and licensed innovative instruments, such as the first commercial x-ray thickness gauge, optical cable diameter gauges, and an industrial process control computer.

By 1952, Electron Machine Corporation relocated to Umatilla, Florida, where it operates today. Recognizing a gap in the burgeoning concentrated Citrus industry, the company developed the first in-line process refractometer. 

Subsequently, they constructed a 25,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, maintaining their roots in Umatilla. In 1977, the mantle passed to Carl Vossberg III, who amplified the refractometer's applications worldwide across the food, chemical, and pulp/paper sectors. With the integration of microprocessor technology, the instruments saw marked enhancements in accuracy and reliability. 

Today, under continued third-generation C.A. Vossberg's leadership, the corporation thrives as a vertically integrated manufacturer, ensuring unparalleled service and support by efficiently controlling its manufacturing timeline, leading innovation, maintaining high-quality standards, and fostering partnerships for community engagement.

The company achieves exceptional quality control by integrating contemporary technology and methodologies with foundational designs. Modern advancements at the company encompass in-house microprocessor and DSP software design, surface-mount PC card design and assembly, 3D CAD/CAM design, CNC machining, and MIG/TIG welding. Moreover, the founder's pioneering spirit remains alive and influential, guiding the company's ongoing research and product development endeavors.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
+1 352-669-3101

The Crucial Role of Inline Process Refractometers in Manufacturing Industries

Industrial refractometers are an indispensable component of process automation because they contribute to maintaining product quality and uniformity, reducing waste, and enhancing output. A substance's refractive index can be determined using a refractometer, which assesses the degree to which a sample causes light to bend as it travels through the process media. This measurement provides helpful information regarding the composition and concentration of a solution, both of which are essential in a wide variety of industrial processes. 

Industries That Commonly Use Inline Process Refractometers:

• Inline process refractometers are used in pulp and paper manufacturing to determine the percent of dissolved solids present during various stages of the production process. These phases include the pulping process, the bleaching process, and the paper coating process. 
• Inline process refractometers are commonly used in the food and beverage sector to determine the percentage of sugar occurring in various goods like juices, jams, and other condiments. This measurement contributes to ensuring that the products have a consistent flavor and texture across the line and meet all regulatory criteria. 
• In the pharmaceutical sector, process refractometers measure the concentration of active pharmaceutical substances, an essential step in ensuring the product is effective and safe. 
• In the production of semiconductors, inline process refractometers measure the concentration of chemical solutions utilized in various production processes. These processes include cleaning, etching, and chemical mechanical planarization. 
• Process refractometers assist in producing industrial chemicals to measure the concentration of dissolved solids such as salts, acids, and other compounds at various points throughout the production process. 

Industrial refractometers offer real-time, precise, and dependable measurements by automating the process of measuring refractive index, thus eliminating the need for manual testing. This automation minimizes errors, enhances process efficiency, and reduces labor costs that result from manual testing. Additionally, automated refractometers supply data to distributed control systems and PLCs, enabling continuous monitoring and regulation of essential process parameters.

In general, industrial refractometers play an essential part in the automation of processes. They contribute to the maintenance of product quality and consistency, as well as to the enhancement of efficiency and productivity, as well as to the reduction of waste and expenses. As automation technology progresses, refractometers and other process monitoring devices may take on an even more significant role in industrial settings.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
+1 352-669-3101

Inline Refractometers for Quality Control and Monitoring in the Pharmaceutical, Food & Beverage, and Chemical Industries

The Inline Process Refractometer is a measurement device used to determine concentration levels in the process media. The combined hardware and software continuously monitor the process in real-time and provide output signals that assist in monitoring and controlling the process.

Inline Process Refractometers accurately measure solids concentration, density, and purity levels. Industries such as sugar, food & beverage, chemical, paper, and pharmaceuticals commonly apply refractometers to their manufacturing processes.

Refractometers measure the amount of light that passes through a sample and then measure its refractive index to determine its concentration or composition. Their primary uses are quality control, product development, process optimization, and research. 

Pharmaceutical Industry

The process refractometer is used in pharmaceutical industries to measure the concentration of solids in a solution for quality control, such as checking the purity of water or other liquids. They are used to measure the makeup of solutions containing active ingredients to ensure that they meet predetermined specifications.

Food and Beverage Industry

Industrial refractometers provide a variety of benefits in the food industry. Since the primary function of an Inline Process Refractometer is to measure the concentration of dissolved solids in a liquid, in food processing, they measure sugar content, alcohol content, or water concentration by calibration to measure some specific solute or solutes. These solutes can be either sugars or salts, depending on the application.   Companies use Inline process refractometers to produce fruit juices, tomato products, dairy products, sweeteners, jams, and jellies, to determine the sugar content.

Chemical Industry

The chemical industry uses Inline Process Refractometers for the chemical analysis of liquids. They determine the magnitude of dissolved solids in a liquid solution by measuring the angle at which light passes through, assisting in deciding concentrations, and identifying chemical compounds.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
+1 352-669-3101

Inline Process Refractometers for the Pharmaceutical and Food Processing Industries

When it comes to easily, reliably and accurately determining the concentration, identification or purity of substances, refractometry is the ideal method. Inline process refractometers are especially helpful as they supplement laboratory research and contribute to production improvement. These process analyzers deliver results within fractions of a second, allowing real-time monitoring and automatic control of processes.


Electron Machine Corporation's MPR E-Scan™ inline refractometers provide process analysis and control of liquid and slurry process streams in pharmaceutical and food processing applications. The MPR E-Scan™ provides accurate control and precise monitoring of variables in process streams, including percent concentration, solids dissolution, and solution reduction. The inline process refractometer also excels in measuring and managing crystallization, verifying and regulating the correct mix of various compounds, and determining the sugar concentration in a wide variety of products. In addition, the MPR E-Scan™ is often used to track concentrations in evaporation processes.

The MPR E-Scan™ is available in a broad range of models to accomodate a wide variety of measurement ranges and resolutions, providing users an abundance of choices to fit the right equipment to the right application.

Designed with ruggedness and durability in mind, the IP65 / NEMA 4X rated MPR E-Scan™ will withstand the rigors of CIP (Clean-in-Place), allowing the inline process refractometer to be thoroughly and meticulously cleaned at any time in a process environment. Each process refractometer is designed and manufactured specifically for each application, assuring trouble-free service with a minimum amount of maintenance for years to come.

The operation of the MPR E-Scan™ inline process refractometer is based upon the principle of light reflection. Light radiated from the LED passes through the prism surface to be reflected from a mirror to the prism-to-process interface. The light reaching this interface intersects the same interface over a series of angles chosen to include critical angle for the process being measured. Light intersecting the interface at an angle greater than critical angle is refracted into the solution. Light intersecting the interface at less than critical angle is reflected up to a second mirror and out of the prism up to the CCD linear array to be scanned.

In short, the MPR E-Scan™ inline process refractometer makes process metrics more visible to the user and significantly reduces product quality fluctuations. This increases efficiency, lowers production costs, and increases process reliability.  The MPR E-Scan™ can be applied to a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries, thanks to their field-proven and reliable technology.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
352-669-3101

Inline Process Refractometers Used in Industry

Inline process refractometers are used in a wide variety of industrial and commercial applications including the measurement of the sugar content of food and beverages, monitoring the purity and concentration of ingredients in pharmaceuticals, analyzing the constituents in chemical used in pulp and paper processing, and purity control and concentration measurement of raw materials in the chemical industry.

Inline process refractometers provide a very reliable and accurate real time measurement, which is ideal for process loop optimization and control. With In-line process refractometers, product quality and batch times are more closely controlled, reducing costs as a result.

The Electron Machine Corporation has been designing and manufacturing in-line process refractometers since the early 1960s, with a focus on providing simple, rugged, and reliable instruments that provide value over time, with accurate measurement, minimal maintenance, and long service life. They are the pioneer in developing the industrial use of refractive index for safe, reliable, and accurate process measurement and control.

Electron Machine Corporation
https://electronmachine.com
352-669-3101

Process Refractometers for Food and Pharmaceutical Processing

Process refractometers provide the analysis to quickly, reliably, and very accurately identify a sample and determine it's concentration and purity levels. They measure the refractive index and temperature of flowing liquids, and apply mathematical functions to determine the concentration of dissolved solids.

Process refractometers are particularly useful in the food and pharmaceutical industries where they are used to optimize production processes, control quality, and ensure consistency and purity.

In commercial food applications such as juice production or tomato processing, refractometers are used to measure degrees Brix. The Brix scale relates refractive index to sugar concentration, and is a key way to maintain consistency. For example, process refractometers are used for the concentration process of fruit juices. The concentration process is normally achieved by removing water through evaporation, and by measuring Brix, the evaporation process can be controlled and related to the desired juice concentration.

In the pharmaceutical industry, process refractometers are used to monitor and control concentration levels during supersaturation, a critical process in crystallization.  Crystallization is key to the purification of solids in pharmaceutical production.  A high degree of measurement accuracy and reliability provided by the process refractometer ensures precise monitoring and control and a pure product.

There are many other industrial applications for process refractometers, almost all sharing the need for accurate solids content measurement.

For more information about process refractometers, contact Electron Machine. Visit them at https://electronmachine.com or call 352-669-3101.