A powerful combination: SciAps is a Malvern Panalytical company
Overview
Weighing just 1.35 kg (2.98 lbs) with the battery, the SciAps X-550 is the lightest, fastest, most articulate handheld X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer ever made.
The X-550 delivers the small size, blazing speed and high precision of the SciAps X-Series in a perfectly balanced device. It’s fast on all alloys, including aluminum. The X-550 uses the industry’s most powerful X-ray tube for NDT and recycled materials analysis, operating up to 3x the power in the Beam 2 setting compared to the SciAps X-505 and other handheld XRF analyzers.
The unique geometry and tube power optimize performance for low atomic number measurement applications, including sulfidic corrosion (low Si), phosphorus and sulfur, and aluminum alloys, as well as for residual analysis per API 751 and 5L specifications.
Soil test demo with the X-550 Enviro/HUD
The SciAps team demonstrates how the X-550 becomes the ultimate tool for Environmental/HUD testing.
Applications
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- NDT-PMI
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Delivers PMI for most alloys in 1 second with excellent precision.
Delivers PMI for most alloys in 1 second with excellent precision. Some NDT-PMI applications require longer tests, or multiple beam tests. Our Android apps-based platform provides pre-configured, dedicated apps to make quality testing by every operator as easy as using a smartphone – including apps for residuals (API 751), sulfidic corrosion (API 939), API 5L and other testing. Read X-550 Alloy Specifications.
Optimized for key PMI applications like Residuals and Sulfidic Corrosion.
For many PMI applications, fast tests are sufficient for verification of alloy grade and geochemistry. More complicated applications require longer test times or multi-beam operations (one beam optimized for transition and heavy metals; the other for low atomic number elements Mg, Si, Al, P and S). Dedicated apps ensure testing follows correct procedures, such as recommended test times and X-ray beam settings. For example, the Residuals app defaults to 15-second test times due to the need to measure Ni, Cr and Cu at <0.03% each (sum <0.15%) and Nb and V at <0.02%. The Sulfidic Corrosion app is preconfigured to require two-beam tests in order to measure Si down to 0.03% in steels.
Designed for NDT, PMI users to access hard-to-reach test locations and welds.
Perfectly balanced, light weight, and articulate, you can test all day long without fatigue. The narrow footprint permits total access to virtually any test location and weld.
- Scrap Processing
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Great on high temp alloys and precious metals.
Like most XRFs, the X-550 provides fast, precise chemistry on a wide array of high-temperature alloys, stainless, red metals and precious metals. What’s different is the toughness of this metal-framed analyzer, which is yet incredibly lightweight (< 3 lbs.) and in perfect balance. Use it for sorting all day long without fatigue. The on-board cell phone camera (macro camera) allows for photo-documentation of materials tested, and the Bluetooth label printer provides instant hard copy labels with time/date stamp, grade ID, and chemistry.
Featuring the Aluminum App: Sort all your Al alloys in 1-2 seconds.
If you’re a scrap processor, the one reason to buy the X-550 over the X-505 is the blazing speed and accuracy on aluminum alloys. The X-550 features our patent-pending Aluminum App. It sorts your aluminum alloys in 1-2 seconds, including those alloys that differ only by magnesium (Mg) content. Grades that were either impossible to sort with other XRFs or took minutes of testing time, such as 3003/3004/3005, cast 356 and 357, and 2014/2024, are just a few examples. You can now sort many similar Al grades economically.
Contaminant Phosphorus & Sulfur
The high-powered X-ray tube in the X-550 provides fast analysis of phosphorus (P) in copper and P and sulfur (S) in steels and stainless, allowing you to economically upgrade your copper and ferrous material based on low P and S levels. The X-550 is 3x faster on P and S than is the X-505 or competing XRFs. Faster testing times make upgrading material for low P and S more economical.
Tramp Elements
Scrap processing has moved beyond just grade sorting. Many consumers now demand analysis on tramp or residual elements in common steel, nickel and copper alloys. The X-505 is optimized for low detection limits on common tramp elements, including Cr, Ni, Cu, V, Nb, Mo in steels, Pb and Bi in nickel alloys, and various undesired elements in copper alloys.
- Mining
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Now available for exploration and ore grade control applications. The benefit of the X-550 for geochemistry is the fastest possible analysis on low atomic number elements in ore/soil samples, including Mg, P, S, Al, Si, Ca, and K. Contact us for details about our exploration apps for elemental analysis and pathfinder elements. SciAps XRF analyzers are utilized worldwide by many major exploration companies and mining laboratory services companies. Also available with compact test stand for closed-beam operation.
- Soil
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The X-550 may be equipped with apps for elemental analysis of environmental soils. The analysis package includes the 8 RCRA metals and 11 of the 12 EPA priority pollutant metals (excepting beryllium – use our LIBS for that). The X-505 complies with the long-standing EPA Method 6200.
- RoHS Applications
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The X-550 is available with our RoHS and Halogen-Free apps, offering fast, precise analysis of the RoHS elements Pb, Cd, Br, total Cr, and Hg, plus Cl for halogen-free requirements. The high-powered tube in the X-550 provides faster Cl analysis compared to the X-505.
- General Analytical
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Do you have a unique analytical application? The X-505 can be equipped with our Empirical App, allowing the user to set up unique beam conditions, define specific elements of interest, and create custom calibrations. For analytical requirements outside the realm of alloys, ores and polymers, the X-505 plus Empirical App offers complete flexibility for unique or proprietary analytical requirements.
A brief comparison: X-550 vs. X-505
What’s the difference between the premium X-550 and the high-performance X-505 models? The answer is simple: Speed on low atomic number elements such as Mg, Al, Si, P and S.
The X-550 runs at about 3x the X-ray power in the “Beam 2” setting (also known as the low voltage setting) compared to the X-505 or other handheld XRF analyzers. This means the measured intensities from Mg, Al, Si, P and S (plus K, Ca and Cl in other apps) are 3x higher, producing 3x faster measurements. A few common examples are shown below.
| Application | X-550 | X-505 | Comment |
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| Measure 0.3% Mg in aluminum alloy | 2 seconds | 7 seconds | E.g., sorting Al 356 from 357. |
| Measure 0.1% Si in steels | 6 seconds (1s Beam 1; 5s Beam 2) | 16 seconds (1s Beam 1; 15s Beam 2) | Sulfidic corrosion, requires Si > 0.1% in steels. |
| Measure P and S in steels or stainless | For a given concentration level, about 3x faster than X-505. | -- | Actual test times depend on the specific concentration level of P and S. |
| Analyze low atomic number elements in mining samples | Measures Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Ca and K 3x faster than X-505. | Measures these elements well, with comparable speeds to other high-end XRFs. | X-550 offers faster test times for major metals, sulfides and contaminant P. |
