When our company president Mr. Furukawa was approached by Chichibu Onoda Cement Company in 1996 with a proposal to acquire their viscosity instrument business, he immediately realized that not only the instrument itself had great potential, but also that the technology had synergy with our precision balance know-how and magnetic force restoration technology. He knew at once that by applying A&D’s expertise the manufacturing cost could be drastically reduced. At the same time, Mr. Furukawa appreciated the technological break-through in accuracy and ease-of-use that this tuning fork technology represented. The only drawback was the high manufacturing costs, which until then had made it prohibitive to spread the popularity of the instrument.

This instrument had been specifically developed to measure the viscosity of cement solutions, which they found it difficult to do with conventional viscometers. It employed vibrating tuning fork technology for the first time in the industry and incorporated some unique features. However, after having marketed it for some years, Chichibu Onoda Cement Company realized this business had little to do with their main cement business, and led to other problems including not having the appropriate sales channels for the instrument.

It took us a lot longer time than we anticipated before we succeeded in producing A&D’s version of the viscometer incorporating tuning fork technology, as the more we learned about the requirements from the market, the more stringent demands we came to have for the performance and costs constraints for our version. The cost requirement was clear and straightforward; that is, it had to be competitive with the price of the conventional or rotating type.

To our surprise we learned that the viscosity measurement field had seen little or no innovation, and had survived with rather crude measurement methods like capillary, cup and drop, etc., which are very intuitive or qualitative just enough to classify the material into several categories. The rotating method seemed to be the only existing viable method that gave quantitative results for a limited measurement range and accuracy, unless some high priced rheology instruments were used. We were amazed to encounter an industry where the same technologies had survived almost unchanged for half a century; however, we quickly learned that this was not necessarily a case of technology exceeding market needs. On the contrary, we came across a number of end-users that were suffering from a lack of analytical and reliable data especially in the low viscosity measurement area. We also found that an even greater number of on-going users were enduring inconsistent measurement results attributable to difficulties in maintaining the instrument in the properly calibrated status and in properly setting the rotating spindles, among other reasons. With the emerging nano or semiconductor industries, the researchers in the front line were long awaiting an instrument that could fulfill the emerging demands.

The tuning fork, as it forms a complete self-contained system, keeps vibrating indefinitely, or longer than any other vibrating mechanism at a resonant frequency. This means that it works as a very sensitive detector of external disturbances. If you hold the stem of a tuning fork, for instance, you hardly feel any vibration as the two vibrating elements are vibrating in the opposite direction to each other, or at a 180 degree phase difference. You can compare this to holding the stem of a rotor. In this case you have to apply a force to the stem to counter the rotating moment arising from the rotor, which becomes a source of dissipating energy. This means a smaller change in force can be detected by the tuning fork compared with the rotating method. By having it vibrating at as low and resonant a frequency as 30 Hz, it becomes even more sensitive. Roughly speaking, the tuning fork sensor is 100 times more sensitive than the rotating type.

The outstanding specifications of 0.01mPaS resolution from 0.3mPaS through 10,000mPaS with continuous measurement, plus a 1% repeatability of reading, have been made a reality with the SV-10. (One should note the difference in the repeatability. Ours defines it against each reading while a typical rotating type defines it against full scale. This makes a vast difference when it comes to measuring materials of low viscosity.)

The SV-10, New Viscometer of Sine-wave Tuning Fork Technology introduces a paradigm shift in terms of measuring viscosity or testing liquids. One can now work with an infinitely improved level of accuracy, ease-of-use, ease-of-maintaining its accuracy, and real time measurement capability. The machine is as easy to use as a digital weighing scale is. No longer are special skills required for handling the instrument! Even its re-calibration is simple and easy. It can be done by a press of a button with the standard liquids you have, just like any precision weighing balance can be re-calibrated with the standard mass you have .

We are fully aware of the fact that industrial standards in viscosity measurement have been built around the pre-existing methods, or more precisely, certain brands or types of equipment (since the viscosity measurement results depend on the method one employs). In other words, the standards are method dependent rather than performance dependent. It is similar to saying the material has to weigh 5 gram +/-1% when measured by a spring scale of 10 gram capacity, instead of simply specifying the material has to be 5 gram +/-1% period.

It will take time and require pioneering and education before this new method becomes accepted by the industry. Currently it is so commonly accepted to say, “It is such and such viscosity when measured by Ford cup”, or, “It has to be below such and such viscosity when measured by Rotating viscometer”. Most of the quality control measures have to be rewritten when one deploys a different method of measurement, thus we may be heading for stone walls. At the very least, we have to be prepared to do a great amount of ground work on all fronts.

However, at the same time we know there are so many customers that have been longing for someone to invent an instrument such as this. No one can dispute that it offers great price performance as well, and it should be considered a best buy as it comes with a temperature sensor, WinCT-Viscometer software, digital data output and all the necessary accessories so that you can start measuring right after you unpack it. We know that people working at cutting edge technologies will immediately snatch up this instrument, not merely because they appreciate our technology, but because it is simple, fast, accurate and economical, and will make their work a lot easier. Even if the SV-10 alone is not going to be the single means of revolutionizing viscometer measurement, it will nevertheless bring an irreversible change in the way people work when measuring viscosity in the laboratories once they start using it. It offers all the aspects that have driven industry for the past few decades, that is, faster, smaller (easier), and cheaper. I believe that even if it does not transform the way we measure viscosity by itself, the SV-10 will nevertheless be a landmark in the viscosity measurement field and will initiate a series of innovations to further meet the demands of the 21st Century.