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Plastic manifoldsHave been produced by Carville since 1980. The first diffusion bonded acrylic manifold produced by Carville was for an IVD haematology application.
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Plastic ManifoldsPlastic manifolds can be used in wide range of micro fluidic applications. Carville are developing new manufacturing techniques to allow the production of low cost disposable manifold devices in volume.
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Plastic ManifoldsMay be larger to support multiple testing station applications. This 7 layer diffusion bonded acrylic manifold is capable of processing 12 samples at the same time.
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Plastic ManifoldsManifold produced in engineering grade plastics such as polysulphone are ideal for applications that require sterilisation between samples. Materials such as polysulphone may be autoclaved.
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Plastic ManifoldsMay be manufactured using different grades of Perspex acrylic. This manifold uses a combination of cast clear acrylic and high density opal acrylic to achieve a strong contrast between the manifold and the samples being processed.
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Plastic ManifoldsUtilise curved tracks to achieve smooth gas and liquid flow. These curved tracks reduce the possibility of sample hang up and turbulence that can result in sample bubbling.
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Plastic ManifoldsMay be produced in other engineering grade plastics such as polycarbonate, polysulphone and polyetherimide (Ultem). These materials may be preferred to accommodate the use of higher temperatures, aggressive chemistries and cleaning techniques.
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Plastic ManifoldsAre used in machines and other assemblies to support valves, regulators and control circuits. Plastic manifolds are used in both pneumatic and fluidic applications.
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Plastic ManifoldsDiffusion bonded cast acrylic manifolds are ideally suited to both fluidic and gas applications. Plastic manifolds can take on a variety of forms as demonstrated by these 12 and 32 sided bonded acrylic parts.
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Plastic ManifoldsAre used in medical and clinical diagnostic machines to process both reagents and samples. This manifold example is manufactured in cast clear acrylic. The inert properties of acrylic make it ideally suited for use in this haematology assembly for blood processing and testing.
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Plastic ManifoldsAre offered in engineering grade plastics such as Ultem. These engineering grade plastics allow manifolds to process more aggressive reagents and chemistries.
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Plastic Manifoldsproduced using cast clear acrylic can be manufactured in 3 axis. This 7 layer manifold successfully reduces the required footprint to allow the networking of multiple samples and reagents.
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    Plastic Manifolds

    Carville are a contract manufacturing company producing precision machined component parts in acrylic and other engineering grade plastics. While Carville produce a diverse range of components, bonded plastic manifolds are a key part of our business.

    Acrylic and other plastic manifolds provide a cost effective and reliable means of transporting or handling liquids and gases. They are ideally suited to applications were fluids must pass between a series of valves, reaction chambers, heater modules, etc.

    The majority of liquid handling manifolds produced by Carville are used in medical diagnostic, clinical chemistry and biotech fields. Due to the nature of these applications, it is essential that manifolds are produced without the risk of contamination.

    It is possible to machine and bond acrylic manifolds using conventional bonding methods. These techniques may include the use of solvent or polymerising cements. Unfortunately, these methods carry certain disadvantages including that of possible contamination.

    Unless otherwise specified by the end customer, manifolds produced by Carville are bonded using one of two techniques. These are:

    Diffusion Bonding

    Plastic diffusion bonding was developed by Carville in the 1960’s for the production of avionics panels for use in both civil and military aircraft cockpit displays.

    Materials are fully heat treated to remove internal stress before the joining process. After heat treatment, the materials are fused together to create a bond which is as strong as the original parent material.

    In addition to being very strong, Diffusion Bonded joints will remain stable over long periods of time. Unlike cemented joints, they will not discolour or shrink.

    HAB

    Carville HAB (High Accuracy Bonding) is an enhanced bonding technique developed by Carville in 2009.

    HAB allows manifolds be produced in acrylic and other engineering grade materials such as Polycarbonate (PC), Polysulphone (PSU) and Polyetherimide (PEI). Manifolds produced using these engineering grade plastics are more expensive than Carville’s traditional acrylic manifolds, however, they offer benefits such as higher operating temperatures and the ability to process more aggressive reagents and chemistries.

    HAB bonding is also used to produce manifolds for micro fluidic applications. Carville HAB manifolds can utilise track sizes down to 150um and are used in clinical diagnostics, research and other applications.