Lloyd instruments has introduced a new five-blade version of the Kramer type shear cell for use with the Lloyd Instruments TAPlus texture analyser.
The new accessory is an alternative to the conventional ten-blade configuration and is designed for measuring the bulk shear and extrusion forces of meat, fruit, and cereals, especially where the samples have irregular shapes and sizes and forces expected are too high for the traditional ten-blade version.
The new Kramer type shear cell comprises five parallel steel blades, which are driven down through guide slots into a rectangular container with corresponding slots in the base.
The sample is sheared, compressed and extruded through the bottom openings.
Since the blades are set further apart than on the ten-blade version, there is a reduction in the force of bulk shearing or compression on samples with many particles or foods with non-uniform texture.
The new accessory operates from ambient temperature up to 100C with a maximum capacity of 102kgf and a minimum load cell of 10.2kgf.
It is fitted with a spill container, which can also be used with the ten-blade version.
The use of the latest Nexygenplus V2.0 materials test and control software with the TAPlus texture analyser allows testing to be fully automated and complete texture profile analysis to be performed.
