ETHOS DESIGN FEATURES

Construction and Safety

The ETHOS is the most rugged closed vessel microwave system available. Unlike other systems that are designed around an open steel frame inside a molded plastic cabinet, the ETHOS features an 18/8 stainless steel cavity surrounded by a cabinet of solid 18/8 stainless steel, fitted with a heavy duty, spring mounted door for optimum operator safety and long operating lifetime. The door and cavity have a multi-layer PTFE plasma coating, applied at 350 °C, with a 5 year warranty against corrosion. Unlike other systems, the user control electronics and user display have been moved out of the mainframe into a separate control module, protecting them from corrosion caused by acid vapor.

The ETHOS is constructed with a self-sealing, all stainless steel door, which is mounted on spring-loaded high impact steel bars on both sides of the mainframe. Although Milestone’s unique vent-and-reseal vessels and unmatched cavity volume means that a sudden over-pressurization of the cavity itself is extremely unlikely, should it occur, the self-sealing door will release pressure via its spring mounts and instantly reseal, protecting the operator. No other manufacturer offers a self-sealing door: other designs rely on simple latches housed in plastic to hold the door closed under normal operation.

With a redesigned cavity of over 70 liters, the ETHOS is capable of accommodating larger rotors to improve productivity and throughput. The SK-15, MAXI-24 HP and MAXI-44 rotors provide high pressure and high throughput capabilities. The larger cavity is inherently much safer since a larger volume can better contain any gases escaping from vessels in the event of a sudden over-pressurization.

The ETHOS UP is equipped with SafeVIEW, a high definition digital camera interfaced with the instrument terminal. It enables observation of the digestion while fully protected by the all-stainless steel door of the instrument. The terminal displays the video of the entire run in real time alongside the digestion parameters.

Additional Features

Power source for microwave digestion systemThe ETHOS features powerful dual magnetrons combined with all new rotors, allowing for digestion of the toughest samples. The dual 950-watt magnetrons are capable of outputting a total of 1900 watts. This makes the UP the most powerful microwave digestion system on the market.

Additionally, the system employs a rotating diffuser that uniformly distributes microwaves throughout the cavity. As a result, samples are heated evenly, resulting in complete, reproducible sample digestions.