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

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.