Mobile gas analyser turns 25 - Oxybaby® better than ever

28.06.2017

The mobile O2/CO2 gas analyser Oxybaby® from Witt-Gasetechnik is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. The handy helper for testing modified atmosphere packaging is one the biggest selling residual oxygen analysers in the food industry: The way quality inspectors work in the food sector has also been transformed with the evolution of this measuring instrument.

Measuring results in six seconds, from just a 2 ml gas sample, display of the O2 value in 0.01% increments, durable oxygen sensor – the values of the current model 6.0 make the Oxybaby® one of the most powerful sample gas analysers available on the market. Not surprising – because each generation of this device has been pioneering within the sector for the last 25 years.

Witt Managing Director Martin Bender, the "father" of the gas analyser, remembers the very beginning when looking at the drawings of the first generation Oxybaby® -  from 1992: "At that time, modified atmosphere packaging was a relatively young technology. The random measurement of food packaging for quality assurance was still in its beginnings" he explains. "The existing instruments were awkward to use and not very sophisticated technologically. With the development of the Oxybaby®, we were able to fill a timely niche."

The crucial difference to other products on the market: From as early as the second generation, the Oxybaby® had an integrated pump used to extract a gas sample from the packaging at the press of a button. This innovation enables the single-handed operation still in use today and makes the testing process faster: "This unique selling proposition made the work of quality inspectors much, much easier and was the start of a success story,“ explains Bender.

Modified atmosphere packaging is widespread today. The inspection of gas composition in food packaging has become standard in quality assurance throughout the world, the Oxybaby® long having become established as the standard solution for this application.

This has been made possible thanks to ongoing development in operation, design and functionality. Even though it was only possible to determine the residual oxygen content to begin with, measurement of CO2 content along with determination of the gas pressure in the packaging is nowadays a matter of course.

Just like at the start, Witt has always had the user's benefit in mind. Numerous direct suggestions by customers were incorporated in the development, making the Oxybaby® even more practical: The measuring times have been continuously reduced and the measuring gas minimised, thus enabling even the analysis of the smallest packages such as coffee capsules.

Another major advantage that is popular with users: The pump responds automatically to any blockages in the needle or filter and adjusts the output so that a correct measurement is ensured despite this. A warning message indicates any serious blockages.

The measurement can also be assigned to different product lines, products and users. The memory capacity has been increased to several hundred entries, with export functions and interfaces having been extended – important functions for complete documentation and certification. The integration of a barcode reader for even faster operation or actuation of a printer via Bluetooth is also possible.

Yet it is not only the food industry where you can find the Oxybaby®. Special variants such as the Oxybaby® Med for use in hospitals or the Oxybaby® P for testing gas supply lines have extended the application fields of the practical gas analyser in recent years.

"The Oxybaby® will remain one of our core products in the future too", states Martin Bender. "It's well known and successful in the market. The last 25 years have shown that such a product will continue to be refined. So you can look forward to exciting and useful new features for the user with the next generations of Oxybaby®."

 

OXYBABY® /Mobile gas analysers

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