A leading life science company sought a more effective method to ensure the cleanliness and dryness of its reusable containers before filling them with highly reactive chemicals. Any residual moisture can lead to hazardous chemical reactions, including fire. While the client had cleaning and drying processes in place, it lacked a method to verify and document their reliability.
The client and its process partner, Infinity High Purity Systems, identified the need for a headspace gas analyzer system but required a controls and integration partner to implement it. Having worked together on previous facility projects, Infinity brought in ACS for its controls expertise and ability to lead complex system integrations, crucial for chemical manufacturing automation. This partnership proved crucial for successful industrial controls integration. The vision was to implement a robust, reliable headspace gas analyzer solution.
Since the initial project, the life science company has commissioned three more gas analyzers, which ACS and Infinity have provided with some design upgrades, further solidifying the need for expert industrial controls integration across their facilities for chemical manufacturing automation.
ACS led the facility and systems integration, developing the controls, data acquisition, and equipment casing for the first analyzer unit. Infinity designed and executed all mechanical systems of the test equipment. The core of this system’s validation is its headspace gas analyzer capabilities, ensuring precise analysis.
The gas analyzer performs a multistep validation process that includes a vacuum system function test, Residual Gas Analyzer (RGA) function check, calibration validation, and final sampling of container headspace gases to verify cleanliness and dryness.
As experts in high-purity vacuum systems, Infinity provided ACS with specifications for the necessary system interlocks to protect sensitive equipment from uncontrolled reactions. ACS implemented the interlocks in the control system, ensuring that the process could only proceed once safe operating conditions are met, highlighting the robust industrial controls integration with chemical manufacturing automation. This level of industrial controls integration was paramount for safety
The ACS-designed control and data acquisition system, which includes the functionality of a residual gas analyzer, verifies container readiness and quantifies moisture and impurities across container sizes. The reports generated by the DAQ system provide the manufacturer with data that satisfy both internal QA and external compliance needs, made possible by the accurate residual gas analyzer readings.
While future units have the same core functionality, ACS refined the design to improve reliability and serviceability. Over time, certain hardware components became obsolete, prompting ACS to redesign the control enclosure layout with easier front-side access and more standard, off-the-shelf replacements for items like monitors and keyboards. These updates reduce future maintenance costs and improve long-term usability of the headspace gas analyzer units. The improved design also simplified future industrial controls integration efforts.
The original design allows the client to connect the analyzer to both an existing oven and the facility’s nitrogen supply. ACS developed the control system using a PLC-based platform with an NI™ LabVIEW front end to integrate Infinity’s mechanical systems.
A later unit was delivered using the same proven mechanical and controls architecture. This time, ACS and Infinity also supplied the oven, engineered for sectioned shipping and assembled onsite to meet cleanroom constraints. ACS reused the existing system logic with only minor modifications, allowing the client to avoid additional engineering costs.
Nearly a decade after the first system was delivered, all four analyzers remain in active use, two in the original cleanroom and two in a separate facility supporting another business division. The systems have proven versatile across a range of container sizes and chemicals, including those that react violently with moisture. Each unit delivers consistent, documented assurance that containers are clean, dry, and ready for use, significantly reducing operational risks.
ACS introduced targeted updates only when components became obsolete or maintenance enhancements were possible. This approach minimizes engineering costs and shortens timelines, enabling the client to scale a proven solution across its operations.
The project’s success also reflects the strength of the ACS–Infinity High Purity Systems partnership, which is based on shared values of quality, customer satisfaction, and trust built on years of collaboration. Together, the teams moved efficiently from concept to implementation in each iteration.
Investing in well-engineered equipment and in partners who stand behind their work has delivered lasting technical, operational, and financial value for the life science company.