Watson-Marlow peristaltic pumps prove a theft deterrent

The Alpha Dot System is a patented theft deterrent and property identification system which uses pinhead sized, polymer fibre microdots, each individually printed with a PIN unique to the customer, for marking cars, motor cycles and vehicle components manufactured for the UK by companies such as Suzuki, Jaguar cars, Iveco Ford, Scania Trucks.

After a number of years development work, when manufacturers Alpha Scientific Limited needed a means of accurately dispensing the highly viscous, adhesive lacquer in the production of the microdots, they chose a Watson-Marlow 500 Series peristaltic pump for the duty.

Alpha Dots are supplied in small, lipstick sized dispensers, each containing many hundreds of microdots suspended in the specially developed water-based adhesive lacquer. Using a small applicator brush, the microdots are "painted" on and fixed in place by the adhesive.

Each Alpha Dot dispenser is filled with a 4ml shot of adhesive through a pair of hand-held filler nozzles fed by the Watson-Marlow 505Di/L/LX pump. A high level of dosing accuracy is essential as too little adhesive could impair the efficiency of the system and over-filling would result in waste of the expensive adhesive, developed for the purpose by Alpha Scientific.

Managing Director Nicholas Dearsley says "When we chose the pump for our production facility, pinpoint accuracy was of course the first consideration, but we also wanted a pump that was simple to operate and utterly reliable. Since installation the Watson-Marlow 505Di/L has more than doubled our production".

More information on 500 series pump range.