5596 SP-1 Tuttnauer 55 Compact Series Autoclave

The Tuttnauer 5596 SP-1 autoclave is designed to cover a large field of applications for hospitals and medical centers as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries.

The autoclave operates with saturated steam as the sterilizing agent, and has a temperature range of up to 137 C (279° F) and pressure up to 2.3 bar (34 psi). The autoclave is made of a stainless steel, double-walled structure.

The autoclave is equipped with one manual door, provided with a locking mechanism, activated by the steam pressure inside the chamber, preventing the opening of the doors when the chamber is pressurized.

The autoclave has an automatic shutdown system. If no buttons or switches are pressed for four hours, it will go into stand-by mode and a led lights up (blinking every second), indicating that the system has gone into stand-by mode.

Twelve sterilization programs are available four for unwrapped instruments (gravity), four for wrapped instruments (vacuum) and packages, and four for slow pressure exhaust.

Two test programs are also available, the VACUUM TEST for checking the tightness of the chamber and piping system and the BOWIE DICK test enabling to check the efficiency of the sterilization process.

The control system of the sterilizer is based on "State-of-the-Art" microcomputer technology, ensuring a highly reliable and safe operation. The computerized control unit ensures a fully automatic operation through the entire cycle. Hence, after setting the pre-selected parameters and starting the operation, no further intervention is necessary.

This autoclave is equipped with automatic utilities shut down or power off parameter that can be programmed by the user (see par 4.3.3 System Set-Up).

The selected program, the main phases of the cycle, and the status of the machine are controlled and displayed on digital readouts. For process documentation, the important information concerning operation is printed in hard copy.

The system is equipped with two temperature sensors, two pressure transducers having the following functions:
• The temperature sensors: the condense temperature (control, monitoring and printout) and the drain temperature (control).
• The pressure transducers: the chamber pressure (control, monitoring and printout) and the jacket pressure (control and monitoring).
• Two pressure gauges indicate the pressure in the jacket and in the chamber.

A programming mode, which can be accessed by a code, enables the technician to set a number of additional parameters and operation modes. The keyboard located on the front panel enables the operator to start and stop the cycle.

Optionally, a personal computer can be connected to the control system, through the interface board RS232, which can be operated 8 meters away from the autoclave. The PC, operating under WINDOWS displays the status, data and processing in real time in graphic and digital form at the same time recording and logging the data.

The communication PC-control unit enables the complete control of the autoclave through the PC, including program selection, starting and stopping the cycle, setting of parameters and the real time clock (data and time of the day).