Alicat® Scientific of Tucson, Arizona, a mass flow and pressure control instrumentation manufacturer, announces FusionFlow™, a family of gas blending systems for industrial gas mixing or mixing of gases for laboratories. A FusionFlow user can create their own precision‑mixed gases on the fly or eliminate the waste of buying a full bottle of a rarely used mix.
Left: Alicat FusionFlow MXM lab gas mixer. Right: Alicat FusionFlow IXM industrial gas mixer. Image Credit: Alicat Scientific, ©2025
To achieve the highest precision and flexibility for the gas mixing process, the FusionFlow lines of gas mixers incorporate Alicat's multivariate and multi‑gas compatible mass flow controllers. Their high accuracy and rapid control speed permit extensive tailoring of the mixtures, in both pressure control and quantification of flow. The mixing system takes full advantage of a unique strength of Alicat instruments: they can control mass flow rate, or control pressure while metering mass flow. Meaning the gas mixers can blend to obtain a fixed flow rate, or blend while maintaining a precise pressure. With an Alicat MFC's flexibility in flowing different gases, up to 49 gases can be selected in the FusionFlow gas mixer, changing gas species at need without recalibrating mass flow controllers or stocking inventory.
Salman Daud, Alicat Scientific's Vice President of Sales said, "FusionFlow products show thoughtful attention in all areas. The system can even account for the volume of plumbing, estimating when a new mix is reaching the customer's process. The software itself is informative, graphical, and easy to use. You see the effect whether you're changing gas sources or remotely entering a script for an evolving process. FusionFlow products exemplify Alicat's approach to optimizing products for the customer's best experience and efficiency."
All the MXM models feature touch‑screen interfaces to program gas sources, fill rates, blend proportions, dispensing totals, and pressure setpoints. Scripting can automate changes to blends on the fly, and logically respond to events. Data logging keeps track of outputs over time, and internet connectivity permits remote programming and monitoring of the gas mixers.
Available configurations include self‑contained benchtop models that incorporate up to 6 mass flow controllers within the unit housing. These MFCs can supply mixing from 100 sccm full scale to 100 SLPM full scale, per channel. This interplay can produce highly rarified trace gas mixes.
Other configurations support external controllers and up to 10 sources, running at potentially higher flow ranges. Alicat's mass flow controllers can flow up to 12,000 SLPM per channel, permitting cumulative rate of mixed gas flows up to 100,000 SLPM from a single FusionFlow unit—performing as an industrial gas mixer.
The FusionFlow product lines add a new dimension to Alicat's diversified technologies—Alicat now offers precision gas blending systems.