XRF Sample Cups — X-Ray Fluorescence Sample Cups

Primary uses

• Holds a liquid, powder or granular sample in a defined geometry in front of an XRF analyser window
• Presents the sample through a thin film with a repeatable path length
• Keeps the analyser chamber clean by containing the sample

Applications

• Elemental analysis of fuels, oils and process liquids by XRF
• Powder, ore and concentrate analysis in mining and metallurgical laboratories
• Cement, aggregate and construction-materials elemental testing
• Polymer and additive elemental screening

Advantages

• Presents a repeatable sample geometry, which is what makes routine XRF comparable between operators and days
• Contains the sample and keeps the analyser chamber clean, protecting an expensive instrument
• Standard diameters mean the same cup programme covers several analysers in a laboratory

Limitations to consider

• Cup diameter and open-end configuration are analyser-specific; mismatch shows up as drift rather than as an obvious failure
• Cups can leak or deform under vacuum or with aggressive samples, contaminating the chamber
• Film mounting technique varies between operators and is a real source of variance unless it is trained and documented
• Every numeric property — assay, purity, residual content, pore size, retention behaviour, ash content, extractables, thickness, capacity and dimensional tolerance — is a property of one manufactured item from one production line. Values are read from the manufacturer's own technical documentation for the exact item offered and confirmed at quotation, never quoted from a category page.
• A manufacturer declaration and a verified result are not the same thing. Declarations state what the manufacturer controls to; suitability inside your own method, matrix and instrument is established by your own verification. Where a result must stand up inside an accredited scope, plan that verification before the item enters routine use.

How to choose the right grade

• Start from the analyser and its sample holder, then select diameter and open-end configuration to match
• Choose single or double open-ended cups based on how the sample is loaded and whether venting is required
• Standardise the film-mounting method across operators, because that is usually a larger error source than the cup itself
• Once a consumable is inside a validated method, changing it has a cost: the change has to be justified, trialled and documented. Continuity of the identical item usually matters more than unit price, so state the incumbent item and the property that must be matched when a second source is being qualified.
• Buyers frequently search using the catalogue name of a manufacturer they already use. Those are third-party trademarks belonging to their owners and are never used as an Allzone product identity. Where an equivalent is being considered, equivalence is assessed against the two sets of documentation and confirmed by the laboratory's own verification.
• Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.

Typical grades

• Variant selection is made on the instrument, apparatus and test method rather than on a grade ladder
• Where a manufacturer operates distinct quality or cleanliness lines for the same item, the line is identified per offer
• Any declared property is read from the manufacturer documentation for the exact item offered, never assumed from a family name
• Regulatory listing, certification, food-contact status and any scheme approval belong to a specific item, facility and jurisdiction, and they change scope over time. State what your programme or customer requires at the enquiry stage so it is checked against current documentation for the offered item rather than assumed from a product name.
• These items are offered for industrial, food, feed, water, environmental and materials-testing work. Nothing here is offered, positioned or documented for medical, clinical, diagnostic or human-specimen use, and no such suitability is implied.