At the end of the 80s, there was a real wake-up call in the HDPE production laboratories.

Technicians realized that the main system used for measuring the density of polymers had a big problem.

Indeed, there were at least two problems.

PROBLEM NUMBER ONE.

Gradient columns are unable to provide reliable results, they are unreliable and suffer from variations in the data provided, all due to: preparation and subjectivity of the operator; difficulty in keeping the gradient stable; measurement standards that are difficult to certify.

PROBLEM NUMBER TWO.

They are slow, both in preparation and in providing a result and this causes problems in terms of resources used. Yet the density of polymers has always been calculated like this.

So why make an effort to change this measurement method? That is because the standard of a gradient column is now inadequate to the demands of the industry.

Thus began the collaboration of Maurizio Ortelli with an important multinational from Rosignano.

What kind of request must we satisfy? A new instrument is needed - for all the group's laboratories around the world - capable of measuring the density of thermoplastic polymers in a way which should be:

- FAST, with a system that is immediately ready and easy to use

- RELIABLE, creating an automated analytical process

- SURE, using known values for mass, volume, temperature and polymer.

And it is here that Maurizio had a wake-up call.

What is Maurizio's idea?

His intuition is as simple as it is ambitious: to use the suitably modified hydrostatic thrust principle to upset the current measurement standard.

Then there was the need for a prototype capable of validating Maurizio's idea ..

The academic studies made by the founder of Ortelli Technologies were purely chemistry oriented.

So, although the project had implications of:

- physics and mechanics;

- electronics and information technology;

- optics and design (couldn’t be missed);

- mathematics and statistics;

Maurizio, with the support of his father - a great expert in mechanics, physics and electronics - learned necessary skills to build a complex enterprise like this.

After nine months of development, Maurizio completes a working tool.

What is so special about this device?

It uses an automated analytical process to detect the density of solids in an accurate, quick and reproducible way.

This breakthrough was made possible for one reason only:

Maurizio works in the present looking at an easier and more sustainable future; he dreams of a new world standard for measuring, automated and able to manage cutting-edge technologies.

And the prototype? It is truly amazing.

After the long development period, the first results exceed expectations: the prototype generated actual results in 4-5 minutes.

(None of this was possible for the gradient columns.)

In other words, both the accuracy of the hydrostatic thrust principle - applied to the measurement of solids’ density - and the fairness of the chosen reference values were demonstrated.

The reason?

He should have cleared up some controversial technical aspects of his prototype. Beyond the technical part, the more instinctive side of the human being was getting in the way of Mr. Ortelli.

The point was that his instrument, so fast and ready, gave different numbers than the old gradient columns.

WAIT...

So the data obtained with the old gradient method, were wrong?

No, but they were much more uncertain.

This seemed almost an outrage to professional experts analyzing thermoplastic (HDPE) samples.

Admitting to having provided inaccurate data for a long time is difficult, complex, stressful.

Think.

A lab manager might also recognize the superiority of a more precise system, but always will struggle to admit it, for two reasons.

- First, because he does not fully know the new method or its advantages 

-Second, because this puts his work into question, invalidating the results provided to this date.

So what happened?

In the Bruxelles laboratories scientists started to test the real reliability of the instrument - with technical discussions by Maurizio Ortelli to demonstrate the accuracy of his intuitions. Only after having cleared up every single doubt (always supported by numbers) Maurizio achieved his goal.

The new developed instrument carried out measurements with the necessary precision, reliability and speed.

The winds were blowing a change and innovation was finally within reach. In the early 90s this system, validated by the research center in Bruxelles, became the measurement method of the whole group, to be combined with the production of thermoplastic polymers (HDPE).

The gradient columns were gradually abandoned.

Why such a drastic change?

For some time there was the need to control the density of HDPE polymers in a constant and regular way during the production cycles.

We at Ortelli Technologies often repeat this:

The gradient column was (and is) the most popular system but today, another possibility exists.

Meeting the large demand from the multinational required a considerable effort.

At the beginning we produced - in an almost tailor-made way - an instrument called MVS2CE and we supplied it to the various offices that were reported to us from Brussels as "ready to start".

Maurizio Ortelli elaborated an industrialized version of the MVS2CE system; thus ORTELLI Technologies s.r.l. was funded starting the making of the current MVS2pro model.

Today we continue the revolution that began over 30 years ago, working on new standards for measuring the density of thermoplastic polymers.

How do we do it?

Thanks to Ortelli Density Cube, a cutting-edge tool that embodies a method which is:

- Automatic with results in just 120 seconds

- Reliable with measurement within 5 decimal places

- Exact and with certified values

We believe that a new world standard for measuring polymers makes the future easier and more sustainable.

This pushes us to challenge the state of things, to fight against the approximation and uncertainty of traditional systems.