Accelerated Sieving Workflows with the Ultrasonic Sieve Shaker
The Hielscher UP200TS ultrasonic sieve shaker dramatically improves the screening, fractionation and particle-size analysis of fine powders, wet powders and slurries in laboratory and small-scale production environments. An ultrasonic ring is installed between standard laboratory sieves or analytical test sieves, transmitting high-frequency oscillations through the entire sieve stack. This activates the metal wire mesh across its complete usable surface – from centre to edge – without causing mesh overstretching.
Improve Particle-Size Analysis, Fractionation and Quality Control with Ultrasonic Mesh Activation
The additional high-frequency excitation of ultrasonic sieve shaking prevents fine particles from lodging inside the apertures. It is particularly effective when conventional sieve shaking is limited by mesh blinding, agglomeration, static charging, cohesive powder behavior or particles whose dimensions are close to the nominal mesh opening. The Hielscher ultrasonic sieve system can be used as a stand-alone sieve actuator or combined with a conventional mechanical sieve shaker for enhanced performance.
Speed up your Analytical Sieving Process with Ultrasonic Sieve Shakers!
Ultrasonic sieve shaker with stacked sieves
Why Choose Ultrasonic Sieving?
Ultrasonic sieve agitation delivers measurable advantages for laboratory analysis, process development and small-scale continuous screening:
- Reduced mesh blinding: Fine metal wire apertures stay open longer, maintaining consistent material flow
- Faster particle passage: Correctly sized particles pass through the sieve more efficiently
- Better agglomerate breakup: Soft clusters are disrupted without aggressive mechanical action
- Full-surface activation: The entire sieve surface, including outer areas, is utilized for screening
- Repeatable results: More consistent particle-size separation and reproducible sieve analysis
- Less manual intervention: Reduced need for brushing, tapping or stopping for mesh cleaning
- Lower abrasion: Gentle vertical excitation minimizes wear on both sample and sieve cloth
- Extended sieve life: Longer usable mesh lifespan reduces replacement costs
- Higher sample loading: Fine analytical sieves can handle larger quantities without blinding
- Adjustable intensity: Ultrasonic output can be tuned to different powders and mesh sizes
- Timer and interval operation: Fully reproducible test procedures for quality control
- Versatile operation: Compatible with dry sieving, wet sieving and continuous slurry screening
Improve powder screening with the ultrasonic sieve shaker UP200TS
Dry Sieving, Wet Sieving and Continuous Screening
The UP200TS supports three distinct screening modes, each optimized for different material characteristics and analytical requirements.
| Dry Sieving | Wet Sieving | Continuous Screening |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional particle-size analysis for free-flowing powders. Ultrasonic mesh activation prevents blinding and ensures accurate fractionation without liquid assistance. | For materials that cannot be screened reliably in a dry state, a liquid assists the transport of fine particles through the mesh and reduces cohesive forces between particles. Ultrasonic mesh activation helps maintain open apertures while a suspension or slurry passes through the sieve. | The UP200TS can be operated continuously for removing oversized particles, agglomerates or process contamination from a powder or liquid stream. Adjustable ultrasonic intensity allows the operator to match sieve excitation to the material, sieve diameter, mesh size and desired throughput. |
Compatible Laboratory Sieves and Sizes
The Hielscher ultrasonic sieve shaker is designed for laboratory test sieves with metal wire cloth. It can be configured for individual analytical sieves or complete sieve stacks, and is available for a wide range of frame diameters:
| Sieve Diameter | Common Designation |
|---|---|
| 50 mm | Small laboratory sieves |
| 75 mm | 3-inch test sieves |
| 100 mm | Analytical sieves |
| 150 mm | 6-inch sieves |
| 200 mm / 203 mm | 8-inch sieves |
| 250 mm | 10-inch sieves |
| 300 mm / 305 mm | 12-inch sieves |
The UP200TS ultrasonic sieve shaker is available for 100, 150, 200, 203.5 and 305 mm sieves, with additional and custom sizes available. The system can therefore be adapted to laboratory sieve brands and sieve stacks already in use.
Electric and pneumatic sieving machines can be easily combined with the ultrasonic sieve shaker.
Ultrasonic Sieve Shaker UP200TS: Industries and Typical Applications
Hielscher ultrasonic sieve shakers support laboratory testing, quality control, formulation development and process monitoring across a broad spectrum of industries:
- Pharmaceutical Powders, APIs and Excipients
- Food Ingredients, Flour, Spices and Protein Powders
- Metal Powders and Additive Manufacturing Feedstocks
- Pigments, Paint Powders and Powder Coatings
- Battery Materials and Electrode Powders
- Ceramic, Glass and Refractory Powders
- Cement, Minerals and Construction Materials
- Chemicals, Catalysts and Fertilizers
- Soil, Sediment and Environmental Samples
- Wet Sieving, Slurry Screening and Continuous Fine Screening
Test Your Material with the Hielscher UP200TS
The optimum ultrasonic sieve configuration depends on the material, particle-size distribution, sieve diameter, aperture, sample quantity and whether the process is dry, wet or continuous.
For a technical evaluation and configuration recommendations, please tell us:
- Material or powder description
- Required sieve diameter
- Aperture in µm or mesh size
- Number of sieves in the stack
- Typical sample quantity
- Dry, wet or continuous operation
- Desired fractions or cut size
- Existing sieve shaker and sieve manufacturer
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the UP200TS Ultrasonic Sieve Shaker work?
The UP200TS uses an ultrasonic ring installed between standard laboratory sieves. When activated, the ring generates high-frequency oscillations that travel through the entire sieve stack, vibrating the metal wire mesh at ultrasonic frequencies. These rapid, low-amplitude vibrations keep sieve apertures open by preventing fine particles from lodging inside them. The result is faster, more consistent particle-size analysis with minimal mesh blinding or sample degradation.
Can the UP200TS Be Used with my existing sieves?
Yes. The UP200TS is designed to integrate with standard laboratory sieves and sieve stacks already in use. The system can be configured for individual analytical sieves or complete sieve stacks, and is available for a wide range of frame diameters from 50 mm up to 305 mm. Hielscher can adapt the ultrasonic ring to match your existing sieve brands and stack configurations.
What is the difference between dry sieving and wet sieving?
Dry sieving is the conventional particle-size analysis method for free-flowing powders. The sample is placed on the sieve, and mechanical or ultrasonic agitation allows particles smaller than the aperture to pass through.
Wet sieving involves dispersing the sample in a suitable liquid before screening. This method is particularly useful for cohesive, hygroscopic or electrostatic powders that agglomerate in dry conditions. The liquid assists particle transport through the mesh while ultrasonic excitation helps prevent aperture blockage. Wet sieving is commonly used for ceramic slurries, pigment suspensions, mineral samples, food ingredients and other materials that benefit from liquid-assisted separation.
Can the UP200TS be used for continuous screening?
Yes. In addition to batch screening, the UP200TS can operate continuously to remove lumps, agglomerates or foreign particles from a flowing powder or slurry stream. Adjustable ultrasonic intensity enables optimisation for the selected mesh size, liquid viscosity, solids loading and required separation rate. This makes the system suitable for small-scale production monitoring and quality control applications.
Can the UP200TS be used with a conventional mechanical sieve shaker?
Yes. The UP200TS can function as a stand-alone sieve actuator or be combined with a conventional mechanical sieve shaker. When used together, the mechanical shaker provides bulk motion while the ultrasonic ring maintains aperture openness – delivering faster and more consistent results than either method alone.
Is the Ultrasonic Sieve Shaker compatible with ASTM E 11-95?
Yes. ASTM E11-95 specifies the wire cloth, sieve dimensions, construction, and conformity checks; it does not prescribe the shaking mechanism. Therefore, an ultrasonic shaker can use ASTM E11-95-compliant sieves without inherently violating E11-95.
What mesh apertures can the ultrasonic sieve shaker UP200TS handle?
The UP200TS is designed for fine screening applications with nominal apertures ranging from approximately 500 µm down to 20 µm. Below is the approximate correspondence between aperture size and mesh designation:
| Aperture | Approximate Mesh Designation |
|---|---|
| 500 µm | 35 mesh |
| 425 µm | 40 mesh |
| 300 µm | 50 mesh |
| 250 µm | 60 mesh |
| 180 µm | 80 mesh |
| 150 µm | 100 mesh |
| 125 µm | 120 mesh |
| 106 µm | 140 mesh |
| 90 µm | 170 mesh |
| 75 µm | 200 mesh |
| 63 µm | 230 mesh |
| 53 µm | 270 mesh |
| 45 µm | 325 mesh |
| 38 µm | 400 mesh |
| 25 µm | 500 mesh |
| 20 µm | 635 mesh |
Literature / References
- FactSheet Ultrasonic Sieve Shaker UP200TS – Hielscher Ultrasonics – English
- FactSheet Ultraschall-Siebsystem UP200TS – Hielscher Ultrasonics – Deutsch
- Brncic, Mladen; Ines, Bradač; Tripalo, Branko; Ježek, Damir; Obradović, Valentina; Sven, Karlović; Bosiljkov, Tomislav (2009): Ultrasonically Improved Sieving of Food Materials for Manufacturing of Direct Expanded Extrudates. Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus (ACS) 74, 2009.
- Xu R., Hong J., Morse C.L., Pike V.W. (2010): Synthesis, structure-affinity relationships, and radiolabeling of selective high-affinity 5-HT4 receptor ligands as prospective imaging probes for positron emission tomography. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry Oct 14;53(19), 2010. 7035-7047.
- An, Y., Kim, K., Lee, YJ. et al. (2026): Binding properties of sulfur to enable solvent-free fabrication of high-performance polymer-free sulfur-carbon positive electrodes. Nature Communications 17, 2360 (2026).
Hielscher Ultrasonics manufactures high-performance ultrasonic homogenizers from lab to industrial size.