Freeze-drying equipment.

Illustrated presentation of a sophisticated research freeze-drying apparatus, fitted with many controls including a program controller. With this machine, it is possible to remove samples from any part of the chamber, at any time, without interfering with the freeze-drying process. By this ability to sample, the apparatus makes it possible to study, during the freeze-drying process, the influence on the dried product of many parameters and to reproduce in the chamber the same drying conditions offered by the production-scale machines. The figures include one of a production-scale machine, and a patented device for automatic loading and unloading of the freezers and the freeze-dryers.