Boisseuil, France · Designed and built in-house · Since 1999

Revealing the trace
the eye cannot see.

CRID designs and manufactures the cyanoacrylate fuming chambers used by the French Gendarmerie, the National Police, private laboratories and foreign police services to develop latent fingerprints on seized evidence.

1999Manufacturing since

3Chambers in the range

EN 60204-1Machinery compliance

< 0.3 ppmResidual after cycle

The three chambers

Three working volumes, one and the same process.

Same electronics, same three-phase cycle, same level of safety. The choice comes down to usable volume and to the loads you need to process.

F 2017 Mini CRID F 2017 Mini fuming chamber, door open

F 2017 Mini

Benchtop unit · 0.29 m³

The benchtop chamber for routine processing of evidence: handguns, phones, tools, packaging, rigid documents. Under a metre wide, it sits on a worktop or on its own stand.

External dimensions: 985 × 685 × 640 mm
Internal dimensions: 895 × 675 × 500 mm
Usable volume: 0.29 m³
Door opening: 885 × 475 mm
Power supply: 230–240 V AC · 50/60 Hz
Power draw: 450 W · 2 A

Permissible loads: 20 kg on the reinforced lower shelf, 5 kg on the upper shelf, 10 kg on the clip rail, 12 kg on hooks.
Drain the tank after every cycle; replace the probe filters every 10 cycles.
1 to 3 g of adhesive per cycle, depending on the surfaces being processed.

Humidity 30 minFuming 45 minPurge 50 min

F 2017

Large volume on castors · 0.53 m³

The tall chamber, for bulky evidence and batch processing: vehicle parts, large tools, clothing and suspended items, sets of exhibits spread across hooks, rails and shelves.

External dimensions: 1850 × 780 × 620 mm
Internal dimensions: 1200 × 800 × 500 mm
Usable volume: 0.53 m³
Door opening: 1200 × 600 mm
Power supply: 230–240 V AC · 50/60 Hz
Power draw: 450 W · 2 A

Permissible loads: 35 kg on the compartment floor, 20 kg on the reinforced lower shelf, 5 kg on the upper shelf, 10 kg on the clip rail, 12 kg on hooks.
Drain the tank every 3 cycles; the display prompts for probe filters, roughly every 20 cycles.
Supports supplied: perforated tray, repositionable hooks, ceiling grid for hanging items.

Humidity 30 minFuming 45 minPurge 50 min

F 2017 Large CRID F 2017 Large fuming chamber, door open, with a bicycle suspended inside

F 2017 Large

Extra-large volume · bulky items

The chamber for what cannot be taken apart: bicycles and motorcycles, car doors, furniture, luggage, whole batches of exhibits. Full-width glazed door, rails and hooks along the entire depth, removable floor grating.

Touchscreen control on the front panel, with phase indicators for fuming, humidity, ventilation and locking.
Cyanoacrylate reservoir reachable from the front, without opening the chamber.
Circulation and extraction built into the ceiling, interior lighting across the full width.
Frame on adjustable feet, levelling on uneven floors.

Dimensions, usable volume and permissible loads: full data sheet on request.

The processing cycle

Three phases in sequence, door locked throughout.

The door locks as soon as the cycle starts and only releases once the purge is over. The operator never opens a chamber still loaded with vapour.

Humidity 80 %30 min maximum

Fuming45 min maximum

Purge50 min maximum

Phase 1 — HumidityBring the air to 80 % RH

An internal tank evaporates clean water until relative humidity reaches 80 %. Allow 5 to 30 minutes depending on laboratory humidity and on the number and type of items in the chamber.

Phase 2 — FumingDeposit the polymer

The adhesive dish is heated to 120 °C; the cyanoacrylate evaporates and the polymer settles on the latent marks. In manual mode, a water syringe stops the fuming as soon as development is judged sufficient.

Phase 3 — PurgeClear the air before opening

The loaded air is water-filtered until it drops back below the safety threshold. After 40 minutes of extraction the residual concentration is under 0.3 ppm, the occupational exposure standard for cyanoacrylate.

Running a cycle

Automatic for routine work, manual for the difficult cases.

In automatic mode the operator picks one of three dose settings and launches the full cycle; exposure is programmable from 10 to 99 minutes. In manual mode each phase is triggered separately with a duration of the operator's choosing, and the purge can be extended in 10-minute steps.

Permanent display: humidity, plate temperature, elapsed and remaining time.
Front-panel indicators for door, fan and heating.
Works with cyanoacrylate adhesive and with Lumicyano (CST) — dose setting 3.
Maintenance menu: settings, probe calibration, usage counters, error messages.

Beyond the chamber

Cyclonia — fuming what will not fit in a chamber.

When the surface cannot be moved — a vehicle interior, a room, a fixed installation — Cyclonia takes the process to the scene. Two self-contained units, a remote probe and a Wi-Fi control tablet, all in a wheeled case.

Humidity unit: raises the air to 80 % RH, then filters the vapour at the end of the cycle.
Heating unit: cyanoacrylate evaporation at 140 °C, from 1 to 25 g depending on the volume treated.
Tablet control: device pairing, dose selection, cycle monitoring.
The same safety requirements: mandatory ventilation, PPE, residual below 0.3 ppm.

Developed friction ridge mark, ridges clearly legible under forensic light

Palm marks developed on a vehicle interior trim panel

Hand mark developed on a vehicle side window

Friction ridge mark developed on a seat belt buckle

Processing carried out on site inside a vehicle; marks observed under forensic light.

For public buyers

What you need to build the case file.

A single manufacturer, from the stainless steel shell to the electronics: parts, consumables, commissioning and after-sales service all come from the same workshop.

Compliance

EN 60204-1 and CE marking

Operated by trained staff, the equipment complies with EN 60204-1 and is built to the requirements of the European directives.

Metrology

One calibration a year

The machine is calibrated and set at the factory: no further adjustment on commissioning. A single annual calibration keeps it compliant.

Operator safety

Exposure under control

Door locked throughout the cycle, water filtration, residual below 0.3 ppm after 40 minutes of extraction — the value set by the 15-minute occupational exposure standard.

Installation

Commissioned by CRID

Delivery, installation and probe calibration are handled by the manufacturer. Connection to a socket protected by a 16 A – 30 mA breaker, with earthing.

In service

First-line maintenance

Probe filters and SH01 humidity probes can be replaced by the user, with no special tools. Consumables, accessories and spare parts supplied by CRID.

Training

Operators trained before use

Operating protocols, reagent hazards, PPE, chamber cleaning and waste disposal. A full instruction manual ships with every machine.

For your tender specification

Cyanoacrylate fuming chamber, manufactured in France.

Compliance          EN 60204-1 · European directives · CE marking
Power supply        230–240 V AC, 50/60 Hz — 450 W, 2 A
Connection        socket protected by a 16 A – 30 mA breaker, earthing mandatory
Usable volume        0.29 m³ (F 2017 Mini), 0.53 m³ (F 2017), F 2017 Large on request
Modes               automatic and manual
Humidity         preset to 80 % RH, automatic and manual
Evaporation         120 °C, dish on heating plate with injector
Exposure          programmable from 10 to 99 min in automatic mode
Extraction         40 min, water filtration
Residual            < 0.3 ppm after extraction (occupational exposure standard)
Safety            automatic door locking for the whole cycle
Display           chamber temperature and humidity, door-open indicator
Environment       laboratory at 16–24 °C and 40–65 % RH; inside/outside differential
                    limited to 4 °C and 20 % RH; start-up inhibited below 16 °C
Consumables        cyanoacrylate adhesive and Lumicyano (CST); aluminium dishes
Maintenance         annual calibration; probe filters and SH01 probe replaceable
Services         installation, commissioning, operator training and after-sales service
                    provided by the manufacturer

The company

Everything is designed and assembled in Haute-Vienne.

CRID has been based in the Haute-Vienne since 1 June 1999, today in Boisseuil on the edge of Limoges, under the direction of Sébastien Jouannaud. Manufacturing starts with the stainless steel enclosure and its fittings — glazing, door seals, heat source, fuming system, support rails, extraction of the recycled and neutralised product.

The electronics that drive the machine are developed in-house: thermostat, humidity control, automatic and manual fuming times, probe calibration, chamber locking. Commissioning and maintenance are carried out by CRID.

French Gendarmerie
French National Police
Private laboratories
Foreign police services

Stainless steel interior of a CRID chamber with rails, hooks and perforated tray — Stainless steel chamber — rails, hooks and perforated tray

Enquiries

Tell us what you need to process.

Volume of evidence, throughput, constraints of the room: those three points are enough to steer the choice between the three chambers. Detailed data sheet, declaration of conformity and references on request.

Call or write to us directly: you reach the manufacturer.

Address: 37, route de Poulenat
87220 Boisseuil — France
Telephone: +33 5 55 33 37 72
Mobile: +33 6 09 58 70 90
Email: contact@crid.fr
Managing director: Sébastien Jouannaud

Revealing the tracethe eye cannot see.