Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Inna Mishanina]

Good day, everyone!
Could you, please, give me a clue what this word, hardware, means down there:

Fluorodyne II grade DFL filter capsules with an ‘S’ designation in the part number are supplied
pre-sterilized. Following manufacture, sterilization is achieved by gamma irradiation using a
minimum dose of 25 kGy (maximum dose 50 kGy). These conditions ensure a minimum Sterility
Assurance Level of 10-6. The sterilization process is validated and routinely controlled in
compliance with the following standards:
..................then references to the standards...............and then that paragraph:
Fluorodyne II grade DFL filter capsules with a ‘G’ designation in the part number may be
gamma irradiated by the user. The ‘G’ option products have identical structures to the ‘S’
option capsules, and both are manufactured using the same gamma-tolerant hardware. The ‘G’
option product is designed for gamma irradiation by the user, with doses up to 50 kGy.
I can actually understand that the hardware of a computer is all the parts we can physically touch, as opposed to the software, which we cannot. But here I have some doubts: since we are speaking of filters, does it mean the materials the filter is made of, or the machinery used for its manufacturing? I tend to support the first idea, but do not really know. I'm totally confused:-(
And I would also like some native speaker so say if this text was written by a native speaker, because since I'm not one and since I'm used to working with texts written by non-natives as well, once I face some ambiguous phrases or terms they always make me confused trying to understand the meaning, because the non-native author might have been mistaken in using this term as well...Sorry for talking too much, I must sound puzzling
P.S. Actually this is a publication of Pall Corporation, which must be American, but since it's international, I still want to be sure whether it was written by a native or not...Thank you for reading:-)

[Lorikeet]

It sounds to me like it was written by a native speaker; that is, I didn't notice any particular errors, although the subject matter is totally out of my knowledge base and I pretty much have no idea what it's for. I'd say the "hardware" is the machinery used to manufacture it, because it says both items are manufactured using the same hardware.

[Inna Mishanina]

Thank you very much, I think I will follow your choise).