Capital Equipment

Ultrasonic welding has become the preferred joining method for many manufacturers as they realise the benefits of speed, precision and control which are characteristic of the process. As the range of applications has increased so too has the way the technology is used. Today’s ultrasonic welding systems take many forms, from simple hand held single sonotrode units to complex multi-sonotrode machines used to produce large assemblies.

Occupant safety in motor vehicles has become a major consideration, and increasingly an influencing factor for the car buyer. Today, we take it for granted that a vehicle will have a driver and passenger airbag as a minimum, however many vehicles now also have side impact airbags installed within seats or doors and even curtain airbags which deploy from the roof of the cabin. As individuals, we have now come to expect that in the event of a collision, each airbag will operate flawlessly to minimise the risk of injury, giving little if any thought to the processes used to produce these safety critical items.

In September 2006, Rofin-Baasel UK started supplying laser welding wire consumables to customers within the United Kingdom and Ireland who use the company’s lasers for injection mould tool repair, jewellery manufacturing and spectacle frame repair. At the time this may have been perceived as just a logical extension of Rofin’s philosophy of providing a total solution. However, the result for their customers has been a significant improvement in technical support, shorter delivery times and a reduction in price of over 50% in many cases.

Jet Edge’s patented Dual Pressure Valve greatly increases waterjet cutting productivity by allowing waterjet operators to control water pressure independent of the waterjet pump.

Gern Glas - Denmark’s largest manufacturer of sheet glass and mirrors – is adopting automation to give itself a competitive edge on pricing and to protect its volume business in both home and export markets. One of the company’s recent purchases, a Universal Robot, is certainly proving to be a shrewd investment. “This is a completely different kind of industrial robot which is inexpensive, mobile, easy to use and flexible,” explained Technical Manager Glenn Larsen. “The robot is mounted on a trolley so we can move it to wherever we can put it to best use. And we don’t have to pay expensive consultants to re-programme it for new tasks.”

They say that in order give up bad habits something positive must be put in their place. So it was at the Whitwell Works of Steetley Dolomite Ltd who quarries and produces magnesium limestone products for the steel, refractory and agricultural industries.

SKF has developed an innovative 3-in-1 dryer system that removes oil, contaminants and water from compressed air. The compact SFD (Separator Filter Dryer) system can treat a compressed air stream directly from the tank, eliminating the need for after coolers, additional external filters and other equipment, or alternatively be mounted on small air compressors or at the point of use. The SFD provides a reliable and versatile drying solution, able to accommodate a range of air system requirements and flow rates.

Heason Technology has launched a new low- cost modular actuator range for pick & place and sample dispensing in life science and other analytical equipment applications.

The latest addition to the Spectra family of industrial warning devices from E2S is a range of 100 and 110dB trumpet horns designed to provide effective penetrating low frequency buzzer sound. The tone is generated electronically, and all units incorporate a volume control. The Spectra trumpet horns are a low current solution that replaces the traditional electro-mechanical generator; they produce an identical sound with the increased reliability of an all-electronic solution. All models are protected to IP65, are suitable for use in almost any location and are ideal for use in general signalling, industrial automation and safety systems.

A new class of tube bending applications is made possible by the launch of all-electric benders for handling tubing diameters of up to 175 mm (7 inches), from the machine innovator Unison. The company's newly-extended all-electric tube bending machinery range brings the enormous process flexibility and business advantages of software-controlled set-up and bending to a large range of heavy-duty applications. Machines from the Unison Breeze family can now generate bending torques as high as 165,000 Nm/121,698 pound feet.