Mechanical Components

Among the more than 25,000 standard springs in their new Centenary Catalogue, with some 8,500 standard compression springs, Lee Spring have announced it is also including a range of standard DIN specification compression springs to meet the needs of UK manufacturing and service/maintenance companies.

Engineering components and parts manufacturer, WDS Component Parts has extended its range of gas struts with new stroke lengths and options. The company can provide standard gas struts by overnight delivery or work with customers to develop bespoke units that perfectly match their application needs. The extended range now offers stroke lengths between 20-500mm. 

Two-wheel motorsport has a whole range of different vehicle classes; down to single-cylinder machines. The limited engine power of these bikes is not a disadvantage, if the weight - namely, the mass to be accelerated - is also reduced considerably. Here, plastic bearings make an important contribution.

Extending its hinge range, WDS Component Parts has introduced new locking lever hinges. These are typically for use with aluminium profile space-frames, but are expected to also find a wide range of other applications. Developed from a standard hinge, the new products have extra capability built into them because the usual hinge pin is replaced by a bolt with an indexing clamping lever. This enables the hinge to be locked into any desired position, fully open, fully closed or partially open, simply by pulling and twisting the handle to secure the hinge.

Many machines are completely reliant upon chains for their operation, so it makes sense to use the best chain possible and to get specialist advice when specifying a new or replacement chain. Here, Derek Mack, UK Sales Director for Tsubaki explains how a custom solution will often provide the best fit and deliver total cost of ownership savings.

In order to prevent cable management systems seizing up during wintery conditions, igus has developed a new energy chain, called ice-chain. With injection-moulded raised contact points, the chance of freezing to the running surface is significantly reduced along with the associated cost of downtime and maintenance.

Vibration and tampering are both addressed with the new Program 1000 stainless steel compression latch from EMKA for use in railway applications. This IP65 latch offers a high degree of vandal-resistance by virtue of its tube key mechanism requiring a special internally profiled key to open/close and to operate the 6mm gasket compression featured by turning the key 90° - once to close the latch and then again to compress the gasket.

These newly designed extra-length bridge handles announced by FDB Panel Fittings are available in silicon-grey or matte black to an extended 220mm length compared to 142, 170 or 199mm for its standard sized sibling. The added length provides ultimate comfort and convenience, for example when wearing work gloves.

With the addition of molybdenum, A4 stainless (ASTM 316) is significantly more resistant to corrosion than the more popular A2 (ASTM 304) and very little more expensive. Although A4 stainless is often referred to as marine grade Challenge Europe have noticed an increasing need for this highly cost-effective grade to meet the demands of non-marine industries where equipment is subjected to more demanding service conditions. 

  A hinge by any other name is not quite what one may expect – as it turns out. The FDB online shop now includes a selection of spring hinges, friction hinges and torque hinges for the many and extensive specialist enclosures and panels used in industrial and office furniture applications.