What's New In Industry articles from May 2005

What's New In Industry archives from May 2005

Conversations about CNC.
May 23, 2005... Aimed at both production and toolmaking sectors, the Richmond range of 600, 800 and 1000 vertical machining centres from 600 Centre can now be specified with the advanced Anilan 6000 Series CNC control system, which incorporates the...

Laser a boost to fabrication.
May 23, 2005... Investment in a 6kW laser processing system has extended component manufacturing capabilities of Sheffield-based Mayflower Technology. This new Trumpf L4050 system, the first of its type in the UK, means that Mayflower can cut carbon, mild and...

Controllers aim to triple processing performance.
May 23, 2005... Engineers building processing-intensive control applications now have the chance to triple their processing performance with a new family of Compact FieldPoint controllers from National Instruments. The new cFP-2100 units include a 200MHz...

Handling & Storage: Flat stacking with safety.
May 23, 2005... SafeStack is a new materials handling and storage device from recycled plastics specialist Applied Technologies. Rated for uniformly distributed loads up to five tonnes per beam, with a minimum 3:1 safety factor, it is a tough dunnage beam...

Handling & Storage: Super-flat floor.
May 23, 2005... Concrete Grinding's fast-track, super-flat floor system is being used to reduce costs and installation time at a massive distribution centre operated by IKEA near Barcelona, the second contract for the CG Group at these premises. Last...

Handling & Storage: Travelling 'business class' before the mast.
May 23, 2005... Linde Materials Handling is setting out to rewrite the rule book on reach truck design with its new X Range of machines that aim to combine unprecedented levels of driver comfort with the highest degree of operational stability. Engineers...

Handling & Storage: New trucks for special occasions.
May 23, 2005... Two new 'special application' machines have been added to the range of stackers and pallet trucks from Crown Lift Trucks. Both models require minimum hand/wrist movement because of the special Crown X10 control handle, which offers both...

Handling & Storage: Secure racking.
May 23, 2005... Travhydro is supplying adjustable pallet racking for a new state-of-the- art milk bottling plant in Leeds. Arla Foods had a requirement within the new bottling plant for a dry goods and engineering spares store. With floor space at a...

Handling & Storage: Controlled vacuum for safer lifting.
May 23, 2005... New range of vacuum lifters from Swedish manufacturer Pronomic use frequency control to provide greater flexibility when setting the lifting force. This is said to give enhanced safety and a better working environment. With the VacuHand...

Handling & Storage: Contract for integrated storage.
May 23, 2005... SSI Schaefer is to supply and install the complete storage equipment fit-out of Toolstation's new national distribution centre at Bridgwater. The new centre will be fitted out with the latest Schaefer integrated materials storage system...

Handling & Storage: Trucks to the core.
May 23, 2005... Emtelle UK, provider of pipe extrusions for the communications industry, has taken delivery of four fork lift trucks from OM Pimespo for use at its Jedburgh and Hawick facility. The gas-powered, 2.5-tonne capacity Komatsu FG25s carry pallets of...

Handling & Storage: Pallet changing in a vacuum.
May 23, 2005... The Vacmagic pallet change workholder from Lenzini Engineering combines the positive mechanical security of traditional jigs and vices with the change speed normally associated with magnetic holding equipment. Vacmagic uses vacuum to...

Handling & Storage: Conveyors bearing gifts.
May 23, 2005... A high-capacity conveyor system is enabling toys and gifts distributor Russ Berrie to handle 600 cartons an hour with minimal manual handling and a high degree of flexibility at a new distribution centre in Southampton. The company has...

Handling & Storage: Battery power for Peugeot.
May 23, 2005... Enersys has supplied its Hawker Motive Power brand of batteries and chargers to power the lift truck fleet operating at the Peugeot 206 manufacturing plant in Coventry. The Hawker system is considered 'vital' to maintaining plant uptime...

Handling & Storage: Small truck brings big changes.
May 23, 2005... Following rapid growth, ceramic tile wholesaler, Maxon Tiles - part of the Saint-Gobain group - needed to expand its storage facility. The cheapest way to achieve this was by narrowing the existing aisles so warehousing has been reformatted...

Handling & Storage: Familiarity breeds content.
May 23, 2005... Charles Wells, the UK's fifth largest brewery, has recently taken delivery of eight new Hyster H2.00XMS, 2000kg capacity LPG powered counterbalance lift trucks from Barloworld Handling. The two companies have already worked together for the...

Handling & Storage: A truck for all reasons?
May 23, 2005... The BT Cargo E-series range of electric counterbalance trucks is said to be one of the widest ranges of electric trucks in the industry, with compact models that offer maximum manoeuvrability for work in confined areas, trucks with...

Handling & Storage: Saving loads.
May 23, 2005... Made to measure loading equipment from Thorworld has enabled BACO Consumer Products to save over #50,000 a year on handling costs. Lack of loading bays has, until now, incurred additional handling costs at port of entry, either goods had...

Handling & Storage: It's Easy!
May 23, 2005... Modular Automation International has secured a UK exclusive agreement with manufacturer Rose & Krieger to distribute their Easy-link conveyor system, complementing Modular Automation's own auto-mated assembly lines. The system uses a stable,...

Handling & Storage: Sensor boosts truck safety.
May 23, 2005... For manufacturing and warehousing companies, logistics is now a key business driver, with manufacturers and logistics service providers seeking ways to reduce material transfer times and optimise the flow of goods through the factory, warehouse...

Handling & Storage: Containing leaks and spills.
May 23, 2005... From Allibert Helix comes a half-size (800 x 600mm) version of its Retenpack sump pallet. Designed to prevent costly spills and leaks of liquids from storage containers, this 100 percent plastic sump is resistant to most corrosive substances,...

Handling & Storage: Two's company.
May 23, 2005... Translift Bendi has won a Fork Lift Truck Association's 2005 Annual Award for Excellence (innovation category). This is the second "Archie" won by the company; the first was a 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award, made to the company Chairman,...

Handling & Storage: Stone the Crows - another Flexi!
May 23, 2005... When home accessories supplier, Stone the Crows, needed to maximise the storage capacity of its Dronfield facility, it turned to Narrow Aisle's Flexi. Six years later, the company returned to purchase the latest Generation 3 truck and...

Handling & Storage: Achievement award by design.
May 23, 2005... The Design Achievement Award at the 2005 Fork Lift Truck Association's Annual Awards for Excellence went to the design team at Combilift Ltd., the originators of the Combilift four-directional forklift truck. The "Archie" award is...

Handling & Storage: Latest launch at high speed.
May 23, 2005... Toyota Industrial Equipment introduces the 7FBMF-S, a high-speed version of its four-wheel, electric counterbalanced forklift. Capable of a top speed of 21kph, the 7FBMF-S is expected to benefit operations where trucks have to travel over long...

Handling & Storage: Handling on the up and up (and up).
May 23, 2005... Carter Retail Equipment, manufacturer of refrigerated display cabinets, called in Keymas to provide a 'cabinet assembly line' and complete handling solution. The Keymas solution included three mezzanine floors to exploit the available height...

Process Plant & Control: Sensors check on CIP systems.
May 23, 2005... Two new Rosemount Analytical sensors with specific applications in the food and beverage market have been introduced by Emerson Process Management. The Bx438 unit monitors trace levels of dissolved oxygen in beer and other carbonated...

Process Plant & Control: A clearer indication of processing data.
May 23, 2005... Avery Weight-Tronix has developed a new range of digital indicators designed to make it easier to receive and transmit critical data using E-enabled facilities such as web browsers, file download options and bi- directional communications. ...

Process Plant & Control: HMI the key to savings.
May 23, 2005... A major new production management system, designed and installed by Fern Engineering Systems for a major UK manufacturer of automotive parts, uses an Ethernet network to provide substantial savings in production time - and the ability to see...

Process Plant & Control: Analysis gets to the root of plant problem.
May 23, 2005... The Process Analyst function in the latest CitectSCADA V6 can help users find the root causes of process disturbances and, potentially, lead to massive savings in production time and maintenance costs, says Craig Resnick, Research Director for...

Process Plant & Control: A better steam trap.
May 23, 2005... Updated steam pressure control valve from Spirax Sarco combines the accurate control of its predecessor with increased resilience to harsh operating environments, easier servicing and simpler selection. These benefits have been achieved by a...

Process Plant & Control: Pump likes the hard life.
May 23, 2005... Range of high-speed, high-capacity dry vacuum pumps from BOC Edwards has been extended with the launch of the IDX1000. Based on their third generation double-ended screw technology, the pump has been designed to provide reliable operation...

Process Plant & Control: Designing out the leaks.
May 23, 2005... Parker Instrumentation has launched a 25mm version of its Pro-Bloc one- piece double-block-and-bleed manifold. The smaller bore versions of this product family are used extensively within the process industry, primarily to connect remote...

Process Plant & Control: Low rise housing.
May 23, 2005... Low-profile ME MAX Flat (92mm high) and Superflat (70.4mm) housings for decentralised terminal boxes from Phoenix Contact come in 22.5 or 45mm widths to give 24 to 48 connections on up to three levels. As well as screw, spring cage or quick...

Process Plant & Control: On the boil.
May 23, 2005... Fulton Boiler Works has supplied and installed a bespoke packaged plant room, with two RBC 1250 steam boilers and ancillary equipment, to a top UK health company. It supplies steam for an r&d facility and is being used for autoclaves,...

Process Plant & Control: Stays cool in a tight spot.
May 23, 2005... New ATEX rated Lumiflex fibre optic light from Visilume is designed for applications where space is at a premium. Lumiflex transmits high intensity 'cool' light to illuminate a process without heating the sight glass. It offers the...

Process Plant & Control: Keep it simple.
May 23, 2005... Where a liquids handling application requires a basic but efficient hand operated pump, Pump Engineering has a possible solution - the new Pageboy HD14 pump. This hand operated diaphragm pump is suitable for pumping aggressive liquids such as...

Process Plant & Control: The M3 route to heat efficiency.
May 23, 2005... Said to be a major design change for smaller plate heat exchangers, new M3 compact frame from Alfa Laval replaces the conventional, bolted, plate and frame assembly with a wrap-around shell into which the plate pack is assembled without the...

Process Plant & Control: Norway calls valves to order.
May 23, 2005... Tyco Valves & Controls has a contract, worth up to #1.6m, to supply valves and actuators to be fitted at Norway's Nyhamna gas processing plant, operated by Hydro. The order consists of three valve types, designed and built to withstand the...

Process Plant & Control: Steaming up.
May 23, 2005... Hitchen Foods, processors of vegetables and salads to supermarket chains, recently purchased and installed two additional cooking lines; resulting in an unachievable demand for steam from their existing Fulton boilers. To cope with demand...

Process Plant & Control: What a relief.
May 23, 2005... Hygienic Opti-Gard is Elfab's new pressure-relief system for use in aseptic and hygienic process conditions, and offering advanced detection and flexibility benefits to those involved in specification, purchase and operation of...

Process Plant & Control: SPECTORbus - looks good on recycled paper.
May 23, 2005... Aylesford Newsprint produces one percent of the world's total newsprint from its plant in Kent, achieved exclusively from recycled materials. Every year, half a million tonnes of waste magazines and newspapers are collected from more than...

Process Plant & Control: Reduce stress.
May 23, 2005... Codip compressed air-operated pumps, available from Michael Smith Engineers, incorporate a PTFE tubular diaphragm mechanism that eliminates areas of potential stress. Constructed from durable materials, the Codip pumps offer a means for...

Process Plant & Control: Promass-terly addition.
May 23, 2005... For accuracy at higher flow rates, Endress + Hauser has introduced the Promass F 10 inch (DN250) sensor, designed to handle up to 2,200 tonnes per hour while maintaining the "fit and forget" capabilities of the existing range. Promass F...

Packaging & Labelling: RFID: time for a move upstream.
May 23, 2005... While the potential benefits of implementing RFID technology in supply and distribution networks have been much reported, only now, say specialists IDS, are engineers realising that for RFID to be totally effective it has to move upstream into...

Packaging & Labelling: Accurate counting at high speed.
May 23, 2005... Users of the new Autobag AccuCount 200 system are now counting with confidence. This new automatic counting system allows them to count/batch product with remarkably high accuracy at speeds up to 2500 packages/hour - a five-fold increase in...

Packaging & Labelling: Small pack Packo.
May 23, 2005... Single-source packaging solutions specialists, FDL Packaging Group are strengthening a relationship with CurTec with the introduction of the new CurTec range of "Packo" containers. Specifically aimed at organisations requiring a high...

Packaging & Labelling: Fibre-optic solution for Tyco.
May 23, 2005... Fibre-optic cable is both valuable and easily damaged in transit, leaving Tyco Electronics with a need for a reliable way of transporting the product to the USA. Crocodile Packaging has designed a new handling system for Tyco, which...

Packaging & Labelling: Brady - making your mark.
May 23, 2005... Brady Signmark, manufacturer of equipment for safety signs, pipe and valve markers, and lock-out/tag-out devices, has introduced its Powermark industrial printer for all types of high quality, instant, tailored sign applications, compliant...

Packaging & Labelling: Faster filling.
May 23, 2005... Increased output and user flexibility are the key benefits of two Rapak Autokap 1210E Fully Automatic Bag-in-Box filling machines, recently installed by Britvic Soft Drinks. Each Autokap machine is capable of filling 10 litre and 20 litre...

Packaging & Labelling: Label printer makes its mark.
May 23, 2005... Designed specifically for use with electrical and data communications equipment, the hand-held RhinoPRO 5000 thermal transfer label printer from Esselte uses 'quick access' keys to set up label formats for marking wires and cables, patch...

Packaging & Labelling: Faster printer cuts the queue.
May 23, 2005... Axiohm has developed its fastest ever printer in the new Astrium unit. Designed to reduce the time that customers must wait at the register, the machine can print at 200mm/s. And it can be positioned vertically or horizontally to adapt to...

Packaging & Labelling: Pallet labeller doubles up.
May 23, 2005... From Application Developments comes the innovative ALcode P, a machine specially developed to print and apply A5 SSCC labels onto two adjacent faces of a pallet. It can operate at up to 120 pallets an hour, working in even harsh industrial...

Packaging & Labelling: Keeping the plastic dust down.
May 23, 2005... Advanced Dynamics is targeting the recycling and reclamation industry with a range of Pelletron dedusters designed for the removal of dust and debris during the production or reprocessing of plastic. Plastic granules tend to create dust...

Packaging & Labelling: Right Imaje for the great escape.
May 23, 2005... Typical ejection seat made by aircraft escape systems specialist Martin- Baker has a component count around the 2000 mark, making traceability no easy task as each one has to be identified by a product and batch code. M-B is now using...

Packaging & Labelling: Printer knows what's in store.
May 23, 2005... Mobile RW 420 printer from Zebra Technologies is designed to simplify reporting and monitoring in the direct store delivery industry, bringing increased accuracy, speed and cash flow to firms involved in, typically, beverage, bakery and...

Packaging & Labelling: All-round label supply.
May 23, 2005... ASG Services offers a comprehensive blank label supply facility. Suitable for an extensive range of application requirements in a warehouse and storage environment, the company points to the combination of quality, price and reliability of...

Packaging & Labelling: Lock 'n' Pop.
May 23, 2005... Lock 'n' Pop from Limpet Tapes can reduce packaging waste such as wraps and straps. It is a pallet stabilisation method that, applied in liquid form, "locks" packaging surfaces together to prevent lateral movement of any kind yet, with an...

Packaging & Labelling: Air craft bags.
May 23, 2005... Easyair Cassette from Easypack generates tubular pillows to any length and volume, with softness for each bag controlled by the packer. The result is exactly the right amount of void fill every time with no wastage. Bags are produced on...

Packaging & Labelling: Welding plastic.
May 23, 2005... Plastic welding can be used for a wide variety of applications, especially for the packaging industry (such as for creating seals on bags, food containers, grocery bags or safety seals, for example). Using a 125W Synrad CO2 laser, available...

Packaging & Labelling: Cleghorn stick with Sessions.
May 23, 2005... Working closely with its customer, marine and industrial pump specialist Cleghorn Waring & Co., Sessions of York has developed a range of ultra-strong, durable, self-adhesive labels specifically for application on products exposed to harsh...

Packaging & Labelling: Wrapper runs rings round pallets.
May 23, 2005... Robustly built and high-speed A800 Automatic Ring Wrapper from Orion Packaging complements the company's current autoline range, with its 120 pallets-per-hour capacity. The A800 is said to be incorporated easily into new or existing...

Packaging & Labelling: Labelling legislation.
May 23, 2005... Labelling systems complying with the new European Food Law on product and ingredient traceability are available from food specialists SATO UK. The legislation, produced in response to food scares where products were found to be unfit for...

Design Components & Materials: Setting the chain in motion.
May 23, 2005... Igus has developed its innovative new Triflex R system to meet the demands of modern robotic systems, where cables are required to make rapid movements, often in a confined space. Product specialist Justin Leonard provides some answers. ...

Design Components & Materials: Servo simplicity for multi-axis systems.
May 23, 2005... Designed to simplify installation and programming of machines with three to 24 axes, Lenze's ECS servo system comes pre-configured for many different application areas. At the centre of the ECS is a power supply unit connected to a number of...

Design Components & Materials: Flanged to fit.
May 23, 2005... Dynabox range of servo worm gearboxes from Motor Technology now includes a variant with a space-saving 'robot flange' output - an output face to which a driven component can be directly attached. These gearboxes come in six frame sizes...

Design Components & Materials: Paste makes light work of scanner shrouds.
May 23, 2005... RenPaste epoxy Seamless Modelling Paste, XD 4618, has been used to produce the patterns for producing a set of large magnetic resonating shrouds. These are used in the latest body scanning equipment being developed by a major PLC. The...

Design Components & Materials: CAD drawings are tailormade.
May 23, 2005... 3D CAD service from WDS can reduce time-to-market by supplying personalised library discs that display products in file types specified by the individual designer. The range of standard parts and machine accessories offered as 3D diagrams has...

Design Components & Materials: Connected up.
May 23, 2005... Designed to integrate different HM female connectors in a single unit, the harbus(r) HM module from Harting Electronic allows combinations of HM types A, B, AB and C to be assembled up to a maximum length of 6U. It is particularly suited...

Design Components & Materials: Power kept in its cage.
May 23, 2005... Bob Love, Technical Manager at THK, reveals how recent developments in linear motion technology could change the use of industrial motive power. Hydraulics, channelling liquids through pipes and channels to harness mechanical force and...

Design Components & Materials: On the crest of a wave.
May 23, 2005... Densitron is now supplying Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) touchscreens as part of a move towards becoming a system manufacturer for OEMs needing a complete display solution. By adding one of the new touchscreens to a TFT, adding a surround and...

Design Components & Materials: Drive towards integration.
May 23, 2005... Ballscrew-driven version of Hepco-Motion's established Profile Driven Unit provides a versatile single or multi-axis system that combines the Hepco Herculane wheel technology with a ballscrew drive. The PSD120's integrated linear guide and...

Design Components & Materials: An investment in castings.
May 23, 2005... The safety device for a stairlift, shown above, was originally made as an assembly of nine parts. But when P.I. Castings were asked to quote for the main dog component, their engineers suggested an easier solution - make the whole assembly as...

Design Components & Materials: Keep torquing while running.
May 23, 2005... Standard mechanical torque limiting clutches cannot normally be adjusted once the machine is in operation, and have to be set at a higher level to accept any start-up torques. EAS-Sp pneumatically-controlled TLCs from Mayr Transmissions...

Design Components & Materials: Lock onto machine safety.
May 23, 2005... The twin benefits of improved operator safety and greater safeguarding of machinery are provided by ASCO Joucomatic's new dynamic and static rod-locking devices, the latter with integrated manual unlocking. These new devices enable the...

Design Components & Materials: Filter design for the toolkit.
May 23, 2005... A new 'toolkit' from National Instruments allows design and test engineers to use NI's LabVIEW graphical development environment to ensure a seamless digital filter design process all the way from conception to completion. Digital...

Design Components & Materials: The power behind the panel.
May 23, 2005... Seen as ideal for control equipment applications where space behind a panel is limited - for example in driver information systems, audio equipment, avionics etc. - EAO's enhanced 62S compact optical encoder offers various new motion control...

Design Components & Materials: Circuit breaker takes a trip.
May 23, 2005... Single-pole, aircraft-style thermal circuit breaker with temperature compensation and a trip-free mechanism has been introduced by E-T-A. Available in versions handling up to 50A, with or without an auxiliary contact, the device suits use in...

Design Components & Materials: Linear drive no hard graft.
May 23, 2005... HepcoMotion has been crucial in the design and build of a bespoke winding machine, part of the process required to produce grafting materials for specialist cardio-vascular and vascular surgeons around the world. The machine was built in-house...

Design Components & Materials: Springtime!
May 23, 2005... Spring and bent wire specialist William Hughes recently designed the replacement to a design-in round bar used for raising a driver's car seat. Assembly inconsistencies made the existing mechanism unreliable, so the decision was made to...

Design Components & Materials: Plastic alternative?
May 23, 2005... Advances in modular plastic belting technology is said to be furthering acceptance of motorised drums as a viable, clean and quiet running alternative to traditional chain and sprocket and belt-driven conveyors. BDL Drum Motors is...

Design Components & Materials: Feeling the Hall-effect.
May 23, 2005... A1301 and A1302 from Allegro MicroSystems Europe are thought to be the world's first family of continuous-time linear Hall-effect sensor ICs in the SOT23 surface-mount package rated for operation at up to +150oC. The new devices are true...

Design Components & Materials: Want to see a good clean film?
May 23, 2005... A new version of Autotex hard-coated polyester film from Autotype International incorporates built-in Microban Antimicrobial protection to inhibit the growth of potentially harmful fungi, mould and mildew. Called Autotex AM, the substrate has...

Design Components & Materials: Ballscrew advancement.
May 23, 2005... New ballscrews have been introduced by THK, to extend the SBN, SBK and HBN product ranges and, in each case, incorporate THK's Caged BallTM technology. This is said to improve overall performance, significantly reducing levels of friction,...