March 2018

Built-Rite Tool & Die

Overview Built-Rite Tool & Die is a mould-making and design firm in Massachusetts with expertise in precision mould manufacturing. They specialise in the production of moulds for plastic injection moulding. These moulds have complex designs, requiring extensive planning and precise execution. The challenge Small to mid-sized businesses like Built-Rite face increasing pressure from international and domestic competitors. Overseas manufacturers can offer lower prices and domestic prototyping shops can offer quick turnaround times for small quantities of parts. 3D-printing gives Built-Rite an opportunity to realise shorter lead times and gain an edge against the domestic prototyping shops. This includes the ability to iterate quickly to win bids and meet strict deadlines. The Studio System introduces the ability to make quick-turn mould assembly components with a process that is far less labour intensive than other equipment in their machine shop and more cost competitive than a third-party prototyping firm. The Studio printer prints with closed-cell infill to minimise material without impacting wear resistance required for tooling—which is a primary application for the system. www.objective3d.com.au/built-rite/

Simplest valve actuators provide automation and production efficiency

By James Maslin National Sales and Marketing Manager for Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd. Rapid and reliable actuation of gate valves is becoming more and more critical to liquid and gas handling applications as industries face the twin demands of production automation and pressure to produce without production interruptions for maintenance. Gate valves, also known as sluice valves, are one of the most widely used types of valves in industrial applications, where they typically operate either fully open or fully closed, being used in pipelines as isolating valves rather than control or regulating valves. Their compact simplicity, low pressure loss, bidirectional versatility and ability to handle full flows where particles cannot cluster has led to widespread use in process engineering applications throughout industries such as food and beverage, agribusiness, manufacturing, mining and mineral processing, liquid-solid separation, filtration, materials handling, water and waste water and waste-to-energy projects. Typically gate valves are manually or (occasionally) hydraulically actuated, but where faster or remote actuation is required, they usually rely on conventional pneumatic actuation using a cylinder with rods and seals. However, an alternative means of actuation is available to process engineers charged with designing pipeline and reticulation systems that respond to the needs of automation and uninterrupted production demands. These flexible-wall, bellows-type Airstroke actuators – manufactured by Firestone and distributed throughout Australia by Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd – are tough, fabric reinforced rubber balloons of different shapes engineered to perform different tasks. The simple single, double and triple-convoluted airbags operate without seals, shafts or internal moving parts to provide ultra-reliable actuation alternatives for materials handling technology exposed to grime, debris and waste, which can disrupt the seals and shafts of convention pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. Reliability engineered into their DNA Structurally they are identical to the enormously durable and reliable Firestone air […]

Low-height skidding system moves heavy loads in the tightest of spaces

Enerpac’s new Low-Height Skidding System is ideal for transformer maintenance. Global hydraulics and heavy lifting technology specialists Enerpac are introducing to Australasia a new Low-Height Skidding System – which stands at just 92mm with the track – for the accurate positioning of heavy loads in tight and awkward spaces. The LH-Series Low-Height Skidding System is a modular track system that can jack and slide heavy loads, such as transformers, generators, motors or drives, over a pre-constructed track. Skidding systems are ideally suited to tight spaces where cranes can’t access the load effectively. The new low-height system takes this one step further by using a rigid, durable design that can access even tighter spaces, while still providing high lifting capacities. Skidding systems are typically 200-600mm high, which is still an enormous advantage when cranes can’t access a lift site, but the Low-Height system, at just 92mm, opens possibilities in even tighter, more compact applications. The Low-Height Skidding System is comprised of a series of skid beams moved by hydraulic push-pull units, travelling over a pre-constructed track. A series of special PTFE-coated pads are placed on the skid tracks to reduce friction. The push-pull units are powered by a standard Enerpac Split Flow Pump to ensure each skid beam travels synchronously. When using two skidding units together, the maximum capacity is 3,560 kN of force, which can lift 400 tons, utilising 700 bar (10,000 PSI) hydraulic pressure. The Low-Height Skidding System has a push-pull stroke of 600 mm and is designed to easily change skidding direction, using Enerpac’s globally proven hydraulic pumps and cylinders. Customised solutions can be implemented for complex projects, such as utilising optional track support and connecting both power units together to provide synchronous travel of the load. Such a configuration would be used in applications like transformer outage […]

Exceptional cooling to ensure best possible welding results

In the picture:The ArcTig welding process from Fronius achieves high welding speeds and outstanding weld seam quality. When welding, it is not only seam quality that matters, speed plays a significant role too. Both of these help the welder to work more efficiently and so reduce costs. With the modified TIG process, ArcTig, Fronius has developed an innovation for mechanised joint welding that addresses these requirements. A special welding torch allows the TIG arc to be focused in a targeted manner and its energy density is significantly increased. Users can weld up to ten-millimetre-thick, high-alloy sheets and pipes without extensive seam preparation, to an exceptionally high quality standard and much quicker. The ArcTig welding process is based on the principle of tungsten inert gas welding, or TIG welding for short. In this process, an arc burns between a non-melting tungsten electrode and the metallic workpiece in an oxygen-free, reactionless gas atmosphere. The current flow heats the electrode, resulting in an electron flow. This reduces the combined resistance, producing a soft, wide arc. The inert protective gas shield means there are no chemical reactions with the liquid weld pool. This enables users to produce a perfect weld-seam appearance without tempering colours and spatter as well as the best weave pattern. TIG welding is suited to a variety of different materials and applications, including tricky materials like titanium. The ArcTig welding process is designed for applications in container and pipeline construction, in the manufacture of turbines and the construction of special machines, cranes and tanks. The key innovation here is the optimised welding torch with an electrode clamping system, which enables the electrode to be cooled right to the tip. This increases the combined resistance and creates a high arc voltage. Electron emission now takes place over a small area but at […]

Compressed air expert lays foundation for further growth

BOGE managers look towards the future with optimism (from right to left: Wolf D. Meier-Scheuven, Michael Rommelmann, Gavin Monn, Ricarda Fleer and Thorsten Meier. Future investments, awards and new business models – the Bielefeld-based family-owned company BOGE can look back on a year full of high points. In 2017, the company was in step with its international customers once again with its advanced compressed air solutions. One highlight of the year was the opening of the smart factory at the head office in Bielefeld. Since September 2017, high speed turbo technology has been in series production there. The new “continuous improvement programme” was awarded a prize. This progressively enhances the compressors via ongoing further development in customer deployment. The mechanical engineering company is the first to bring this solution onto the market. Classic maintenance is therefore a thing of the past. BOGE has been synonymous with forward-looking compressed air solutions through intelligent engineering for 110 years. Its anniversary year saw the opening of the smart factory, and the company creating the preconditions to fulfil the high demands of individual customer compressed air solutions even better. In the digitalised factory, people, component and machine communicate with one another to produce the parts for the prizewinning BOGE HST high speed turbo compressor, specifically for the customer and to zero error quality. “Achieving this production line represented a major challenge for us”, says Wolf D. Meier-Scheuven, the managing partner. “Thanks to the advanced production technology we are now in a position to manufacture in many versions and with process reliability. This is innovative and demonstrates our response to the continuously increasing requirements of our customers.” In 2017, BOGE invested more than five per cent of its turnover in research and development; around twice as much as the average invested by companies in the […]