Products

Aussie innovation delivers for high temperature bolting

An Australian innovation is making light work of some of the largest and most difficult bolt tensioning applications encountered in high temperature areas of electricity generation, mining, petrochemical and other processes. In a recent application, Technofast Industries’ new EziTite® TR High Temperature Hydraulic Nuts demonstrated their performance when they were used to assemble boiler feed pumps at an electricity generating plant in South Korea. This application involved the use of 12 large EziTite® TR High Temperature Hydraulic Nuts fitted to M110 X 4.0 studs. The temperature resistant fasteners were used to replace the former method employing large torque wrenches weighing more than 125kg. The Technofast method resulted in an installation time of around thirty minutes using two personnel, compared with eight hours and four personnel using the previous method. Technofast’s Founder and Managing Director John Bucknell explained that time savings of this order, and better, are possible using the EziTite® fasteners instead of conventional methods involving sledgehammers, stud heaters and multi-jackbolt tensioners. “Large nuts of this diameter can require terrific torque forces to achieve the desired tensioning, or require ‘jacknuts’ which have multiple forcing screws to bring the job within the power range of hand tools.” “Given the damage which can occur to the fastener components and joint faces, some operators have opted to use these jacknut fasteners. However, large nuts such as those used on the Boiler Feed Pump can easily have 24 of these forcing screws per nut, and they have to be progressively and sequentially tightened to a specific torque at each step, or the individual screws will be overstressed and fail. This can add days of downtime to a typical maintenance operation.” “Also, when jacknut fasteners need to removed, the forcing screws have to be backed off in a strict sequence to avoid failure. If not, […]

Omron vision sensors set new benchmark in product inspections

When it comes to product inspections, Omron vision sensors are far more accurate than the human eye. Omron’s vision sensors are ideal for a wide variety of industry sectors, including food and beverage, packaging and pharmaceutical applications. “Previously, all line inspections were carried out manually using several people along a production line,” says George Nematian, Omron Product Manager (Advanced Sensors, RFID and Quality Inspection). “This was very time consuming and did not have the same level of accuracy. When a line is running very fast, a human cannot check the faults.” The FQ2 Vision Sensor is ideal for inspecting caps on plastic bottles to determine whether the cap is damaged, missing or is not inserted properly. “It can check for the level of liquid – whether too high or low – for beverages such as fruit juice or soft drinks,” Mr Nematian says. “It can also check if there are any scratches on metal surfaces of can check whether there has been any damage to label. “They are far more accurate than the human eye when it comes to product inspection.” Previously, vision sensors placed the image processor in a separate Controller, now Omron has built the processor into the camera unit. The sensors are IP67 water resistant, meaning they can be used in wet environments. All cables from the camera are flexible. This allows the sensor to be used safely on moving parts. Main benefits Omron’s vision sensors can operate 24/7.“They are reliable and very cost effective,” says Mr Nematian. “Everything is automated … there is no need for manual checking. “With big savings on labour costs, most companies can recover the purchase cost in a short time.” And Omron’s vision sensors are highly accurate. “Depending on the programming they can have an accuracy rate of between 99 and […]

Stiebel Eltron builds on nine decades of innovation

Picture: The DHCE 50 and 60 instantaneous hot water units from Stiebel Eltron. DHCE water heaters are ideal for a range of commercial and domestic situations and are designed to service single or multiple hot water outlets or low flow showers depending on the in coming cold water temperature and available flow rate for the associated tapware. Three models are available in the single phase range. The DHCE 6/50 and the DHCE 8/50 deliver hot water to a maximum of 50¡C. These models both comply with AS 3498-2009 which covers the heating of water used in places of personal hygiene and allows the machine to be installed without the need for an external tempering device. The DHCE 8/60 on the other hand delivers 60¡C hot water. In facilities suitable for disabled users the mandated outlet temperature is 43¡C, which must be controlled using thermostatic mixing valves. To be most effective, the inlet hot water supply to most valves must be at least 10¡C above the required outlet temperature, making the DHCE 8/60 model an ideal choice. All models feature a low-flow switch that allows the unit to start heating the water with a flow rate as low as 1.5 litres per minute. With an increasing number of low flow tapware available, the DHCE models are ideal water heaters for these taps to ensure that hot water is delivered at low flow rates. Instantaneous electric hot water heaters achieve the lowest levels of water wastage of any hot water system available, partly through their capacity to reduce delivery pipe lengths, and partly through the ability to heat water faster than competing systems. The heaters can be used as a booster unit in commercial installations where there are long deadlegs between a storage heater and any outlets. The water will be warm […]

K-Seal for radiator leaks

An over-heating engine caused by a leaking radiator on a deserted stretch of road is a motorist’s worst nightmare, but now there’s an instant fix. It’s called K-Seal and it’s a relatively inexpensive solution to coolant leaks under the bonnet and, what’s more, it can provide a permanent repair to some problems. K-Seal will permanently repair and fix most leaks in the radiator or radiator casing up to a maximum size of 0.7mm Ð larger holes or cracks will require an epoxy putty. And, in addition to the radiator, it will also repair leaks in the head, head gasket, block, heater matrix, freeze plug and water pump casing, which makes it ideal for older engines, where the owner does not want to incur a big expense on major repairs. K-Seal is simple to use – a quick shake, then pour and go. No need to drain or flush the system. No need to worry about what type of anti-freeze or coolant is in the cooling system.It’s suitable for use with all water-cooled engines, including cars, motorbikes, commercial vehicles, heavy plant, agricultural machinery, marine engines and generators. The secret behind how K-Seal can repair a coolant leak so easily and effectively is down to a specially developed blend of chemical ingredients, including ceramic micro-fibres and copper particles.When added to the cooling system, the ingredients disperse and flow freely around the system suspended in the coolant.But if coolant is leaking from the system, either externally or internally across the head to the cylinders, then K-Seal will follow the coolant through the hole or crack and begin fixing the coolant leak. What happens is that the micro-fibres start to mesh together within the crack or the hole, building a seal literally fibre by fibre.In reality, this takes place almost instantly once K-Seal has […]

Hot Runner range expanded

The G24 Hot Runner Temperature Control System was designed for use on injection moulding applications, but also for other applications such as controlling thermoforming, blow moulding and extrusion (profile and sheet). The new products include:- A new Mini Touch-Screen – which provides full feature performance at a lower cost. It is windows based and available for controllers with up to 48 zones. G24 Controller with 12 zones – This is the ideal solution for moulders running smaller hot runner systems applications. It features a half-size control block with 15 amps per zone control. It is available with either the new lower cost Gammaflux Mini Touch Screen or the traditional full-featured interface. A new Mould Wizard – an all new controller setup and configuration tool which provides fast, easy setup and access to key G24 features. It guides users through the setup process and unlocks hidden profitability by more fully utilizing the advanced features of the controller and decreases setup time simultaneously. It is available on all Gammaflux G24 controllers. Gammaflux specialise in the production of hot runner controls for the plastics injection moulding industry. They have a reputation for providing innovative solutions for temperature control and their systems are used worldwide in some of the most challenging injection moulding applications.

Olympus instrumentation for the recycling industry

Adaptable, lightweight analysis instrumentation suitable for the recycling industry was the focus of the Olympus display at the Australian Waste and Recycling Exhibition (AWRE) recently held in Melbourne. Each year, AWRE provides an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase innovation, meet with key figures from industry and government on the trade show floor and at seminars and workshops. The Delta Professional has been developed specifically for the Alloy and NDT sectors, especially companies conducting analysis of manufactured and scrap materials such as stainless steel and a wide range of other alloy types. Also displayed at AWRE was the GoldXpert, a stylish and functional bench-top precious metals analyser ideal for the new and second hand precious metals market. The unit was designed to be compact and attractive, ideal for use on a showroom floor. The GoldXpert can take the drudgery out of routine analysis.It is easy to use and provides carat and compositional analysis results with one push of a button. An XRF analyser uses a controlled beam of radiation to excite the electrons in a sample causing the elements to ‘fluoresce’. Each element fluoresces at a specific energy level, which can be identified as a characteristic peak. A higher peak indicates a greater concentration of an element. Technological advances have enabled Olympus to design and build lighter and more compact analysers that are now more affordable for smaller companies. In Australia the largest market for XRF analysers has been the mining and mineral exploration sector. Overseas scrap metal companies, especially in Asia and the US, use XRF extensively, but in Australia a lot of companies are yet to discover the benefits the technology provides. Scrap metal is like gold, if you can identify the composition of your scrap accurately you can really take advantage of the market.

New injection technology in one machine cell

Krauss Maffei will exhibit at Chinaplas in April 2014 a KM CX 200-180/180 W twin injection moulding machine in collaboration with Zahoransky Group of Germany and their innovative patented ‘cube technology’ concept TIM (Total Integrated Manufacturing) enabling the moulding, assembly and testing of multi-component parts in one injection moulding cell. The key to the efficiency of the system is the two mounting plates which are positioned outside the tool. This allows complex assembly processes to be carried out in parallel to the production without increasing the cycle time. The mounting plates can be moved on the X and Y axis by 180¼ and at the completion of the injection process the moulded parts can be picked up by the assembly jig and combined with the parts that have already been produced. The rotary cube mould system is run on Krauss Maffei CXW Spin Form Series Injection Moulding machinery. This series combines the proven dual platen technology of the CX and MX series and offers ideal accessibility to the mould and space for the integrated assembly stations. The central positioning of the two opposing injection units allows for hot runner systems with natural balancing and short flow paths. Energy saving servomotors control the movement of reversing the plates in the opening direction and the rotation of the cube mould with absolute position accuracy. The unique system provides energy and space savings and is available in clamp sizes ranging from 1,800 kN to 40,000kN.