Mechanical News
Get a grip on assembly with new telescoping torque arms
Mountz, Inc. has introduced a new line of high torque capacity torque arms to its EZGlider product family. The new telescoping torque arm models feature the ability to work with higher torque output tools and provide ergonomic safety for their operators. The EZ-Glider torque arms, crafted with lightweight durable carbon fiber, extend up to 8 ft to improve production and quality control during the assembly process.
An auto plant selected a new EZ-Glider Telescoping torque arm model for its door assembly. Using a pistol-style air tool, with a torque setting of 12 Nm, the operator fastens a TORX 30 screw.
The EZ-Glider telescoping torque arms securely keep electric or pneumatic drivers in perpendicular or a level alignment to help prevent side loading or cross threading occurring during the assembly process. The torque arm helps remove the operator’s influence in the assembly process and strengthens quality control. Manufacturers can mount the arms to a wall, workbench, a standard rail system, aluminum extrusion, or existing overhead system. The torque arms are maintenance free.
The torque arms are ideal for assembly lines like automotive, aerospace, and appliances where space is a premium and operator safety is mandatory. Assembly tools can be mounted to a telescoping torque arm and hung above to fixed rail system or a trolley system. When the piece part moves down the assembly line, the operator grabs a tool and uses it.
The new telescoping torque arms offer an increased torque operating capacity up to 147.5 lbf.ft (200 Nm.). These arms can be used with a variety of assembly tools like electric and pneumatic screwdrivers, angle nutrunners, pulse tools, pistol-grip-style tools, grinders, impact wrenches, drills, sanders, and percussion tools.
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Mountz
Mechanical Products
Roll adjuster improves production efficiency
Pinpoint Laser Systems now offers a new alignment tool to facilitate the alignment of rollers, shafts, and web-handling systems. The newest addition to the Pinpoint line is compact and easy to use in all industrial environments. Typical applications include paper mills, converting lines, printing presses, plastic bag lines, coating lines, and other roller- and web-related applications. This new Roll Adjuster is also an accessory available with Pinpoint’s popular Laser Microgage alignment system.
The Roll Adjuster is easy to set up and is simply placed onto the top of a master roller, drive shaft, or idler, and is held in place by a pair of V-legs or adaptable mounts. A fine adjustment screw is turned until the precision bubble level is centered in its glass vial. Pressing a small button on the front to capture the digital position of this first roll or shaft then zeros the digital micrometer. The Roll Adjuster is then placed on top of the next available roller and the fine adjustment screw turned until the bubble level is centered. The vertical alignment of this second roller is shown digitally, either in inches or millimeters, allowing for better adjustment or selection of new shims. The Roll Adjuster is then moved to successive rolls for additional measurements and adjustments.
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Pinpoint Laser Systems
Self-locking fasteners can take the heat
SPS Technologies offers a range of aerospace fasteners featuring an advanced, high-temperature, non-metallic locking element. SPS NYTEMP self-locking fasteners break through the 250°F maximum associated with traditional self-locking materials and allow multiple cycle re-use capabilities in areas never before possible. The NYTEMP self-locking patch is available on various SPS nuts, screws, bolts, studs, and specials.
Other features of SPS NYTEMP fasteners include the industry's highest reusability factor (15 cycles), low outgassing that meets NASA requirements, and the elimination of the need for metal removal that can reduce fastener strength and performance. The NYTEMP locking element is made of a high-temperature-resistant polymer element that is applied as an orange-colored patch to internally or externally threaded parts. The patch meets the torque and vibration requirements of MIL-STD-1312 #7 and is compatible with aerospace and defense fastener alloys such as A286, INCO 718, and CRES300 Series.
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SPS Technologies
Swing cylinders for workholding
Jergens has introduced a new line of swing cylinders for workholding. The new hydraulically activated clamps are available either in top or bottom flange styles, with either single- or double-acting actions. Either style can be manifold-mounted, utilizing #2 SAE ports, or can be plumbed conventionally through two #4 SAE ports. Three sizes are available, with clamping capacities from 1,100 lb to 5,000 lb. The clamp piston rotates 90° to the right in its standard configuration, but may be ordered with either a 90° left rotation or no rotation.
The clamps offer extra versatility by being able to be used via a through-hole bottom mount or top-plate mount. Non-threaded bodies simplify mounting.
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Jergens
Corrosion-resistant universal joints
Belden offers corrosion-resistant universal joints and drive shaft assemblies for the packaging and conveying industry. Packaging and conveying applications require corrosion-resistant materials to ensure proper sanitation.
The single universal joint design can be modified to make double-butted or true compact double universal joints as well as complete drive shaft assemblies with a telescoping feature for easy on/easy off installation. Needle bearing universal joints provide precise positioning and can operate continuously at high speeds. Hub materials are available in various grades of stainless steel including 303, 304, and 316. Bores can be customized for any inside diameter and depth to attain a blind configuration, preventing shaft penetration into the center joint components and added protection against contamination. Universal joints can be manufactured in both inch and metric sizes and operating angles up to 35°.
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Belden
Shaft seals protect bearings from contamination and lubricant loss
SKF heavy-duty mechanical shaft seals can simultaneously protect bearings against harmful solid and liquid contaminants and prevent loss of lubricants to promote optimized service life and reliability. These dual-face seals have been specially designed to perform under the most severe operating conditions at relatively low peripheral speeds. Typical applications for the Series HDDF seals include mixers, mining equipment, grinders, rollers, off-road vehicles, and others where abrasives such as sand, soil, and mud usually cause general-purpose seals to fail.
The design integrates two identical high-alloy, corrosion-resistant steel sealing rings and two complementary nitrile rubber bellville washers incorporating a patented retainer lip. The rings rotate against one another at right angles to the shaft to create an ideal, leak-proof seal that effectively excludes harsh contamination. The bellville washers provide necessary uniform face loading and positive sealing at the bore. Bore diameters range from 70 mm to 812 mm. Seals can serve at temperatures between 54ºC and 107ºC with permissible velocity at continuous operation up to 1.75 m/sec. Higher velocities (up to 4 m/sec) can be tolerated for brief periods.
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SKF
Flexibility and accuracy for motion control applications
Lovejoy offers two different size ranges in the Bellows coupling product line: the BWC and BWLC series. The BWC coupling offers bore ranges of 1/8 in. to ¾ in. and torque ratings of 3.5 in.-lb to 89 in.-lb. The BWLC coupling offers bore ranges 1/4 in. to over 1-1/2 in. and torque ratings of 159 in.-lb to 1,328 in.-lb. Both designs offer higher torsional stiffness than beam coupling designs and still retain zero backlash. This combination is ideal for precision soldering equipment, pick-and-place machines, and measurement equipment. The wide range of bore sizes and torque capacities allows for flexibility in selecting the right size coupling for the application.
Often, accuracy or precision of an application is rated the most important characteristic. A good example of this would be a XYZ gantry table (i.e., CMM machine), which relies on accuracy to check critical dimensions of a particular product. For these types of applications, the Bellows-style coupling provides a compact coupling solution with a high amount of torsional stiffness, which translates into high accuracy.
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Lovejoy
Rollers now manufactured in new clean room
Hiawatha Rubber has added a new Class 100,000 clean room facility for manufacturing cleaning rollers (from 1 in. to 16 in. long and 5 in. in diameter) with sticky or tacky surfaces. The cleaning rollers are custom designed for medical imaging systems, packaging equipment, and automated systems used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, credit cards, and photographic film to help ensure production of a quality product.
OEM system designers will find Hiawatha Rubber offers a wide range of cleaning roller options to meet their design needs. For example, the degree of roller tackiness can be specified from sticky to moderately sticky for different applications. Various size roller hubs and materials (including aluminum) can be used as well as specific outside hub diameters with defined run-out tolerances.
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Hiawatha Rubber
High-speed machining with micro tools
Datron designed its excelsiorR Lite specifically for manufacturers who need their innovative high-speed technology but, for budget reasons, are unable to afford a machining center made exclusively for small tooling. "So that manufacturers of small parts can have their cake and eat it too," says Datron Dynamics president, Walter Schnecker, "we carefully cut a few corners without sacrificing the core integrity of our technology." An example of this is that the excelsiorLite has an aluminum bed rather than the granite table found on its big brother the excelsiorR EX. While this does impact rigidity to some extent, it may not be critical to every application.
The excelsiorLite's large machining table and full enclosure feature a solid steel base. This combination delivers both safety and stability. XYZ agility is facilitated by virtue of a hand-held controller (included as a standard feature). Drives are covered and protected from chips and debris — resulting in the ability to machine metal with minimized vibration and maximized accuracy. The excelsiorLite's compact design, protected precision ball screws, and 30,000-rpm spindle gives it the durability and speed to machine non-ferrous metals like aluminum, copper and brass.
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Datron Dynamics
Stainless steel paint for railings
The STEEL IT Stainless Steel Epoxy System consists of an epoxy primer and finish coating with a 316L stainless steel leafing pigment that creates a gray satin finish that resists water, salt air, detergents, and solvents. Ideally suited for fabricators and builders of above-water railings and other structures, this stainless steel epoxy coating is durable and chip resistant and can be applied by brush, roller, or spray gun.
Available in gallon and quart kits, the STEEL IT Stainless Steel Epoxy System’s leafing pigment overlays itself to form a protective metallic barrier capable of withstanding a continuous 2,000-hr salt spray test. A polyurethane-based formulation is also available for applications where prolonged UV resistance is more critical than acid resistance.
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Stainless Steel Coatings
“Blind” threaded inserts: fast and easy one-sided installation
Atlas SpinTite threaded inserts offer ideal solutions for blind attachment applications where only one side of a panel is accessible for assembly. These inserts install quickly and easily from the accessible “front” side with only a single mating screw required to complete final component attachment. Among other benefits, the inserts provide strong, permanent threads in thin panels of any hardness; install any time during production, even in painted panels; allow for close-to-edge mounting; and install with light, compact, and cost-effective tooling using spin/spin technology.
The aluminum, brass, steel, and stainless steel fasteners serve as practical alternatives to tapped holes, weld nuts, rivets, and self-drilling or tapping screws. They can be used in panels of any hardness as thin as .020 in (0.51 mm). Types include half-hex shank low-profile head, rib-wall minimized-profile head, rib-wall low-profile head, thin-wall low-profile head, and swaging low-profile head.
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Penn Engineering
De-stress your mechanical components
For engineers who want their system designs to run faster and maintain accuracy, Zero-Max CD couplings have the ideal combination of high torsional stiffness and high dynamic load capacity. They address the many challenges of the latest servo motor designs providing precision positioning under high reverse loads and with reliable 24/7 operation. As speeds increase, so does stress on mechanical components. The first mechanical component to see increased stress is the shaft coupling. Aluminum Composite Disc CD couplings handle the stress in these high-speed, servo-driven systems.
CD couplings with aluminum hubs are designed so that the working part is made of a composite material. Aluminum hub CD Single Flex models are available in clamp-style hubs with or without keyways. The torque capacities range from 40 Nm to 1,436 Nm and beyond with speed ratings from 4,400 rpm to 17,000 rpm.
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Zero-Max
Health monitoring system detectors
Honeywell has made additions to its series of Equipment Health Monitoring (EHM) System detectors developed specifically to monitor industrial equipment. The EHM system is used to monitor operation condition variances in industrial machinery that can lead to breakdowns, increased maintenance costs, and production stoppages.
The EHM devices, first offered in 2005, monitor the steady-state temperature, vibration, and other characteristics of equipment. An alarm sounds automatically when operating values drift from pre-defined settings, alerting a maintenance engineer to the condition. Early alert can lead to early responses and efforts to correct the condition before it leads to equipment failure. Ten detectors are available to monitor the following conditions: temperature loss, fluid flow, temperature rise, mechanical noise, fluid leak, mechanical wear, audible noise, vibration, tilt (slope change), and mechanical insertion. Additions to the series of detectors include accessory and replacement connector pins and cables.
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Honeywell
Trio of clamp styles stocked by NewAge Industries
Clamps are usually a necessary part of the plastic tubing and hose buying process, because in most applications the tubing or hose must be attached to another component. Fittings accomplish this but typically need to be secured with a clamp. To simplify the purchasing task, NewAge Industries has an assortment of clamps and fittings, ready for immediate shipment, to accompany its tubing and hose.
Consisting of ear type, worm gear, and double bond, the clamps are used in all sorts of industries, including OEM, chemical, aerospace and aviation, food and beverage, laboratory, medical and pharmaceutical, pool and spa, robotics, appliance, automotive, MRO, recreational vehicles, marine, and many others.
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NewAge Industries
Heavy-duty CNC gear hobbing machine
The Heavy-duty Model 300 provides for a bigger part diameter, coarser diametral pitch, and bigger hob capacity than traditional Koepfer hobbing machines. The biggest advantage of the Model 300 is that it is equally suited to handle both traditional Koepfer parts and new increased-capacity workpieces.
The Model 300 has nine axes of CNC control with the gantry loading system, allowing for nearly all (parallel-axis or cylindrical) gear cutting applications, including the timing of one gear to another on the same workpiece and the timing of a gear tooth to an external or internal feature. The unique KOEPFER design concept of symmetrical distribution of cutting forces ensures a long machine life with consistent part quality. The slant design of the hob head provides optimum chip flow for dry or wet cutting. Other features include a composite epoxy bed, ensuring the highest possible static, dynamic, and thermal stability; direct drive digital work and cutter spindles, providing consistency and accuracy over the life of the machine; quick clamping work and cutter spindles for quick changeover; full-color control panel with TFT touch screen; and optional CNC-controlled gantry automation system.
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Koepfer America
New hardness mixtures for Arcusaflex flywheel couplings
A hardness mixture for high-torque applications is now available across the entire Arcusaflex line of flywheel couplings from Ringfeder. The new Arcusaflex hardness mixture, element version UN, was specifically designed for high-inertia applications and provides extreme durability in applications such as compressors and gen-sets. Arcusaflex flywheel couplings are available in 21 different sizes, with torque ranges from 1,770 to 973,580 lb-in., which corresponds to approximately 6,500 kW at 1,000 rpm. Special configurations are available upon request.
Four natural rubber hardness levels are available across the Arcusaflex line. They are, from softest to hardest, element versions WN, NN, SN, and UN. A silicon mixture, element version WX, is also offered to handle higher temperature applications up to 266°F (130°C). All Arcusaflex flywheel couplings meet European explosion protection standards set by ATEX 95 and are also certified to be used in hazardous locations (Categories M2, 2 + 3) according to the 64/9/EC Directive.
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Ringfeder
Misting nozzles prove to be a durable alternative
MicroWhirl misting nozzles eliminate the dripping problems and fragility of impingement nozzles and offer improved durability in a wide range of applications, including turbine cooling, odor and dust control, humidification, scrubbing, and coating.
The nozzle’s rugged, pinless design provides outstanding atomization with spray characteristics of a mist at low pressure and heavy fog at high pressure. Design features include: 70-µm polypropylene filter and Viton O-ring seal; cone-shaped fog spray pattern; and flow rates of 0.009 gpm to 0.151 gpm. MicroWhirl nozzles are available in either 303 or 316 stainless steel, with an optional safety wire hole.
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BETE Fog Nozzle
Small, non-spill quick disconnect couplings are safe, economical
The new NS2 line of compact, non-spill, quick disconnect couplings provides users with fast, safe, and virtually leak-free fluid line connections. An excellent choice for printing and ink management, analytical instrumentation, electronic cooling, and many other applications, the NS2 couplings provide high-flow fluid transfer in a small footprint.
The NS2 meets the need for smaller, more cost-effective industrial couplings. The smaller couplings can replace larger ones, offering users a low-cost, space-saving option for a wide variety of coupling applications. The new couplings also offer very low air inclusion — air induced into the coupling upon connection — minimizing contaminants and reducing the need to purge fluid lines. NS2 Series couplings offer hose barb terminations and are available for tubing in 1/8 in. (3.2 mm) and 1/4 in. (6.4 mm) ID. The ferruless compression terminations connect to 1/4-in. OD (6.4-mm) and 0.17-in. ID (4.3-mm) semi-rigid tubing. Pressure ranges from vacuum to 45 psi (3.1 bar), and operating temperatures range from 32°F (0°C) to 120°F (49°C).
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Colder Products Company
Type 316 stainless steel shaft collars resist corrosion
Ruland now offers a full range of smooth bore shaft collars in 316 stainless steel. These collars are particularly suitable for medical, food processing, and pharmaceutical applications where washdown is required and contamination from corrosion must be avoided. A high level of resistance to chloride corrosion makes these shaft collars ideal for marine applications, and they also come fitted with 316 stainless steel screws for increased corrosion resistance.
The collars are available in one- and two-piece clamp-style designs with bore sizes from 1/8 in. to 2 in. for the ‘inch series,’ and 3 mm to 50 mm for the ‘metric series.’ Clamp-style collars do not mar the shaft, provide higher holding power, and are more easily adjustable when compared to set screw type shaft collars.
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Ruland Manufacturing
Variable-speed brushless DC blowers
Nautilair variable-speed brushless DC blowers have been engineered to deliver a measured air/fuel mixture in gas-fired burner systems for optimized combustion and reduced nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide emissions. These pre-mix burner blowers offer practical solutions for a wide range of applications, including commercial and residential boilers, hot water heaters, furnaces, foodservice equipment, kilns, fuel cells, and more.
Nautilair blowers serve as ideal alternatives to conventional fixed-speed or two-speed blowers, intake damper systems on fixed-speed blowers, or inverter-driven variable speed blowers. Speed can be adjusted internally with an onboard potentiometer or with an external PWM or DC control that actively varies blower performance; internal electronics convert AC input to DC; and blowers typically operate in excess of 20,000 hours virtually maintenance-free.
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AMETEK Technical & Industrial Products
Nanovolume injectors and switching valves
Cheminert Nanovolume HPLC Injectors and Switching Valves from VICI bridge the gap between the world of microfluidics and the real world of chemical analysis, facilitating high-resolution HPLC at an unprecedented small scale.
The 100-µm (.004-in.) bore is uniform throughout the flowpath, reducing band broadening and creating less than 25 nl of port-to-port volume. New individual fingertight fittings work with a variety of tubing, including PEEK, fused silica (360 µm), and 1/32-in. electroformed nickel. The fast (100-msec) microelectric actuator determines accurate positioning without limit switches or customer adjustment. Computer control is facilitated via RS-232 or RS-485 interface.
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Valco Instruments
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