Determining water levels in lubricating

is impoirtant to determine the presence of water in machinery lubricating oils, which is why Metrohm is offering its 831 KF Coulometer to give reliable results over a long period.

Metrohm said that moisture is considered a chemical contaminant when suspended or mixed with lubricating oils It presents a combination of chemical and physical problems for the lubricant and machinery, respectively

Failure due to water contamination may be catastrophic, but it may not be immediate.

Many failures blamed on lubricants are truly caused by excess water, said Metrohm to manufacturingtalk.

Some of the effects of water on equipment include the following.

• Shorter component life due to rust and corrosion.
• Water etching/erosion and vaporous cavitation.
• Hydrogen embrittlement.
• Oxidation of the bearing.
• Wear caused by loss of oil film or hard water deposits.

The level of water in these matrixes needs to be determined quickly and accurately, said Metrohm.

Metrohm said that its 831 KF Coulometer has proven time and time again to be excellent for the determination of these very small amounts of water.

Improved coulometric generator cells and reagents ensure an interruption-free operation and reliable results over a long period.

The 831 KF Coulometer has two principle working modes.

1. The expert mode allows it to use all different features of this high tech device.
2. The standard mode needs just a few keystrokes to start your analysis.

All unwanted keys can be locked out securely.

Machine tool energy systems are ready to fit

Using purpose-made parts and systems, pre-harnessed energy supply systems igus UK gives the machine tool industry tools that will help increase competitiveness, writes Justin Leonard.

The machine tool industry in the UK holds a key position in general mechanical engineering Everything from space telescopes to toy trains, from artificial hip joints to mobile phones are manufactured directly or indirectly using machine-tools

The focus is increasingly on cost reduction driven by competition from the Far East.

With their purpose-designed parts and systems, especially pre-harnessed energy supply systems ('ReadyChain'), igus UK gives the machine tool manufacturing industry tools that will help increase competitiveness for the future.

* Speed is crucial for competitiveness - the demands of machine tools in terms of flexibility and productivity are ever increasing.

These challenges can only be resolved by intelligent automation concepts.

The trend is increasingly aimed at an integrated approach.

This extends from the acquisition costs to the total costs for the complete service life of the machine, and includes the availability and the ease of operation.

This means that early cooperation between the subsystem supplier and the machine manufacturer can be crucial for market success.

* Short assembly times, no storage costs - the solution lies in standardisation.

With the help of pre-harnessed energy supply systems, assembly times decrease and storage costs drop to zero.

Capacity fluctuations can therefore be easily managed.

The machine manufacturer passes on the entire procurement process for all of the necessary special parts, sheet-metal panels, machined parts and hydraulic components, to allow provision of the full turn-key system on the required delivery date.

The machine tool manufacturing industry, which mainly consists of small and medium-sized companies, can use the ReadyChain energy supply systems to reduce assembly times of several months to a few days, and can thus keep ahead of the competition.

* igus at MACH 2008 - Igus is exhibiting at the UK's MACH 2008 machine tool exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham.

The company is supporting the UK machine tool industry.

The igus stand is situated in hall 5; stand number 5080 where examples of igus ReadyChains are on display.

Fully qualified igus engineers are on hand to discuss energy chain and polymer bearing requirements, as well as demonstrating the latest products from igus.

* About Igus - Igus is the largest producer of injection moulded polymer bearings and reinforced plastics Energy Chains in the world.

These seemingly unrelated products are linked together through the belief in making functionally advanced, yet affordable polymer components and assemblies.

The company employs over 1,000 people in Germany and 24 subsidiary companies and works with representative partners in more than 21 other countries.

igus products have been consistently field and value proven.

The company has extensive experience and technical data, gleaned from testing between 1,500 and 2,500 new products under extreme conditions in the igus test laboratories every year.

* About the author - Justin Leonard is Energy Chain Systems director at igus UK in Northampton.

Igus motion unit is compact, lightweight

Igus said that its DryLin EasyTube lubrication-free, compact and lightweight linear motion system for adjustment applications up to 150N vertically or 500N horizontally.

igus said that its DryLin EasyTube linear adjustment system can be used fup to 150N vertically or 500N horizontally The system is temperature-resistant up to 80 deg C and offers the option of a corrosion-free stainless steel leadscrew

Potential industries for this product include the following.

• Machine tools.
• Food manufacturing and packaging.
• Camera and sensor positioning.

DryLin EasyTube is a completely lubrication-free, compact and lightweight system, consisting of just six individual parts: a leadscrew, tube, two clamping rings, an attachment flange and slide block.

The tube guides the slide block and is available in either anodized aluminium or stainless steel.

The trapezoidal leadscrew and nut are integrated into the tube and so are protected against the external environmental conditions.

The entire EasyTube system is kept as small as possible with this space-saving design.

* No second guide shaft - with this compact, single-tube system, any applied moment is supported by the tube, and therefore a second guide shaft is not required.

The slide block, moment support and leadscrew nut are made from a single moulding of the igus-developed polymer iglidur P.

Igus told manufacturingtalk that this material has extremely high wear resistance, low friction and minimal moisture absorption.

The two end blocks used to attach DryLin EasyTube also act as radial and axial bearings for the leadscrew.

These multifunctional components are also made of lubrication-free iglidur P, which guarantees minimal wear.

* About Igus - Igus is the largest producer of injection moulded polymer bearings and reinforced plastics Energy Chains in the world.

These seemingly unrelated products are linked together through the belief in making functionally advanced, yet affordable polymer components and assemblies.

The company employs over 1,000 people in Germany and 24 subsidiary companies and works with representative partners in more than 21 other countries.

igus products have been consistently field and value proven.

The company has extensive experience and technical data, gleaned from testing between 1,500 and 2,500 new products under extreme conditions in the igus test laboratories every year.

Low cost gas mixers work pneumatically

Witt Gas Techniques has released low cost gas mixers that require no power supply as they are pneumatically operated, have no electrical connections and handle flows from 2 litre/min to 100m3/h.

Witt Gas Techniques' MG 25/35/45/95-2 FIX and MG 25/35/45/95-2 FLEX low cost gas mixers require no power supply The mixers are being pneumatically operated with no electrical connections and have flow capacities ranging from 2 litre/min up to maximum of 100m3/h

These gas mixers have been designed for use with all technical gases including carbon dioxide (CO2) and Nitrogen (N2) in a number of industrial applications.

The MG 25/35/45/95-2 FIX has factory pre-set tamper proof gas mixtures, whilst the gas mixture in the MG 25/35/45/95-2 FLEX is adjustable using a control knob and %-scale to provide infinitely variable gas mixture settings.

Typical applications would be the pressurisation of beverage dispensing systems, such as beer kegs as well as welding and food packaging (MAP) applications.

Features of these gas mixers include the following.

* New mixing technology patented by parent company Witt Gasetechnick, whereby no receiver is required producing both a space and cost saving, they also eliminate the need to stock costly, multiple pre-mixed gas.

* They have a high mixing accuracy better than +/-2% abs.

and are provided in a panel for wall mounting.

These mixers also have high process reliability in that they are independent of any pressure fluctuations in the gas supply.

They have a fail safe device, whereby they will shut down immediately on failure of the gas supply.

An optical alarm will alert the operator, an option is an audible alarm.

LED spot projectors aid image processing

To aid image processing, Moritex LED spot projectors are designed to replace conventional halogen point light sources as well as fibre optic illumination to provide stable, uniform illumination.

Specialists in machine vision and inspection, Moritex, has introduced its MSPP Series of LED Spot Projectors to replace conventional halogen point light sources as well as fibre optic illumination solutions Available in two versions, for narrow and wide lighting area applications, MSPP LED Spot projectors provide stable, uniform illumination improving the performance of image processing applications

Compact and lightweight in design, MSPP LED Spot projectors offer amazingly bright illumination over a wide range of working distances (500-2000mm) and lighting areas, said Moritex to manufacturingtalk.

Consequently, the LED light sources allow for a wide range of movement within the working distance and can be used even when robots are close to inspection targets.

Using proprietary technology, MSSP LED Spot Projectors achieve low temperature emission and low energy consumption making it possible to save energy and reduce environmental impact.

Constructed to IP67 standards to stop the ingress of water droplets or oil mist, MSSP LED Spot Projectors can be installed in most machine vision working environments.

The LED light source cover glass is replaceable making maintenance easy to perform.

MSSP LED Spot Projectors offer a long operating life and are designed to be RoHS compliant.

MSSP LED Spot Projectors use a versatile connector, making it possible to use cables that support spatter.

* About Moritex - benefiting from over 30 years experience and expertise in the creation, manipulation and control of light, Moritex has earned an international reputation for top quality, high performance lenses, fibre-optic illumination and optical lensing systems for various machine vision and inspection applications.

Plasma-arc system cuts intricate

Wilkinson Star launched at this week's MACH 2008 exhibition a multi-gas mechanised plasma-arc cutting power source shown performing simulated cutting of complex and intricate components.

Wilkinson Star, sole UK representative for Cebora welding products, launched the Plasma Prof 164 HQC (High Quality Cut) multi-gas mechanised plasma-arc cutting power source at the UK's MACH 2008 machine tool exhibition this week The company showed the machine was interfaced with a SMS (Smart Machine Systems) SmartPLASMA plasma-arc cutting table, simulating the cutting of complex and intricate components

Available in capacities of 220/230V, 380/400V and 415/440V, the 50/60Hz Plasma Prof 164 HGC power source is fully microprocessor controlled.

It has a 22kVA input power and a maximum rating of 120A at 100% duty cycle with a infinitely adjustable current range between 20-120A.

The machine includes a HV18 ignition unit, PGC-1/2 synergic parameter setting gas console, PVC secondary gas valve console and CP250G cutting torch.

Wilkinson Star told manufacturingtalk that the Plasma Prof 164 HQC is designed for use in the fabrication industry to cut complicated highly intricate quality components in a multitude of steels using different gases including oxygen, nitrogen, argon-hydrogen, nitrogen-hydrogen and compressed air.

All the process parameters including material to be cut and its thickness, the gas and current required, the optimum cutting speed and cutting torch nozzle diameter are set using the PGC-1/2 gas console.

The user is able to access system updates as they become available, direct from the Cebora website using the RS232 port on the power source to update the equipments software.

 

Moog drives package is multi-axis

Moog has introduced an advanced multi-axis motion control and servo drive package, which combines ndividual MSD servo drives with an MSD motion controller for up to 30 axes.

Moog Controls has introduced an advanced multi-axis motion control and servo drive package to make set up easier for machinery builders as well as offering better performance and greater precision For multi-axis drives up to 30 axes, the modular MSD motion control servodrive combines individual MSD servo drives with an MSD motion controller to give highly precise, highly dynamic control

A freely-programmable motion controller delivers speed and position control for up to 30 axes.

The use of high speed EtherCAT communications between motion controller and servo drives ensures fast response.

Moog told manufac turingtalk that the package can provide significant reductions in cycle times and so boost machine performance.

The MSD supports IEC61131 programming, as well as programming of custom control loops using MathWorks/C/C++.

It also provides a simple user interface for parameter input and data programming.

For communication with remote I/O, PLCs and other control components, the MSD supports a range of different communications protocols as standard.

They include the following.

• SERCOS.
• EtherCAT.
• CANopen.
• Profibus.
• Customer-specific protocols.

The MSD series can be used with the widest range of servomotors, including synchronous, asynchronous, linear and high-torque motors.

The frequency of the pulse with modulation is programmable, allowing the MSD servo drives to be optimised for different motors under different operating conditions, increasing performance and efficiency.

For precise position control, the MSD can take inputs from up to three position feedback sensors simultaneously, with support for both single and multi-turn encoders.

• About Moog - Moog's Industrial Business Unit designs and manufacturers high performance motion control systems combining electric, hydraulic and hybrid technologies with expert consultative support in a range of applications including plastics, metal forming, textiles, power generation and simulation.

We help performance-driven companies design and develop their next generation machines.

Moog's Industrial Business Unit, with 2007 fiscal year sales of US$436 million and 33 locations worldwide, is part of Moog Incorporated.

In 2007, Moog Inc's revenues amounted to US$1.558 billion.