Device can measure temperature effects
Benz Materials Testing Instruments of Providence, R.I., said its TR 2200 temperature retraction tester measures the effects of low temperatures on plastics, rubber and other elastomeric materials.
The TR 2200 allows for evaluation of crystallization and viscosity at low temperatures. An operator stretches a sample, cools it, then releases the sample and allows it to retract.
The testing device costs $20,000.
Tel. (401) 331-5650, e-mail [email protected]
American Leistritz introduces pelletizer
American Leistritz Extruder Corp. of Somerville, N.J., said its newly designed air-quench pelletizer works well on wood-fiber/plastic composites, metal-filled compounds, PVC, pharmaceutical products and other high-viscosity materials that can be die-face cut without water.
Leistritz uses an annular die with a spring-loaded hot-face cutter on its air-quench pelletizer. The in-line die minimizes the stagnation of polymers in the pelletizer.
Leistritz can equip the die assembly with either a spray mist attachment or a cold-air gun to cut difficult materials that smear on conventional hot-face cutters.
After cutting, a blower does the initial cooling before the pellets are moved into a high-speed airstream that carries them to a cyclone, vibratory tower or a fluidized bed for additional cooling.
An Allen-Bradley controller does automatic start-up and manages recipes.
Tel. (908) 685-2333, fax (908) 685-0247.
Kistler-Morse offers integration system
Bothell, Wash.-based Kistler-Morse Corp. has a new Orb 2.0 communications integration system, which links its weight and level instruments to networks on the Internet or a company intranet.
Orb 2.0 is based on the Intel Celeron processor. It allows continuous data logging via an internal Web-server platform. Features include a standard Ethernet interface and a built-in modem.
In other news, Kistler-Morse has expanded its family of load cells. The LD360s model is now available in capacities of 1,000-25,000 pounds. Another load cell, the LD3xi, can handle 220-5,500 pounds, at better than 0.03 percent accuracy, the company said.
Tel. (800) 426-9010, fax (425) 402-1500.
Vistagy's software aids design process
Vistagy Inc. of Waltham, Mass., said version 4.0 of its FiberSim enables engineers working with computer-aided-design systems to design composite products.
Because the software is based on the open standard of Extensible Markup Language, the design can be shared. Version 4.0 includes expanded capabilities for defining ply characteristics and sharing them across XML.
Tel. (781) 290-0506, fax (781) 290-0507.
Netstal-Maschinen builds retro machine
Netstal-Maschinen AG of Näfels, Switzerland, has revived an old injection molding idea: separating the compression process from injection.
The company said some firms tried the idea in the mid-1970s, but as presses were built with increasing injection capacity, interest faded.
Netstal said its precompression process is well-suited to molding high-performance, thin-wall parts.
Normally during injection molding, there is a delay when pressure builds as the melt is compressed. Because the resin solidifies quickly in thin-wall sections, filling sometimes is difficult.
One way around that problem is to increase injection speed or accelerate the screw. The other option is to pre-compress the melt.
Netstal's process makes minor modifications to the nozzle and controller. The shut-off nozzle remains safely closed until the desired compression pressure is reached, then the nozzle opens and the melt blasts into the mold.
Netstal holds patents on its process, which the company said is different from the X-Melt technique from Engel Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH.
Netstal's U.S. headquarters, Netstal Machinery Inc., is in Devens, Mass.
Tel. (978) 772-5100, fax (978) 772-5151.
University licensing MuCell technology
MuCell is going to college.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has licensed MuCell technology from Trexel Inc. of Woburn, Mass. That makes UW-Madison the first U.S. university to incorporate the MuCell microcellular injection molding technology into its teaching curriculum and research efforts, Trexel said.
Lih-Sheng Turng, associate director of the university's polymer engineering center, said a survey of the center's industrial consortium found that members wanted to learn about microcellular molding.
Turng said the license will enable university researchers to understand the physics of the process and work with industrial partners to use MuCell in applications such as automotive, consumer electronics and medical products.
Tel. (781) 932-0202, fax (781) 932-3324, e-mail [email protected]
Nissei is exporting ferrule technology
Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. of Nagano, Japan, is exporting a complete manufacturing system for ferrules, which are used to make connections of fiber-optic strands.
In March, Nissei showed a videotape of the system during the Optical Fiber Communications Conference 2002 in Anaheim, Calif. The favorable response prompted the company to start selling the technology overseas.
A ferrule is a high-precision part made of zirconia, a type of ceramine, which fixes optical fibers in an optical connector.
The fibers are inserted into a divided sleeve with tiny holes, then bonded together. The part has tight tolerances - Nissei said the ferrule blank can have variations of just 0.015 millimeter or less.
Nissei supplies the injection press, and contracts with suppliers of the other equipment, such as a production line that turns the zirconia into blanks before it is processed into ferrules, and furnaces for degreasing and sintering.
The Nissei injection press comes with an ultrahigh, wear-resistant screw and barrel to keep out contaminants. The screw design matches the delicate material, since the raw zirconia powder first must be mixed with thermoplastic resins and organic binders such as plasticizers and lubricants. Special screw tips and nozzles ensure stable molding conditions.
Nissei's U.S. headquarters, Nissei America Inc., is based in Anaheim, Calif.
Tel. (714) 693-3000, fax (714) 693-7777, e-mail [email protected]
Van Dorn introduces smaller all-electrics
Van Dorn Demag Corp. has introduced smaller sizes of its all-electric injection press, the IntElect, with 50 and 80 tons of clamping force.
The first IntElect, introduced last year, was a 100-ton model.
Features of the presses include an electric-driven, five-point toggle mechanism, and belt-and-ball-screw technology.
The Strongsville, Ohio, company began shipping the 50- and 80- ton IntElects this summer. The company plans to introduce seven more sizes, ranging from 165-625 tons.
In other news, Van Dorn Demag introduced a nonreturn valve called CloserNRV that it said boosts efficiency and part consistency. Van Dorn Demag is making the three-part nonreturn valve, licensing a patented design from R.F. Dray Sr. of Dallas. Closure happens when the ring slides past a groove around the circumference of the valve.
Further sealing occurs when the ring contacts the rear seat. The design means the valve closes consistently, minimizing the use of pullback.
Tel. (440) 876-8960, fax (440) 876-4383.
Gravity Management has new PowerFeed
Gravity Management & Engineering Group of Tulsa, Okla., is marketing a new type of PowerFeed structural foam molding machine, developed for PalWeb Corp., a Dallas company that molds plastic pallets.
The machine, called the Piper 600, uses one single-screw extruder to feed two separate halves of the press. The stationary extruder feeds a manifold that moves to each of four molds - two molds on each side.
The extruder, from Milacron Inc., has a screw diameter of 6 inches, according to Bryan Kirchmer, president of Gravity Management.
Each half of the machine has three platens, including a center platen.
According to Kirchmer, the extruder runs continuously; the machine does not have to wait for the parts to cool.
The result is an impressive output of 2,500 pounds of polyethylene per hour.
Milacron's D-M-E unit worked on a hot-runner system for the molds, Kirchmer said.
Tel. (918) 382-9876, fax (918) 382-9908.