Laserquipment offers new welding process
Laserquipment of Wilsonville, Ore., said its hybrid plastics welding technology combines the cost-effectiveness of conventional light welding with the efficiency of laser welding - and makes it possible to use laser welding on large, three-dimensional parts.
The dual method of irradiating the weld seam distributes the temperature field evenly in the welding plane, leading to shorter cycle times with less laser power requirements than conventional laser contour welding.
Tel. (503) 454-4200, fax (503) 682-7151, e-mail [email protected] .com.
ThermoView priced to sell, easy to use
The ThermoView Ti30 is an affordable, hand-held thermal imager that stores as many as 100 images and has easy-to-use analysis and reporting software, according to manufacturer Raytek Corp.
A docking station lets users download information to computers and recharge the batteries, said the Santa Cruz, Calif., firm.
Tel. (831) 458-1110, fax (831) 458-1239.
CAT scanner targets small, complex parts
Bolton Works LLC is pitching CAT scan technology for inspecting and analyzing very small injection molded plastic parts and assemblies with complex geometries.
Industrial CAT scanners rotate an object under a stationary X-ray. A detector measures the attenuation of the X-ray beams after they pass through the object. The measurements are reconstructed into a cross-sectional digital image.
There is no need to program a CAT scanner, as opposed to a coordinate-measuring machine. Both the inside and outside of the part is captured, so porosity and other unintended voids show up.
The Vernon, Conn., company presented a case study of a part for Parker Hannifin's Pneutronics division. Parker Hannifin wanted a nondestructive way to analyze a valve, which included a glass-filled-polymer valve housing, a stainless-steel core and actuator and a plunger with a silicone rubber seal.
Bolton Works brings together virtual assembly, using scanned components, and computer-aided-design models to solve design and manufacturing problems at an early stage. A key to the process is PolyWorks software from InnovMetric, which compares dimensions to a CAD model and displays the deviations.
Because the stainless steel, rubber and plastics, and copper wire all have a different density, the CT-scanner had to use different energy levels for each component. So Bolton Works did a ``virtual assembly'' with PolyWorks to put the components together into a final image.
Tel. (860) 646-3948, fax (860) 646-9006, e-mail [email protected]
VenPad film sensor stays outside bubble
Octagon Process Technology of Wurzburg, Germany, said its VenPad does noncontact measurement of the outside of a blown film bubble.
Unlike other noncontact sensors, VenPad maintains a constant and very small distance between itself and the bubble, ensuring exact measuring conditions. Air flows at high speed between the film and the sensor, creating a partial vacuum to generate an air cushion of constant thickness.
VenPad is also suited for single-layer films and coextruded films.
Tel. +49 (931) 279-670, fax +49 (931) 274-719, e-mail [email protected]