Abaris set to train military in repairs
RENO, NEV. - Operators at three domestic military depots will get instruction on low-cost polymer repair of rotorcraft and aircraft under 2Phase Technologies Inc.'s October award of a subcontract to Abaris Training.
Training is for 2Phase's reconfigurable tooling systems for rapidly creating prototypes, making repairs and manufacturing polymer-matrix-composite and plastic parts in short runs.
Implementing the repair system is part of 2Phase's $2 million third- and final-year follow-on contract from the aviation applied technology directorate of the U.S. Army at Fort Eustis, Va. Work began in 2004.
2Phase employs 16 in Mound House and Dayton, Nev., and intends to add two or three more workers. In addition, 2Phase plans to boost its support of programs at the Reno and Las Vegas campuses of the University of Nevada.
Reno-based Abaris will provide training at the Army depot in Corpus Christi, Texas; the Navy's Navair depot in Cherry Point, N.C.; and possibly the Air Force's air logistics center at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
Robotic Production touting RoboTrim
Auburn Hills, Mich. - Robotic Production Technology's RoboTrim RT-500 router trimming system provides manufacturers with the ability to trim 60-by-60-by-60-inch parts with the flexibility of a six-axis robot, officials said.
The system was designed to trim large thermoformed, injection molded, blow molded, rotational molded or composite parts. It has a servocontrolled rotating table, full safety enclosure with automatic sliding front doors and comprehensive safety equipment.
On display at the Society of Plastics Engineers' Thermoforming Conference, held recently in Nashville, Tenn., the system featured a new six-axis RPT AccuTrim R-110 robot equipped with a 10-horsepower spindle, automatic tool-change capabilities, Fanuc's new R-J3iC controller and RPT's Routerware and System Calibration Tools software.
Robotic Production Technology is based in Auburn Hills.
Miniature Precision opens office in Japan
NAGOYA, JAPAN - Injection molder Miniature Precision Components Inc. has opened an engineering office in Japan to help it connect with automotive customers there.
The new subsidiary, MPC Japan KK in Nagoya, will allow the Walworth, Wis., firm to improve product development and project management.
Serkan Cetin will run the office as senior liaison engineer.
Fenner acquires 3P, restores name to EGC
HOUSTON - The North American operations of 3P Performance Plastics Products, a Houston-based maker of fluoropolymer seals and related components, has a new owner and a new name.
Fenner plc of East Yorkshire, England, has purchased the North American assets of 3P for $15 million from Cie. Plastic Omnium SA of Lyon, France. It renamed the outfit EGC. The business was known as EGC Corp. before its September 1994 purchase by Plastic Omnium.
Houston-based EGC employs about 300 and had 2005 sales of $34 million. It supplies products for electronics, pump, valve, compressor, aerospace, oil and natural gas applications.
Fenner's wholly owned subsidiary, CDI Seals Inc., made the acquisition. A Fenner news release said the deal provides CDI Seals with a broader product offering and materials technology.
Fenner Chief Executive Officer Mark Abrahams said ECG will be relocated to CDI's Humble, Texas, site over the next 18 months.