News items March 2008

Which feeder is best for which bulk material? In order to provide customers with accurate answers to this question, Schenck Process GmbH are now offering tests at their new, modern TestCenter in Darmstadt that are based on real life situations. The specialist in measuring and process technologies invited its customers to the centre`s official opening on 27 February. More than 100 people attended the event to learn more about what the new centre has to offer. Just like at a trade fair, the event enabled them to view several highlights under one roof. More test rigs and an improved level of automation mean that the TestCenter can now run even more accurate tests, all very closely based on actual processing circumstances. Just like real life Tests in the four test labs can be run in parallel without impacting negatively on one another. Three of the test labs feature different equipment for filling the feeders with bulk bags or pneumatic feeding and complete cycle

The PM 100 CM allows for gentle size reduction with less temperature rise The new Planetary Ball Mill PM 100 CM offers all the performance and convenience of the classic PM 100. It pulverizes and mixes soft, medium-hard to extremely hard, brittle and fibrous materials and is used wherever the highest degree of fineness down to the submicron range is required. It is suitable for dry and wet grinding. In contrast to the PM 100 the speed ratio of sun wheel to grinding jar is 1:-1, i.e. the mill operates in centrifugal mode. This results in a different ball movement so that the sample is not so much crushed by impact effects but more gently ground by pressure and friction which causes less abrasion. The PM 100 CM offers an excellent alternative for all applications where size reduction should not be carried out with maximum energy input.

Vocal Element for Signal Towers Ever wondered how you can address your machine operators directly with a spoken text to ensure a rapid response? Or how to issue clear, unmistakable directives? Maybe even in different languages? You may be looking for a way to provide clear instructions in a workshop for the blind, or to welcome your customers when they enter the building with a personal company song. If so, then look no further. WERMA has the ideal solution for you: The unique new vocal element can replay sounds, songs and recorded spoken messages. Small element, great effect The new module is simply integrated into the existing KombiSIGN 70 or 71 series signal tower, and can be supplemented with up to three further light elements. A bayonet fixing system allows mechanical and electrical connection of the individual elements in just seconds, making the new element ready for immediate operation using any recorded audio files, such as sounds, alarms, songs or spoken texts. Simple programming

function for AS-Interface® Unique acknowledgement function with feedback signal via AS-Interface Bus With the addition of the LED/buzzer Combination 450 with acknowl-edgement function, WERMA has expanded its range of products with integrated AS-Interface®. The combination unites a very bright light signal with the powerful sound of a buzzer. This product also features a unique acknowledgement function: by gently pressing the front sur-face of the product the audible signal can be turned off in a matter of seconds. This acknowledgement signal is fed back to the master via the AS-Interface Bus and the malfunction is only indicated by means of the optical signal. Expanded addressing and a sound output of 80 dB The Combination 450 for AS-Interface enables an expanded address-ing (A/B technology) of up to 62 modules. The power required is drawn from the Bus voltage. The LEDs radiate light both frontally and to the side, thus ensuring op-timal all-round signal visibility. The 3 KHz continuous

WERMA has extended its successful program of optical signal devices with the addition of the new LED beacon and LED traffic light in an inno-vative design. The new beacons are available either as single LED bea-cons in red or as LED traffic light combinations in the colours red/green or red/yellow/green. Innovative design for new fields of application The new LED beacons combine a completely new traffic light form with a high degree of functionality and cost effectiveness. They can be de-ployed for a range of tasks within industry, automation and building ser-vices engineering. Thanks to the modern style and the attractive, innova-tive plastic housing, the signal beacons can also be deployed in fields where appearance plays an important role. They are especially suited for applications where the classical traffic light form is unsuitable, for exam-ple in the fields of access control, warehousing technology or in the lei-sure sector. Choice of both clear and coloured

Foldaway Base for KombiSIGN 50, 70 und 71 KombiSIGN signal towers are deployed with high-quality industrial equipment, fulfilling important monitoring and control functions, especially within the fields of mechanical and plant engineering. The comprehensive range of accessories has now been extended with the addition of the new Foldawy Base. This provides customers with flexible and innovative mounting options as well as unique solutions for the signal tower series KombiSIGN 50, 70 and 71. Minimises machine packaging with lower costs and easier transportation The Foldaway Base from WERMA enables signal towers to be folded down completely, even when connected. This is especially important when machines with pre-mounted signal towers need to be dispatched. Before packaging, the signal tower can be folded down through 90 degrees in a few simple steps. The tower can then simply be restored to the upright position once the machine has reached its destination – all without having to remove the electrical connections. Align

new WERMA Catalogue for 2008 Optical and Audible Signal Devices in the new WERMA Catalogue for 2008 WERMA offers a wide range of signal towers, optical, optical-audible, au-dible and explosion proof signal devices. In the new WERMA catalogue, now running to over 300 pages, you can find a multitude of innovative products and the latest developments in the field of optical and audible signalling. Quick-Finder for simplified product search Special features of the 2008 catalogue include the new attractive title page and the Quick-Finder for Ex signal devices. Here you can quickly and simply locate the most suitable product for your Ex application, re-gardless of whether it is for a dust, gas or vapour atmosphere. Symbols for a better overview A further highlight is the new graphically enhanced presentation of the technical data, ordering data, accessories and scale drawings on the individual product pages: small symbols aid our customers in finding the desired information at a glance and

A clean affair A clean affair: The single-drum motor for clean rooms The new single-drum motors turn power transmission into a clean affair. Their non-ventilated design prevents the attraction of dirt particles and, in doing so, clearly reduces the possibility of deposits on the motor’s smooth surface. Any contamination can also be much more efficiently removed than from standard three-phase motors with cooling fins, making single-drum motors the perfect choice for sanitary applications in clean room conditions, for example in the foodstuff, chemical and pharmaceutical production fields. The temperature sensor (winding cover contacts, a standard feature) protects the motor winding from excessive warming. Single-drum motors can be used with various drive models and are characterised by a robust and compact design. With a rated output of 0.09 KW with 1400 min-1 / 0.2 KW with 2800 min-1 (model size 63), these motors are suitable for a multitude of long-term tasks (S1

New Hot Air Sealer SH 2000 from Saxon is faster…more versatile! “The new generation of Fischbein-Saxon sealers SH 2000 combines the latest in PID temperature-control technology, an innovative direct-drive system, and enhanced airflow design guaranteeing a high efficiency heat transfer system that seals thicker bags. The result is a sealer that is faster and can accommodate thicker bags. Product changeovers are easily managed through user-friendly controls that include a variable speed (VFD) direct drive system and an electric, variable height pedestal that easily adjusts the sealing height to handle a variety of bag sizes. “With its durable, hygienic, stainless steel housing and easy speed adjustment, the state-of-the-art SH 2000 confirms Fischbein-Saxon’s supremacy in hot-air sealer technology and the payoff is quality and attractive seals, faster changeover, less downtime, increased reliability and greater flexibility. It`s a smart solution for your bagging

Aerotransporter on Aero-Caster aircushions moves first Automatic Transfer Vehicle, Jules Verne. The first Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named after Jules Verne, was placed in orbit on March 9 via an Ariane 5 rocket weighing 775 tons at the moment of liftoff from Kourou, in French Guynea. AeroGo Europe has produced and delivered the aerotransporter with a capacity of 25T. This transporter on cushions of air moves the Jules Verne ATV from the S5C hall, where the space shuttle is prepared, to the S5B area where the ATV will be loaded with Russian propellants.

Enerpac hydraulic system integration play an important role Six Daring Class Type 45 anti-air warfare destroyers are being assembled, launched and outfitted for the UK Royal Navy at BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions’ Govan & Scotstoun shipyards in Glasgow. The ship’s hull is manufactured in sections or “blocks” in a fabrication shop adjacent to the berth and slipway. The Enerpac Synchronous Lifting System is used to lift the blocks free from the transport so that they can be driven away. During the lifting procedure the 16 points PLC-controlled synchronous lifting system operates within strict load and stroke constraints to ensure that the desired load paths into the ship`s hull structure are maintained. In the use of hydraulics in heavy lifting projects, application knowledge and expertise are very important. Accurate lifting, lowering, pushing or weighing has a significant effect on structures. Every step of the lifting process can be monitored via the display of the PLC control unit. Apart from the very accurate

flexiible connections, FDA approved Seamless rubber sleeves are available up to 3 mtr lengths. The mandrill wrapped handbuilt sleeves are smooth on the inside an on the outside with texturised surface. Available in the dimensions, 4`-6`-8`-10`-12` and 14`. Other dimensions on request. different rubber types, FDA approved.

Starting on the 1st of February Inrato International has acquired the machine safety business from Dewit Industrial Sensors (DIS) in Soest (NL). DIS has made a strategic decision to focus purely on their core-activities as development and production of sensors and controls. Mr. Leendert Jan IJspeert, previously working as product manager of machine safety at DIS, is in charge of the new company Inrato International. The exclusive sales rights for Holland and Belgium of two safety products manufacturers are also acquired by Inrato. In het first place Smartscan as manufacturer of e.g. safety light curtains and safety relays and in the second place Gamma Systems as manufacturer of safety mats, safety edges and safety bumpers. ‘This will not effect the customers much’, according to Leendert Jan IJspeert. ‘Customers are used doing business with me and this contact will not change at all’.’ The biggest change for the customers is to change company

In-Sight Micro: the worlds smallest, smartest, and easiest vision system The In-Sight Micro is a full vision system the size of a remote-head camera, ideal for mounting in very tight spaces on robots, production lines and machinery. In addition to small size, the In-Sight Micro provides flexible mounting capability with a unique non-linear calibration tool that enables mounting at angles of up to 45-degrees for hard-to-reach applications. “What’s truly revolutionary about the In-Sight Micro vision system is that it transforms machine vision into a much more affordable and accessible solution for so many people,” said Justin Testa, Cognex Senior Vice President. “Now even users unfamiliar with machine vision systems will find it easy to set up and deploy machine vision applications.” Five new In-Sight Micro models cover a range of price, performance, and resolution levels. In-Sight Micro includes the proven Cognex vision tool library to handle the broadest range of vision applications for the widest array of industries. The

Are you dreaming too of weighing controllers, simply doing what they should do? An instrument, not creating piles of invoices for scarcely functioning software? Yes? Here it is. All you need for dosing, filling, mass flow control, belt weighing and much more, the SmarT does as a standard. It offers you a flexible weighing instrument with several communication facilities, inputs, outputs and so on. You haven’t to program the sequence, but you assemble it by means of an interactive help function. This function you select out of software modules or macros for positive or negative dosing, with or without automatic in-flight control, timer functions, interlocks and so forth. Additionally many calculator functions and designs for print outs are present; your operator only has to enter the required weights and timings in your formulas or filling instructions. The specifications are remarkable: • a fast weighing instrument, 1.000 conversions/s. • a position for a combined

In the course of modernizing weighing processes, Opdenhoff extends its product range to include continuous weighing systems such as the Siwarex FTC from Siemens. Opdenhoff Technologie’s many years of experience based on a wide variety of weighing processes have been incorporated in this new control concept. After all, an ideal overall concept for demanding new plants and simple modernization of older production facilities can only evolve in connection with a CPU and a plant-specific control program. Recording belt loads or feed rates, controlling continuous product streams with loss-in-weight feeders or bi-directional force measurement are only a part of the many possible applications this new concept offers. What makes the control of loss-in-weight feeders special is an intelligent switching between two modes of operation which ensures that the product flow rate is achieved quickly. The dosing unit reaches the target value quickly with the aid of a characteristic