Water-jet cutting system

Producing a permanent working water pressure of 6000 bar, a water-jet cutting system is able to cut such modern materials as composites and ceramics, as well as steel, aluminium alloys, and glass, effectively and with exactitude. The heart of the HyperPressure abrasive-jet system is an ultrahigh-pressure pump whose design mult­i­plies the 210-bar oil pressure acting on a large piston by 30 times in transferring that pressure to many smaller hydraulic pistons. The speed of the water jet created enables the volume of costly abrasive, in this case sand, to be reduced; in fact, not only is the amount of abrasive needed to achieve the desired cut less, but so is the volume of water consumed. The higher energy yield of the much faster than standard jet allows for more-precise cutting with a higher-quality cutting edge. The maintenance-friendly system comes with a special tool set for maintaining the Hyperjet pump and can be supported for the first year through the manufacturer’s exclusive service and maintenance programme. Flow Europe GmbH, Bretten, Germany.

Workpiece transfer system

A pallet-based transfer system designed for applications involving the assembly of miniature to medium-sized components is built from a variety of standard modules. Thus, the eco-Trans system offers flexibility in constructing, expanding, or reconfiguring complete multiple-product assembly lines ranging from single-operator manual workstations to semiautomatic or fully automated multistation manufacturing cells. The robust, easily maintained system employs a plastic-coated, motor-driven chain conveyor with magnetically coupled pallet and guide-plate assemblies supported by lateral and horizontal low-friction guide rollers. Pallets that may be positioned above or to the side of the guide plates come in sizes of 80 × 80, 120 × 120, and 160 ×160 mm, and the workpiece mounting plate can be adapted to accommodate customer-specific component fixturing. Enabling fast station-to-station change­over and the free combination of various components on the assembly line, the system is suited for small production runs and product diversity. ACI-ecoTec GmbH & Co. KG, Sankt Georgen, Germany.

Parts cleaning machines

Water- and solvent-based spray-type and ultrasonic cleaning machines are offered to manufacturers needing to clean the surfaces of production parts. The water-based precision cleaning units are suitable for cleaning high-technology surfaces such as those of medical device and electronic components, implants, turned parts, and precision mechanics. One example is the compact AquaJet 21, a spray cleaning and drying unit with process validation, which has been developed to serve the medical, ophthalmology, electronics, watchmaking, and similar industries. Available with one or two doors, this machine allows baskets to be loaded and unloaded either manually or automatically by means of trolleys. It is operated and monitored via a freely programmable control designed for user-friendliness. The full-service manufacturer makes cleaning units that meet US FDA CGMP requirements regarding materials, design, software, and documentation, offering professional project management and validation support services geared toward med-tech industry expectations. Amsonic Ltd., Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.

Contract tube manufacturing

A tubing-specific contract manufacturer that emphasizes its ability to provide comprehensive supply-chain solutions offers service capabilities in product design and development, raw material sourcing, component man­ufacturing, final assembly, quality assurance, sterilization, and warehousing and delivery. The company provides material consultation, including custom alloy development. It fabricates tubing from metals and polymers and can perform value-added operations to help speed market introduction. Joining is another area of competence. Company engineers can apply laser-welding, soldering, brazing, crimping, and UV-adhesive technologies in order to solve joining challenges, and can also design mechanical locking features. Accellent Inc., Herveld, Netherlands.

Electric linear actuator

A lightweight electric linear actuator is available in a variety of standard lengths to give system integrators the flexibility to use an off-the-shelf actuator to fulfill specific length requirements. The RoboCylinder RCP2 has been found aesthetically satisfactory for incorporation into medical environments in such applications as camera positioning systems for operating theatres. In addition, the actuator can provide the user with real-time movement capability; rather than being preprogrammed for repetitive movements, it handles precise on-the-fly adjustments. A pan-and-tilt head gives the moving camera in the sample application the ability to zoom and pan flexibly. IAI Industrieroboter GmbH, Schwalbach/Taunus, Germany.

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