Product News

Jega Jegatheeson (left) with Tony Herewini, general manager, T P Engineering.   A New Zealand invention, designed to make wind power more efficient and cheaper, has been singled out by a renowned wind technology expert as one of the world’s leading new innovations. The invention, Gyroscopic Variable Transmission (GVT), is the brainchild of New Zealander Mr Jega Jegatheeson. It has been featured in a new book, ‘Innovation in Wind Turbine Design’, by Glasgow-based wind expert Peter Jamieson, as being on the leading edge of wind power technology. Mr Jegatheeson, previously an engineer with the former Electricity Corporation of New Zealand, has been working for over 15 years to solve the problems faced by the wind power industry of gearboxes breaking as a result of the massive wind gust forces they are subjected to. “It’s widely recognised in the industry that the gearboxes cannot stand up to the incessant forces over time and many fail within as little as five to seven years. The costs of repairs and also the downtime are very significant and alternatives such as direct drive create other expensive problems,” says Mr Jegatheeson. “Unlike traditional wind turbine gearboxes around the world, GVT technology doesn’t rely on gears and expensive electronics. It instead uses gyroscopic reaction forces to transfer the power from the blades to the generator with less stress on the turbine. This will significantly reduce costs – possibly as much as 50% compared to existing systems.” Another feature of GVT is that it can handle more turbulent air. This means that wind turbines equipped with the GVT technology could be built on the edges of existing wind farms in places previously thought unsuitable. The result would mean significant increases in energy generated from an existing wind farm using the same infrastructure. “Developing our technology in New […]

  Scientists have developed a revolutionary ultrasonic attachment for taps that massively enhances the ability of water to clean. Currently, industry uses excessive water, power and additives for cleaning. For example, it can take up to 100 tonnes of water to produce one tonne of clean wool after shearing. Many industrial processes also generate large quantities of contaminated run-off. The water from hosing down an abattoir represents a real health risk and cannot be allowed to enter the water supply. Purifying run-off is costly – each cubic metre of water used for cleaning in the nuclear industry can cost about 10,000 pounds to treat. Professor Tim Leighton and Dr Peter Birkin of the University of Southampton have developed a device that works with cold water, minimal additives and consumes as much electrical power as a light bulb. Its application will be wide – licences have already been sold to a number of industries to look at cleaning in food preparation, hospitals, manufacturing and the home. The technology consumes less water and power than the established competitor technologies. Talking about the need for such a technology, Professor Leighton said: “Society runs on its ability to clean. Ineffective cleaning leads to food poisoning, failure of manufactured products such as precision watches and microchips, and poor construction – from shipbuilding to space shuttles – since dirty surfaces do not bond. “The impact in healthcare is huge – hospital-acquired infections, from instruments that are not properly cleaned, cost the National Health Service one billion pounds per year. There’s a very obvious need for technologies that improve our ability to clean while saving on our most important resources, water and energy.” In recognition of their invention, Professor Leighton and Dr Birkin were awarded the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award for Innovation in 2011. Using the […]

  HONG KONG: Avnet Design Services, part of Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia (http://www.em.avnetasia.com/), a business region of Avnet, Inc. http://avnet.com/)(NYSE: AVT (http://ir.avnet.com/ )), has announced a low-cost Ethernet Powerlink Industrial Networking Kit that delivers a total development platform for industrial networking applications. Co-developed with Xilinx and Texas Instruments with supporting technology from Austria;s B&R Automation, the Spartan-6 FPGA-based kit delivers a complete implementation of the Powerlink protocol (Controlled Node), development tools and other design resources to help developers of industrial networking applications build their systems quickly at the lowest cost. Ethernet Powerlink is an industrial networking protocol standard that was first developed in 2001 by B&R Automation, an Austrian company. Today, the standard has been open-sourced and is managed by the Ethernet Powerlink Standardisation Group (EPSG), an independent association. At the end of 2011, Powerlink was approved as a Chinese nationally recommended standard, GB/T 27960-2011. “Avnet Design Services is delighted to have had the support of the market leaders in their respective segments in the execution of this program,” said Andy Wong, vice president, Asia for Avnet Design Services and Segment Marketing. “This offering underlines our technical strengths in the industrial automation market. The optimised Powerlink protocol meets critical system timing and performance requirements. We believe it will prove easy for engineers to adopt and the advantages of an FPGA-based solution will be clear to them from day one, helping them expedite the development of applications.” Xilinx’s Spartan-6 FPGA has the processing performance and networking capabilities to handle the Powerlink protocol requirements easily while still having resources available to execute user-specific applications. For example, a motor control algorithm could be included within the same FPGA. The level of processing power offers greater integration options and higher performance within a single device. “The Ethernet Powerlink Industrial Networking Kit gives developers a […]

  In today’s fast-moving business environment, the ability to change automated assembly and production systems quickly and efficiently, at lowest cost and risk across multiple global locations, is vital. Now, innovative computer experts have created a software tool with the potential to save a wide variety of manufacturers many millions every year. Academics at Loughborough University, England have developed a virtual-reality engineering environment that offers manufacturers a faster and more focused tool for the creation of their automation systems – from electronic goods assembly to the food and packaging industries. The Business Driven Automation (BDA) system has been made in the automotive sector in partnership with the Ford Motor Company, ThyssenKrupp System Engineering and Schneider Electric. BDA provides a virtual reality (VR) engineering environment for manufacturing companies to enable them to validate and change automated assembly and production systems quickly and efficiently, at minimal cost/risk across multiple global locations. The approach is highly generic and applicable to almost all industrial automation sectors. Today’s automation systems are difficult and complex to service, reconfigure and integrate. Moving away from these traditional, slower practices, the new software engineering tool enables rapid configuration and modification of factory automation systems. At Loughborough’s Innovative Manufacturing & Construction Research Centre (IMCRC), the project’s principal investigator Professor Rob Harrison said: “We have developed innovative software to give a quick, accurate, virtual 3D prototype view of assembly machine behaviour before they are physically built. We aim to make these tools much easier and faster, and we want to see them used throughout the machine lifecycle, not just at initial design and build.” Virtual design tools help Ford engineers to improve the design aesthetics, engineering and ergonomics of its cars and trucks. Speaking for Ford’s manufacturing engineering department, Les Lee, said: “Collaboration offers opportunities for reduced costs, faster time-to-market, improved […]

SINGAPORE: Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of advanced metal cutting systems, is now selling consumables for Kaliburn Spirit plasma cutting systems that last at least twice as long as the OEM consumables. Testing shows the life expectancy of the consumables increases by two to three times when cutting at 275 amps and below, and increases more than 50 percent when cutting at 400 amps. In addition to lasting longer, the consumables deliver better and more consistent cut quality, resulting in the need for less secondary work. The life and performance improvements are the result of advanced Hypertherm technology. SilverLine electrodes contain a solid silver front so they wear more slowly; CoolFlow nozzles have an angled o-ring, deep cooling contours and thicker walls to extend the working life; and the swirl ring is made with lava instead of ceramic, making it more robust and economical. “These new Centricut consumables for Kaliburn reduce the overall cost of operation and deliver exceptional cut quality and process reliability,” said Martin Geheran, product marketing manager for Hypertherm’s Centricut brand. “At the same time, they maintain the fast cutting speeds that are especially important in today’s economic environment.” The Centricut brand consumables are available for all Kaliburn Spirit and ProLine systems. Like all Hypertherm products, they are precision manufactured to tight tolerances so customers get consistent, reliable performance from their cutting system. Hypertherm’s Centricut brand engineers and manufactures advanced plasma and laser cutting consumables. Its product line includes consumables that deliver increased value to people who own most any non-Hypertherm cutting system including systems by ESAB, Kjellberg, and Trumpf. All Centricut brand products are engineered and manufactured to exacting standards and incorporate the latest technological advances that help to reduce operating costs, while delivering increased cut speed and quality. Centricut products include free technical support and […]

Picture:  With FeatureCAM, Mr. Waugh can now program anything that can be machined on his Haas Minimills. After adding Delcam’s FeatureCAM feature-based CAM system, Bruce Waugh has been able to move into 3D machining in the one-person machine shop, Waugh Machine, he runs in his garage in Camp Verde, Arizona. Until two years ago, he turned down jobs involving 3D parts because he was unable to program them. Now he can produce any part that fits within the capabilities of his two Haas Minimills. In addition, the feature-recognition capabilities within the software have reduced the time required to program typical 2.5D parts from one hour to ten minutes. There is a common misconception that only large companies can benefit from introducing CAM software. Examples like Waugh Machine prove that even the smallest operations can also boost their capabilities and productivity with these systems. “FeatureCAM has changed the nature of my business,” claimed Mr. Waugh, who has been a machinist for 35 years. “Because I can now do more complicated parts, I have been able to raise my rates while running my machines at full capacity. My customers are more than happy to pay my new rates because I am able to deliver a higher level of quality on more difficult jobs.” Mr. Waugh’s two main customers are a large medical-device manufacturer and an aerospace subcontractor. “The aerospace manufacturer usually gives me drawings,” he said. “Sometimes these are up to 60 years old.” “The medical-device company used to give me drawings as the starting point for contract machining jobs,” he added. “One day, the customer told me that it was going to do away with drawings and begin providing CAD files. I saw this as the writing on the wall for 2.5D programming and made the decision to upgrade to FeatureCAM […]

With the continuing evolution of machining requirements to satisfy new power generation production needs, Mitsui Seiki has introduced the HU63-T 5-xis CNC Machining Center. Typical applications include critical rotating components (Blisks, Impellers, & Turbine Disks) for gas turbine power generation systems. New features and specifications for the HU63-T include up 800 mm (31.5”) work diameter capacity on its vertically oriented table, 300 kg (660 lbs) work / fixture weight capacity, variety of increased axis stroke options, high torque spindles (1081 Nm – 800 lb-ft continuous), tuned structure for heavy cutting in hard metals, and latest Fanuc 30iM control with enhanced features for 5-axis simultaneous machining. The X, Y, Z working envelope is 900 mm x 800 mm x 800 mm (35.4″ x 31.5″ x 31.5″). The rapid federate in X, Y, Z axes is 32,000 mm/min (1260 ipm). Accuracy is the hallmark of any Mitsui Seiki machine. With the HU63-T, positioning accuracy in X, Y, Z axes is 0.001 mm (0.00004″), positioning repeatability is 0.001 mm (0.00004″). On the B axis, positioning accuracy is ±4 arc seconds; repeatability is ±1.5 arc seconds. The driver for the energy industry boom is fuel efficiency, achieved by lighter weights, excellent heat tolerance, and smaller packages. For a machine tool builder such as Mitsui Seiki, this is a fortunate evolution as more sophisticated machine tools are required to machine these new materials and complex precision parts cost-effectively. Mitsui Seiki has a long history developing dedicated machine tools for the energy industry. The company has been particularly active in the ground-based gas turbine market developing new projects for high speed machining of air foils, heavy-duty machining of engine cases, and high precision machining of gearboxes. The advancement of its HU-T product line has become important to this energy market segment. Likewise, with other products, the […]

  Processing of steel is a tough assignment for lifting equipment. Not only does the hoisting technology have to cope with high volumes of heavy and unevenly shaped product in often challenging environments, but also it has to function at high levels of reliability and safety 24/7. See Hup Seng – a leading provider of corrosion prevention services in Singapore – has employed the technology and maintenances services of the global Konecranes group to sharpen its competitive edge over more than a decade. It has moved recently to further extend its materials handling advantage by investing in advanced technology backed by local expertise. The investment is a strategic initiative by the Singapore-based company, which is a major service provider to the marine, oil and gas, construction and infrastructure industries– industry groups where quality of services and finished product is essential to safety and reliability. The group processes of more than 20,000 tons of steel plate and profile in a month  at its two Singapore facilities, where, since 1971, it has built up a strong niche in specialised tank coating services, large scale industrial plant operations,  and as a resident contractor for premier shipyards in one of the world’s busiest ports. To ensure production quality, safety and reliability, the company has chosen to rely upon a materials handling system based on overhead cranes, rather than floor-based alternatives, says See Hup Seng General Manager Mr Edward Ho Tong Wong. “We process 300-400 heavy plates a day, which is high by any standard. Our founder was very far sighted in depending from the outset on an overhead crane system, which saves a lot of space and increases throughput and efficiency.  “With the crane system there is less effort and less damage to processes,” said Mr Edward Ho, whose plant’s lifting technology has to […]