Each of the product groups offers instrument quality pneumatic devices uniquely designed and optimized for highly accurate and repeatable force control at lower cost than other methods providing comparable functions and performance. The result is products and systems that Damp, Actuate, and Displace with superior accuracy and little or no friction. Airpot Accurate Force Pneumatics are ideal for designing or improving a product line or building specialized equipment to do research, high level testing or precision assembly.

Airpot’s “Accurate Force Pneumatics” individual component products aid the designer in the following three areas, and Airpot’s optimized systems provide the ultimate in customized force control.

Damping:
When there is the need to reduce or eliminate harmful or excessive motion Air Dashpots and Shock Absorbers use ambient air to precisely and accurately control force, velocity and impact.

Actuation:
When your mechanism needs a precise force Airpot Self aligning Actuators, Anti-Stiction and Zero-Friction air cylinders allow you to move it, hold it, or press it accurately and with amazing repeatability.

Displacement:
Precision Piston /Cylinder sets and Self-Aligning actuators make possible the precise dispensing of small volumes of air in pumping and flow applications, and can also be used for specialized bearing or driving requirements.

Optimized Systems:
Pre-selected systems components provide most of the functions needed between the air supply and the force output system to achieve your actuation objectives, and can save you research and development time. Our systems are matched to insure optimum performance and lowest cost.

Airpot
www.airpot.com

This full-line catalog includes features, specifications, technical drawings, color photographs, and application highlights throughout. Products can be found in six main categories, including Cylinders, Electronic Valves, Control Valves, Modular Valves, Fittings and Hose, and Air Preparation equipment.

Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc.
www.clippard.com/catalog

Festo round cylinders DSNU are now available with self-adjusting pneumatic cushioning. (Photo: Festo)

Until now, users always needed to adjust the end-position cushioning integrated into cylinders manually, with the risk of slow cycle times or excessive noise generation. Manual adjustment of end-position cushioning also takes time; this makes commissioning a very long drawn-out process in the case of installations with a lot of drives requiring cushioning.

Without any need for manual interventions, self-adjusting cushioning PPS from Festo now ensures an optimum cushioning action every time, even if parameters such as friction and pressure change. It also reduces the acceleration forces acting on components and workpieces. This cuts down wear and minimises time-consuming vibration. What is more, in comparison with shock absorbers, self-adjusting cushioning is less expensive and more robust. This unique cushioning, not offered by any other supplier, is now available with the Festo round cylinder DSNU, of which millions of examples have already been sold.

With Festo’s self-adjusting cushioning PPS for round cylinders DSNU, longitudinal slots on the inside of the cylinder discharge exhaust air in a controlled way, thus making it possible to achieve dynamic but gentle cushioning action into the end positions without the need for manual intervention. (Photo: Festo)

The DSNU-PPS variant with self-adjusting cushioning described above is not the only member of the DSNU range to offer impressive performance. In addition to the basic, standardised version, DSNU is available with four different mounting options, created by combinations of a total of three different bearing caps and four end caps. This include end caps of block design for direct mounting or with flange threads, end caps with threaded lugs and swivel bearings, with air supply connections that are lateral or in-line with the cylinder axis. The advantages for customers are: no need for costly special solutions, more flexibility during system design and less work when ordering. To ensure that ordering remains transparent and simple, the wide variety of available piston diameters, stroke lengths, functions and variants can be selected with just a single order code. Further variants are available with a through piston rod, heat-resistant seals and clamping units.

The DSNU covers all the applications within the ISO 6432 standard but also goes well beyond this. It will appeal to all users who place the most stringent requirements on round cylinders with regard to quality, a wide choice of variants, availability and price/performance ratio. The well-known long service life of Festo cylinders helps ensure system availability and thus guarantee maximum productivity.

Festo
www.festo.com

The 567 Valve’s unique double eccentric design features an off-center shaft that allows the disc to completely disengage from the disc seal, even when partially open. This results in reduced seal friction for longer service life and minimal maintenance compared to non-eccentric valve styles. The double eccentric design requires only about half the torque of a traditional boot design, which decreases wear on the disc seal to further enhance product life. Other advantages of this design include easier manual operation, compatibility with smaller actuators for reduced installation cost, and better protection against pressure surges.

The new large size valve features industry-standard ISO flange mount for easy electric or pneumatic actuation with most actuators. Other features include bi-directional capability, pressure rating of 90 psi at 70°F, and hand wheel. The valve is available with either EPDM or FPM seals, 304 or 316 Stainless Steel stem, and a Polypropylene body.

www.georgefischer.com

The NITRA CPS Series is available in 3-wire DC, PNP normally open, PNP normally closed, and NPN normally open electronic solid state switch configurations with either an M8 wiring connector or wire leads. Designed to provide a low profile, flush installation on cylinders with T-slot channels, these switches are also easily mounted on round body cylinders using CPSB series mounting bands. Integral LED indication provides switch status for speedy switch positioning and troubleshooting. Pre-tested for use with NITRA pneumatic cylinders, the CPS Series is also suitable for use with other brands of cylinders with magnetic pistons.

www.automationdirect.com

The UTAdvanced Hybrid Controller takes the superior PID control that Yokogawa is known for and combines it with a new, standard, no cost, embedded ladder sequence control. The new feature supports 84 ladder commands, 24 DIO points, four analog inputs, three analog outputs and allows up to 400 ladder steps that can be programmed and run together with the PID control. The PLC capability allows engineers who are using a temperature controller along with a mini/micro PLC in an application to obtain the same control functionality in one package at the cost of just the temperature controller.

The UTAdvanced has also been given a new design that includes a high-intensity LCD display and a simple user interface. Additional features include full text scrolling configuration prompts, three configuration levels, user-defined function keys, user settable default values for OEMs, and multiple language support for English, Spanish, German and French. This controller provides a NEMA 4 / IP56 front panel as well as a USB-powered configuration tool with software, fuzzy logic, universal inputs / outputs and a three-year warranty.

The communication platforms will initially include Ethernet, Profibus- DP and RS485. These platforms support Modbus/TCP, Modbus RTU, peer-to-peer, master/slave, and a proprietary Yokogawa protocol. When using the peer-to-peer protocol, the entire controller network can be accessed and operational decisions can be made by the ladder program based on process conditions anywhere in the controller network.

The UTAdvanced Hybrid Controller will replace the existing Yokogawa Green Series product line. The controller offers many features and improvements in functionality including improved measurement, display, operation, control and networking functions that enhance user efficiency and reduces the total costs of a system. The UTAdvanced will provide exceptional control for applications in various markets including semiconductor, automotive, heat treating, packaging, food, chemical, water/wastewater, air-conditioning, etc. For more information about the UTAdvanced, log on to www.utadvanced.com.

Yokogawa

www.yokogawa.com/us/

::Design World::

Clippard Minimatics® are used virtually everywhere for control, interface, sensing, logic, and actuation functions. This broad range of applications spans a variety of industries including: machinery, packaging, textiles, medical equipment, animation, agriculture, material handling, mobile equipment, assembly, electronics, food processing, and many more. Special components designed for a customer’s OEM applications are also available.

“Our customers were asking for 3D models of our products to include in their designs”, says Jim Coshnitzke, Clippard’s advertising manager. “The catch was they wanted the models delivered in a wide variety of CAD system formats. TraceParts allows us to satisfy those needs.”

“Clippard has been providing precision fluid power and control devices to a wide variety of industries for over 50 years,” said Bob Noftle, president of TraceParts, Inc. “They have accomplished an excellent reputation for high quality products and customer satisfaction that is known throughout the industry. TraceParts helps Clippard strengthen relationships with its customers by saving them time and helping them to make better design decisions faster than with paper-based catalogs.”

Access catalog here —>

Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc.
www.clippard.com

TraceParts
www.traceparts.com

Speed is critical in material-handling operations. St. Louis-based FKI Logistex, a leading supplier of palletizers and depalletizers to the material handling industry, needed to increase speed rates on the case turner component of some of its palletizer products in response to customer specifications.

These high-speed case palletizers operate in warehouse and distribution, manufacturing, airports, and postal and parcel applications. The A-940 inline palletizer can reach speeds in excess of 200 cases per minute. 

To meet customer demands for faster palletizing speeds, FKI Logistex explored a prototype pneumatic cylinder, the P5L, from Parker Hannifin. Each palletizer has three to four case turners, which are vertically mounted guided cylinders with an attached plate that strokes out and turns oncoming cases for stacking in intricate patterns on the pallets. If one of the cylinders is too slow, it slows the entire stacking operation.

Company engineers contacted Parker Hannifin for a pneumatic answer to the production speed issues identified by customers, which led to the installation of faster operating air cylinders on the A-910, A-920, and A-940 inline palletizers.

The 40-mm bore provided enough force to extend and retract the turner while the reduced volume and full, open porting enabled fast breakaway and stroke speeds.

Each case turner is a high-speed, vertically mounted guided cylinder with an attached plate that strokes out and turns oncoming cases on a high-speed conveyor and then stacks them in an intricate pattern on the pallet.

Each case turner uses one cylinder. There are three to four case turners on the palletizers. The stroke of each cylinder, typically 15 in., engages in a programmed sequence. If one of the cylinders is too slow, it slows the entire stacking operation.

When FKI Logistex contacted Parker, the company was using a guided cylinder that could not stroke out the turner timely enough to achieve speed levels required to meet the intricate stacking configuration. Thus, palletizer-stacking speed was at a maximum of 110 cases per minute – far below the potential of 150 per minute.

Specifications called for the guided cylinder to complete four objectives:
• provide sufficient force to extend and retract the turner, which weighed 20 lbs.
• extend and retract the turner as quickly as possible.
• withstand the kinetic energy produced by cases striking the turner.
• the mounting had to be precisely interchangeable with the company’s current equipment.

Originally, FKI engineers used a 50 mm bore guided cylinder for this application. After analyzing application requirements, Parker engineers specified a prototype, custom-built P5L 40-mm bore cylinder with a special housing normally used for a 50-mm cylinder. Appropriate housing modifications were made to meet dimensional and mounting requirements.
The P5L guided cylinder met all four requirements. The 40-mm bore provided enough force to extend and retract the turner while the reduced volume and full, open porting enabled fast breakaway and stroke speeds.

The redesigned P5L Series handles most extreme applications and particularly suits those with compressed design cycles. The cylinders have two case-hardened support shafts directed by four linear bearings with all components incorporated into a one-piece housing. Bearing options include standard and oversized composite bushings with chrome-plated or stainless steel shafting or self-aligning and standard recirculating ball bearings with carbon or stainless steel shafting. Composite bushings are impregnated with Teflon for self-lubrication.

Features include self-aligning bearings for high load capacities; micro-adjusters for high precision, accurate stroke; direct-mount cylinders to eliminate transition plates; and capacity to control loads of more than 9000 N while 20-100 mm bores sizes handle strokes in excess of 1500 mm.

The cylinder’s special housing used oversized 35-mm guide rods to absorb the kinetic energy of moving cases at higher speeds. The custom housing also provided an interchangeable mounting design that allowed FKI engineers to simply “drop in” the P5L to start running.

FKI engineers tested the new cylinder alongside comparable cylinders, as well as the one used in the application. “The P5L clearly outperformed alternate cylinders at speeds unmatched by the units we had been using,” said Dan Ross, FKI Logistex Mechanical Supervisor. “It wasn’t even close. We were able to increase overall palletizer speed from 110 cases per minute to 150, representing a production increase of 26%.”

Additional savings accrued from the fact that FKI engineers were not required to design and build their own high-speed guided cylinders. “For us to do so,” said Ross, “it would have cost $125.00 per unit over the price of Parker’s P5L cylinders. With an annual average product usage running at 200 units, this alone saves us $25,000.”

FKI Logistex has chosen the cylinder for all case-turner applications. “As an added bonus,” Ross continued, “the P5L’s treated guide rods eliminated rod-pitting problems that can occur from equipment wash-down operations.”

Parker Hannifin Corp.
www.parkerhannifin.com

: Design World :