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PRODUCTS

Products from the MPMN Mailbox

Drill Unit

A drill unit is capable of precision end-milling and face-machining operations. The Varimec Selfeeder SSV-4 drill unit from Sugino Corp. (Itasca, IL; www.suginocorp.com) is available with chuck capacities from 0.07 to 0.787 in. The unit comes in two models. The low-speed, high-torque unit offers no-load spindle speeds ranging between 250–1750 rpm and torque is rated between 5.24 and 9.07 ft·lbf. The high-speed model has a no-load spindle speed between 1000–7000 rpm; torque is rated between 1.33 and 2.29 ft·lbf. Total stroke length is 9.83 in. and the adjustment length for the rapid advance is variable. Maximum cutting speed is 0.656 in./sec. Internal linear slides are used to guide the moving Z-axis quill. The controller for the unit can store up to 99 individual programs. There are 13 preprogrammed drill modes, including standard, step, dwell, skip, spot-face, and inverse spot-face. It can be equipped with multispindle and off-set drill heads. The drill unit can be mounted directly to a machine base or to adjusted columns for drilling or machining at any required angle.

Green Laser Diode Modules

Green laser diode modules are suitable for use in positioning applications. The modules are offered by BEA Lasers Inc. (Elk Grove Village, IL; www.bealasers.com) and can be used for spectroscopy, particle measurement, medical tissue analysis, interferometry, holography, robotic control, and flow visualization. Both the 2501 and 2503 models feature a fixed-focus, CW diode-pumped laser diode module. The 2501 module is 11 mm diam and has a beam divergence of <1.2 mrad. It has been designed with threads at the front so that additional optics can be added. The 2503 module has a beam divergence of <0.8 mrad, with a 12-mm diam housing. Both units require 3 V dc, with operating current around 300 mA.

Vertical Injection Press

A vertical injection press is engineered for rubber and silicone molding. The Maxi-Jet press from Technical Machine Products (TMP; Cleveland, OH; www.techmach.com) is offered in standard models from 50 to 400 tons, with shot sizes up to 6000 cm 3. The press is part of the company’s Asian-sourced Maxim series line of hydraulic presses. The line includes rubber injection systems, hydraulic compression presses, and vacuum presses. Custom designs are also available.

High-Speed Camera Systems

A line of camera systems offers short shutter speeds for sharp images. The Silicon Video 642M and 642C camera systems from Epix Inc. (Buffalo Grove, IL; www.epixinc.com) have 640 pixels by 480 lines at 240 frames/sec and up to 19600 frames/sec at 640 pixels by 4 lines. Shutter speeds as short as 20 μs provide sharp images of high-speed motion. The systems include a plug-and-capture camera, PIXCI SI PCI bus frame grabber, cable, and XCAP-Lite imaging software. Applications include high-speed inspection, particle tracking, kinematics, and biological image analysis.

Laser Pattern Cutting System

A company has built a high-speed laser cutting system. Developed by Orca Photonic Systems Inc. (Redmond, WA; www.orcaphotonics.com), the system can cut repetitive patterns in large, roll-fed textiles. The machine is the first in the company’s line of high-speed pattern cutters. The cutters are based on a hybrid architecture that combines the large-area coverage of the firm’s X-Y and roll-fed machines with the agility and spatial resolution of galvanometer-based laser etching and marking machines. The resulting systems can cut patterns with submillimeter feature sizes while processing material widths in excess of 6 ft and nearly unlimited lengths.

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