There are many advantages to automating traditional manual jobs: the most obvious of these relate to time and cost reduction. A partially-automated hand-assist station can increase the rate of O-Ring installation by at least three times. But that is just one of the many advantages of utilizing advanced robotics in this specialized function. According to AGI President, Peter Farkas, O-rings are easily damaged or twisted when mounted manually or with a three-prong device. But, “there is far less damage done to the O-Ring itself when installed by a 6 or 8 jaw gripper,” says Mr. Farkas. This is critical because damaged or incorrectly installed O-rings often result in a faulty product.

But cost reduction is just one of the many advantages of automating the O-Ring installation process, according to ergonomics experts. They have found that repeated-stress injuries are a primary cause of many ailments prevalent amongst manufacturing workers, including tendonitis and carpel tunnel syndrome. Many workers suffer severe pain and discomfort due to repeated-stress ailments. Both workers and their employers suffer financial losses when chronic pain keeps people away from work for short or extended periods. AGI’s O-ring installation tools help to curb worker injuries, and ultimately, boost the bottom line.

AGI’s has recently been able to make significant investments to their production plant, allowing them to deliver these new O-Ring Placement products to customers with little or no lead time. AGI can now offer their world-class automation technologies at even more competitive pricing than previously, making robotics technologies available to manufacturing plants of all sizes.

AGI’s O-Ring-Assembly Tools come in two sizes: the AGP-6-OR (which has six jaws) and the AGP-8-OR (which has eight). These pneumatic grippers can accommodate placement applications from 3 to 12 inch I.D. Both are designed to facilitate part ejection and part seating and are perfect for installations where an ejector is needed after the part is positioned, or when a seal needs to be placed down a long shaft.

Please contact AGI for further information.

The EFQ Extruded Flat MultiForce cylinder is a double-acting, single end rod cylinder that doubles the resultant force on extension. This cylinder features a two piston design that eliminates the need for higher pressure systems or unique configurations. And, to save air volume and operating costs, only one piston is pressurized on the return stroke.

Both cylinders share the same popular benefits of the EF product line, including PTFE impregnated hard anodized body for superior wear resistance and seal life. The EFP and EFQ are both easily interchangeable to other compact extruded cylinders of the same bore size and can easily connect and operate to an application’s pneumatic logic. For detailed specifications, performance, and ordering information, consult the EFQ/EFP catalog.

Please contact Bimba Manufacturing Co. for further information.

Please contact Bimba Manufacturing Co. for further information.

Models are available in two frames, 09 and 17, with DC motor, step motor, and no motor options in strokes up to 72 inches. The DC motor driven slides produce maximum thrusts from 5 to 168 pounds at maximum speeds from 16 to 40 inches per second. Step motor driven slides produce maximum thrusts from 12 to 200 pounds, at maximum speeds from 15 to 25 inches per second, for applications that require more accurate positioning.

Fine or Coarse frames are available. The Fine frame provides better than 0.010-inch position control, while the Coarse frame provides a more cost-effective solution when 0.100-inch position control is acceptable.

Ball and lead screws are also available. The lead screw provides the quietest operation and least end play, while the ball screw provides the highest efficiency and greatest load capacity. Standard options include stroke length adjustments, bumpers, a switch track, and a screw wiper to keep contamination out of the drive nut.

All Ultran High Load Electric models are covered by Bimba’s 3-year warranty, and are available 5 working days from receipt of order. For detailed performance, selection, and ordering information, consult Bimba’s 12-page UHLE catalog or contact Bimba.

Please contact Bimba Manufacturing Co. for further information.

Airware FRL’s are available in 3 sizes – Miniature, Compact, Standard – in 1/8” to 1” NPT and BSPP thread and in 3 different pressure ranges: 8-36 psi, 8-145 psi, 8-232 psi.

Airware™ FRL’s feature a high degree of modularity for flexibility and easy maintenance, as well as captured O-rings to ensure a reliable seal.

Each of the key components has several desirable features:
-A wide variety of filters are available: Coalescing, Particulate, Purifying, and Activated Carbon Filtration from 40 microns down to 0,01 micron.
-The relieving type regulator works with a very small hysterisis band with a quick response that gets air flow back up to system pressure quickly. Available lockable regulator features a very secure construction and prevents unnecessary adjustments.
-Airware™ lubricators uniquely feature the ability to refill oil while under pressure and a patented diaphragm to guarantee effective lubrication with low flow rate.

Legris offers also a complete range of value-added:
-Lockable 3/2 Shut-off valve. Used to secure maintenance tasks and meets Osha ‘Tag out, lock out’ standard.
-3/2 Shut-off valve with up/down knob. This product’s built in safety feature shuts down the system when pressure drops below 58 PSI.
-The two step Soft Start valve with adjustment of time and pressure-snap point provides smooth and progressive start-up pressurization for added safety of machine operators and the protection of pneumatic components.

Please contact Legris Inc. for further information.

The acquisition, finalized on September 12, 2007, reflects Bimba’s commitment to developing capabilities that address customer needs. According to Pat Ormsby, President of Bimba, “Mead’s business philosophy is very similar to ours and its products have a great reputation in the field. This acquisition reflects our long-term commitment to growth. We fully expect it to strengthen Bimba financially and complement our product offering.”

Mead will continue to operate in its present location. There are currently no plans to change its distribution channels.

Please contact Bimba Manufacturing Co. for further information.

SMC Corporation has announced the expansion of the MQ Series Metal Seal Cylinders.

The MQ Series uses a precision-machined cylinder assembly to minimize sliding friction. Using this design, breakaway pressure is available as low as 0.001 MPa (~0.15 PSI). The MQ series is ideally suited to applications such as force and tension control where low breakaway pressure is critical.

The MQQ metal seal cylinder is based on SMC’s CQ2 compact cylinder, suited for general use where low friction is required. This product is available in 10, 16, 20, 25, 30, and 40mm bore sizes. Operating pressure ranges from 0.005 MPa (~0.75 PSI) up to 0.5 MPa (~75 PSI). Operating speed as low as 0.3mm/sec up to 500mm/sec. Standard strokes range from 10mm to 100mm. A lateral load resistant option is available to increase the resistance to side loads.

The MQM series is based on SMC’s CM2 round body cylinder, and is perfect for applications that require extremely high frequency operation. Operating speeds range all the way up to 3,000mm/sec (~120 in/sec). This version is available in 10, 16, 20, and 25mm bore sizes. Operating pressure ranges from 0.005 MPa (~0.75 PSI) up to 0.7 MPa (~105 PSI). Standard strokes range from 15mm to 100mm.

The MQP series is miniature version of the metal seal cylinder, good for use in very compact spaces and where breakaway pressure must be at the absolute minimum. Operating pressure can be as low as 0.001 MPa (~0.15 PSI). This MQP is available in 4, 6, 10, 16, and 20mm bore sizes. Standard stroke is 10mm for all bores.

All MQ series actuators are designed for extremely long life of 10,000km (~6,200 miles) or 100 million operating cycles when properly used within specifications. The operating ambient/fluid temperature range is -10 to 80 deg. C. Unit weights range from 43 grams for the smallest size, up to 2,399 grams for the largest size.

Please contact SMC Corporation of America for further information.

AGW parallel pneumatic grippers provide rigid secure gripping of large and wide parts. Now available from three-quarter inch, one, two, four and six-inch stokes. This versatile wide body gripper has wide range sizes and gripping forces for most any industrial application. Grippers range from 50 lbs. to units that have 150lbs. of gripping force.

This unit is ideal for machining or dirty environments because of its sealed design that repels chips and contaminates from its internal mechanism. Each jaw is supported by two full shafts through the length of the body allowing for heavy loads, long tooling jaws and have large tool surfaces for ease of tooling attachment.

This unit is available in synchronous or non-synchronous for independent jaw motion for non-centering applications. The grippers are rack and pinion design to synchronize each jaw. The long stroke capability of this gripper combined with its heavy-duty jaw guides provides a very robust gripping package.

The Gripper is available in four bore sizes and six strokes 0.75”, 1.00”, 2.00”, 2.50” 4.00”and 6.00” jaw travels available, which provide superb adaptability to meet a variety of applications. All bodies feature dowel pin holes for accurate gripper mounting alignment.

Optional inductive proximity switches are available for indication of jaw position and simple interfacing with electronic system controls. A choice of metric or imperial mounting holes, dowel pin holes, and air-ports are provided.

AGI supplies a complete range of sophisticated automation products that include, Pneumatic parallel and angular grippers, rotary actuators, thrusters, linear actuator slides, mini slides, tool changers, overload devices. Available in imperial and metric versions for flexibility of design for a world market. These products are used in various industries such as, Aerospace, Automotive, Appliance, Electronic, Medical, and Packaging. These units are also offer MRO drop-in replacement opportunity.

Please contact AGI for further information.

PHDs Series SFP Slide Design 6 exceeds expectations with new, advanced, high performance rail bearings that improve rigidity and moment capacities. The new advanced rail bearing system enhances performance in severe applications and improves unit life. Internal stop pins in the end caps will eliminate damage to the unit in the event that the shock absorbers and or travel adjustments are improperly set in the field. A wider selection of shock absorbers ensures matching shock performance to user applications.

Please contact PHD for further information.

PHDs Series SFM Multiple Position Slide exceeds expectations with a modular multi-position stop system that includes optional mid-position actuators and adjustable end stops to support diverse applications. Multiple intermediate stopping positions are available, limited only by the length of the slide.

NEW! Series SFM Multiple Position Slide will allow a switch to be mounted at any point along the slides travel. Optional adjustable cushions offer precise control of slide deceleration with optional travel adjustment for precise positioning. Series SFM standards include a stainless steel band and saddle seal to protect the precision bearing system from dirt and contaminants as well as port positions and mounting. An optional cap mounted shock absorber to absorb end-of-travel kinetic energy and saddle mounted shock absorbers provide smooth deceleration.

Please contact PHD for further information.