TPT November 2013

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Technology News
68 November 2013
e2v supplies world leading
gridded tubes
FOR over 60 years e2v has been
supplying customers with gridded tubes
providing outstanding performance
and long life. The company is one of
the world’s largest manufacturers of
high quality, award-winning products
including a complete range of power
grid tubes specifically designed for
demanding industrial markets such as
tube and pipe welding.
EEV branded oscillator tubes are
recognised for their high quality build
standard and reliability, and have
been chosen as original equipment by
virtually all major OEMs in the industry.
Ranging in power output from 25kw
to 530kw, many of the EEV triodes
and tetrodes that e2v manufactures
are direct equivalents for other
manufacturers’ devices or can be used
to replace them with guidance at a
relatively low cost.
e2v has recently invested heavily
in state-of-the-art manufacturing
technology and equipment. All of its
devices are subjected to extensive high
voltage conditioning and full functional
RF/DC testing procedures.
The company is committed to working
in partnership with its customers,
providing them with exactly what they
needs and provides a high level of
technical support.
e2v – UK
Website:
Cost-efficient tube processing
WITH the new automatic tube loader,
suitable for dry and wet cutting, ROFIN’s
laser cutting system becomes a versatile
tube processing centre for automated
series production.
Manufacturing of various, frequently
miniaturised, products requires cutting
or drilling of thin-walled tubes or profiles
with micron-scale precision. The delicate
tube material has to be machined
without burrs or distortion and this is
where laser systems like StarCut Tube
offer inestimable advantages compared
to chemical and mechanical machining
procedures.
Manufacturing of parts for implants,
instruments or endoscopes from round
or oval tubes usually requires numerous
different machining steps. Techniques
like drilling, milling or eroding are carried
out as separate processes, slowing
down overall manufacturing speed. At
the same time, the risk of production
waste increases with each additional
step.
The 4-axis CNC laser processing
system StarCut Tube allows the
transformation of numerous mechanical
machining steps into a single laser
processing routine. With CNC-driven
rotary-, x-, y- and z-axes and a solid
granite machine set-up, even taper-
free or offset cuts are as easy as ultra-
precise processing of oval tubes or flat
parts.
Streamlining the manufacturing
process with a laser system also
reduces the processing time of parts
up to a length of 600mm to only a few
minutes. Therefore, an automated
material loading system has to provide
constant tube supply for efficient series
production. ROFIN developed a new
tube-loading module with a side-loading
magazine for tubes of 3 to 30mm
diameter and up to 3m length.Apivotable
pilgrim step separation assures precise
and gentle handling of tubes with small
diameters. Sophisticated grippers
provide accurate and reliable tube
feeding and the automated removal of
residual material.
The automated tube loading module is
also available for wet cutting. Wet laser
cutting with burr-free and oxide-
free cutting edges dramatically
reduces necessary post-
processing steps and offers
huge potential savings.
The new wet-cutting option
dramatically reduces the
additional efforts which are
characteristic for wet laser-
cutting processes. The entire
water-cooling system has
been integrated into the
main housing. It was designed with a
special focus on easy operation and
maintenance. The water tank is easily
accessible and removable for water
change. A drawer allows the removal
of finished parts without interrupting the
cutting process.
The StarCut Tube can be powered
with ROFIN’s StarFemto FX, StarPico
or StarFiber FC laser sources and
achieves contour accuracies better than
±5μm. The femto second laser source
provides pulses lengths down to 300fs
and wavelengths of 1,030nm, 515nm
and 343nm. Pulses shorter than 1ps are
an essential prerequisite for true, cold
material processing and distortion-free
cutting and drilling of polymers.
Optimum laser systems are just one
part of the ROFIN philosophy; medium-
sized companies expect more from their
partner than just selling them suitable
laser systems. ROFIN’s specialists
take care of the employees’ training,
help setting up the first applications
and the application support provides
unbureaucratic assistance during the
first months. If required, ROFIN even
designs the production room according
to laser safety standards.
With its various configuration
possibilities and service and support
from laser manufacturer ROFIN, the
StarCut Tube emerges as a prospective
solution for fully automated tube
processing in a broad application range.
ROFIN – Switzerland
Website: