EoW November 2013

News Technology

Setting new standards with the purity scanner

the first system that can check pellets independently of colours for impurities due to its specially developed X-ray technology. The progressive Purity Scanner features unique measuring technology as well as a novel transport system of the pellets within the device. The feeding of the pellets is carried out via a vibrating ramp and not via a conveyor belt. “A conveyor belt itself can create contaminations,” Dr Lampe added. “Furthermore, the material in the Purity Scanner does not come into contact with the ambient air. During the inspection, the pellets are in a hermetically sealed channel. This guarantees absolute purity.” The device is designed for a throughput of 500kg/h. This can be increased with a grouping of Purity Scanner devices. Sikora AG – Germany Website : www.sikora.net

Contamination polymer compound can be a major problem in the production of high-voltage and off-shore cables in the wire and cable industry. Therefore, the usage of highly clean material is of essential importance. The challenge is the detection of contaminations which are embedded inside the pellet or granulate material. Discharges of a cable that have contaminated material can easily result in severe customer claims. Sikora accepted the challenge of developing an intelligent system, which can detect contaminations reliably and now presents its latest innovation, the Purity Scanner. The system intelligently combines the advantages of an X-ray measuring system and an optical system. Thus, impurities of 50 µm in the pellet itself and on the surface are detected. Contaminated pellets are reliably sorted out. Not only is the use of X-ray technology for this application unique, the performance of the optical system is exceptional and exceeds previous solutions on the market. The promise is a 100 per cent inspection of the raw material used. “It is vitally important to reliably detect impurities of 50 µm,” said Dr Siegmar Lampe, head of research and development. “Especially for high voltage and off-shore cables, the purity of raw material for insulation is crucial. Every little contamination is a potential risk for the quality,” he added. The Purity Scanner, as in the

well as testing the common AC insulating material, is also able to check DC material. ▲ ▲ Sikora’s Purity Scanner ensures flawless pellets before the start of production non-transparent a characteristic feature of the Purity Scanner and exceeds the capabilities of optical systems. The Purity Scanner is material is The possibility to inspect even

Linear springs TFC’s Smalley® linear springs offer a selection of spring loads that react along a straight line, as opposed to a conventional helical spring that fits in a circular cavity. This results in a spring which, although located in an axial direction, provides a radial force between mating components. Linear springs are a continuous wave formed wire length produced from spring-tempered materials which act as a load bearing device. Manufactured using the same technology applied to the production of coiled flat wire wave springs, they have the same load/deflection characteristics and burr-free edge profile. TFC – UK Website : www.tfc.eu.com

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November 2013