Extrusion 5-2017

(30.5 m/minute). The cutter’s standard servo controls enable it to make distortion-free and particulate-free cuts at rates up to 45 per minute while holding cut-to-length toleran- ces of ±0.031 inch (±0.787 mm), even on shorter lengths of tubing. The cutter can be used with the full range of me- dical plastic tubing, including difficult-to-cut materials such as styrene, PET, HIPS, and PC. The M-TPC cutter features a front-moun- ted touchscreen control that enables an operator to set table travel velocity, tub- ing size, blade velocity, and cutting depth. Once created, specific cutting programs or ‘recipes’ can be stored in on-board memory for easy recall and re- use. The cutter is engineered to allow for quick blade changes without the need to remove product from the machine, so the need to stop and restart the line for blade replacement is eliminated. “The Conair M-TPC cutter was develo- ped to eliminate the need for secondary cutting and finishing in the production of precision medical tubing,” explains Bob Bessemer, Medical Downstream Extrusi- 64 kompakt Extrusion 5/2017 automated defect recognition (ADR) and computed tomography (CT) in a single unit. VisiConsult automated these pro- cesses with an ABB robot to achieve higher throughput and reduce labor costs. The system can be placed directly at the production line to take parts from a tray, conveyor belt or similar and places them inside the cabinet. The system is one of the first combined in-line ADR and CT systems allowing a hundred per- cent 3D analysis of the parts. Typical checks are wall thickness analysis, poro- sity analysis or nominal-actual-compari- son. This makes such a system the per- fect choice for high-volume and safety relevant industries like automotive. The compact X-ray cabinet InSpect can be used with Mini-Focus or Micro-Focus tubes and film, imaging plates (CR) or di- gital detectors to generate high resoluti- on images of samples. The compact form factor allows usage in laboratories, technology centers and even quality checks of samples on the production floor. Due to the flexible choice of image sources the system can be customized towards customer requirements and budget. The embedded screen directly shows inspection results and allows high-end image processing within a few clicks to achieve outstanding results. Comprehensive archiving options to da- tabases, PACS servers, file systems or re- ports allow users to store their results. The intuitive operation allows highest ef- ficiency. Beside the XRH111+Robot and the In- Spect VisiConsult has a lot more inspecti- on systems based on X-ray technology in its product portfolio. ➠ VisiConsult X-ray Systems & Solutions GmbH www.visiconsult.de ➠ The Conair Group www.conairgroup.com n A new, patent-pending medical travel- ing planetary cutter (M-TPC) from Conair features a fully-programmable, servo- driven cutting head that cuts small-dia- meter medical plastic tubing so precisely that the need for secondary, off-line tube finishing is virtually eliminated. The pla- netary knife spins around the circumfe- rence of tubing from 0.080 to 1 inch in outside diameter (2.03 to 25.4 mm OD), cutting it without deformation, particula- tes, burning or fracturing. The M-TPC cutter, the latest in the Conair MedLine ® family of cleanroom- ready, downstream extrusion equipment for medical applications, has been intro- duced at Plastec East in New York. Unlike other cutters that remove tube material and can leave particulates be- hind, the M-TPC planetary cutter actually splits the tubing apart cleanly through displacement, without the loss of any material. This cutting method never blocks continuous airflow through the center of the tube, so tube sizing and ovality are not affected as they can be when flying-knife cutters are used. The programmable, servo-driven cutting head enables complete and precise con- trol of cutter speed (surface speed), rate of cutter penetration (feed speed), and final depth of the cut. The planetary cutter is mounted on a precision, servo-driven traveling table that can handle tubing automatically at line speeds of up to 100 ft/minute Micro Planetary Cutter The new, patent-pending medical travel- ing planetary cutter (M-TPC) from Conair features a fully-programmable, servo- driven cutting head that cuts small-diame- ter medical plastic tubing so precisely that the need for secondary, off-line tube finishing is virtually eliminated on Sales Manager for Conair. “Given the added level of blade control, and the abi- lity to lubricate the cut using alcohol, the M-TPC cutter makes it possible to achie- ve an almost perfect cut. For applications that require even tighter cut-to-length tolerances than those pro- vided by the standard servo-controlled cutter, the M-TPC can be fitted with an optional dead stop that maintains cut-to- length tolerances of ±0.005 inch (±0.127 mm) or less. A switch initiates the cut cycle, starting table travel and clamping the tube so it comes to rest gently against the physical stop before being cut precisely.