Auxiliary equipment starred at Atlanta Plastics Fair.

Auxiliary equipment for extrusion, welding and assembly, printing and decorating, materials handling, and fluid temperature control dominated the newsat the Atlanta Plastics Fair in early November. An upgraded CIM system and new controls were also in evidence. Here are the highlights.

'WINDOW' INTO CIM

Syscon-PlantStar, South Bend, Ind., introduced a new version of its real-time process and production monitoring system called Focus-2000 for Windows. The Windows version, which uses a Unix file server to collect machine data and distribute it to PC user terminals, is said to be faster and a good deal less expensive than the previous Focus-2000 system, introduced 18 months ago (see PT,Aug. '92, p. 23). At $40,000-50,000 for a typical 10-machine system, it's more price competitive with the upper end of the company's less sophisticated Focus-100 system.

The speed of the Windows system offers new interactive graphics capabilities. For example, you can use a mouse to pinpoint an area of a trend graph and then click the mouse button to call up the numerical data for that shot. It's also possible to click back and forth between different variables for the same shot number.

EXTRUSION AUXILIARIES

Vulcan Machinery Group, Akron, Ohio, featured a fixed-shaft coiler that has all the features of the company's new automatic turret coiler except for automatic cut and transfer. "This is a lower cost option--about 50% less than

the         automatic unit. It has a moving traverse and is targeted for use
in hydraulic   tubing and other low-speed tubing applications," says company
president Ralph   Jacob.

A newcomer to plastics, Harris Instrument Corp., Columbus, Ohio, made its debut at the Atlanta show with a new noncontact position control for film processing. The Scan-A-Line system can be used for continuous edge sensing of

film and      sheet, including thin, clear webs. The system's electro-optical
sensors can     measure products over 200 times/sec using a scanned LED array

and photodetectorsabove and below the web. Price range is $2000-3500.

C.W. Brabender Instruments, Inc., South Hackensack, N.J., plans to introduce a new film-quality tester either at the SPE ANTEC in May or at NPE '94 in June. According to sales/marketing director Kevin Van Allen, the instrument will determine amounts of gels, contaminants, undispersed particles, and filler or pigment agglomerates.

NEW CONTROLS

Gammaflux, L.P., Sterling, Va., announced two additions to its 9000 Series temperature controllers. Model 9302 has two zones with 30 amps per zone. The Mini-Panel, a communications module for the 9000 Series, communicates with up to32 of the Series' control modules and stores up to 40 setups. The unit can be

connected to a host computer or machine controller using the standard SPI protocol and RS-485 link.

Barber-Colman Industrial Instruments, Loves Park, Ill., has a new MSQ series of single-zone controllers for temperature and pressure. They have dual LED displays of setpoint and actual readings, plus a two-line, backlit LCD display. Price range is $700-1200, depending on options.

Burger Engineering, Inc., Olathe, Kans., displayed a new device to verify mold ejector-plate return, which uses what is said to be the smallest limit switch onthe market, called Thinswitch. "Typically, provisions have to be made to place limit switches outside of the mold. Thinswitch mounts in the ejector 

housing    behind the ejector plate," explains president Phil Burger. This is
said to      prevent costly mold damage and requires no machining. Thinswitch
is 3/16 in.    thick and has a million-cycle mechanical life.

WELDING & ASSEMBLY

As at least one other supplier has done recently, Ultra Sonic Seal Co., Aston, Pa., introduced a 40-kHz bench-top ultrasonic welder for joining small, delicateparts such as circuit boards (see PT, March '93, p. 55). The Model A40

Narrow Geometry Actuator is available with electronic timer or microprocessor control and in a continuous-duty version for high-speed operations. Forward Technology Industries, Inc., Minneapolis, supplemented its recently introduced LVW-2040 vibration welder (PT, March '93, p. 56) with a smaller LVW-1012 model. It handles parts up to 10 x 12 in. x 5 in. high. The servo driveis controlled by a digital, solid-state power supply with adjustable frequency to 200 Hz and accuracy of |+ or -~0.1 Hz. Servo drive is said to eliminate any influence of upper fixture weight on operating frequency, eliminating a source of error. The unit's modular C-frame design allows adaptation to multi-head

configurations and integration into automated production lines. DECORATING & PRINTING

The Promax S100 screen printer and L150 pressure-sensitive label applicator are the first in a new Promax high-speed series launched at the show by Screen Tech Inc., Oakville, Conn. The machines share similar designs, including the walking-beam handling system with pre-registration and registration stations. Director of sales and marketing David Klaiman says either machine can accommodate both a label-applicating head and a screen-printing head--a flexibility reportedly not offered in competitive stand-alone equipment of this type.

The Promax models are designed for round, oval and flat objects. The S100 is typically a single-color, uv-drying machine but can be ordered with multiple color and uv stations. The L150 is said to provide total control of the containers, ensuring proper label placement in register with previously printed text or the container seam. It reportedly will label containers in register (|+ or -~1/32 in. or better) at speeds up to 6000/hr.

United Silicone, Inc., Lancaster, N.Y., has a new pad printer with a 5-in. sealed ink cup for printing larger images. Model UP 505 can print images up to 4.5 in. diam., compared with 2.5 in. diam. on the company's Model UP 303. The new unit reportedly can print up to 1200 cycles/hr and its synchronized, harmonic motion of the transfer pad and ink reservoir provides smooth advance and return with minimal vibration.

DEVELOPMENTS IN FLUID TEMPERATURE CONTROL

AEC/Application Engineering, Wood Dale, Ill., introduced a new family of hot-oilmold-temperature controllers, the TDH Series, designed for temperatures from 100F to 550 F. These units have NX Series microprocessor-based temperature controlssaid to be accurate to 1 |degree~ F. They feature dual LED display of setpoint and actual temperature, plus graphical representation of

system layout with     operating-status and alarm lights. Mechanical features
include a 17-gal         reservoir, dual-pass heater tank to extend fluid and
heater life, and a         positive-displacement pump.

A new dual-zone hot-oil controller was introduced by Sterling, Inc.'s Sterlco Div., Milwaukee. Model S-9026, developed from the company's single-zone system, offers two temperature controllers that share the same oil zone in one cabinet. The new model is a lower-cost alternative, says product manager Jeff Jensen, as it uses less cabinetry and fewer parts--i.e., a simplified piping system with

common water, drain and power supply. Key features include temperature control to 550 F; heaters from 12 to 48 kw; flows of 18-50 gpm at

30-50 psi; positive-displacement, mechanical-seal pump; and user-friendly controls. MATERIALS HANDLING

Conair Franklin, Franklin, Pa., announced its new Auto Weigh microprocessor-controlled gravimetric blender, said to be priced "very competitively." Resolution of the load cells is reportedly one pellet (0.025 g),and additive ratios can be controlled to one part per 1000 parts of resin (0.1%).