Finishing - September-October 2023
As we reach the end of summer which has not been the greatest in terms of weather it will be interesting to see which way the wind is blowing in regard to the environment as the next general election approaches. I live close to London and the ULEZ extension has been on top of the agenda for many people. The statistics on London’s air quality are extremely worrying with the WHO saying that air pollution far exceeds limits. Do we ignore the evidence and continue to put lives at risk? I would imagine we would not like a polluting business near our home or place of work and it is impressive that finishing companies are stepping up and taking on board their environmental responsibilities. We are all aware that there is a cost involved, but it seems a small price to pay for a healthy future. John Hatcher, Editor
As we reach the end of summer which has not been the greatest in terms of weather it will be interesting to see which way the wind is blowing in regard to the environment as the next general election approaches.
I live close to London and the ULEZ extension has been on top of the agenda for many people. The statistics on London’s air quality are extremely worrying with the WHO saying that air pollution far exceeds limits. Do we ignore the evidence and continue to put lives at risk? I would imagine we would not like a polluting business near our home or place of work and it is impressive that finishing companies are stepping up and taking on board their environmental responsibilities.
We are all aware that there is a cost involved, but it seems a small price to pay for a healthy future.
John Hatcher, Editor
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22 ELECTROPLATING<br />
each individual hook as it moves down the<br />
rack and reports this data back to the robot<br />
control. With the help of a camera, the robot<br />
then picks up one part after the other from<br />
the separating carousel and hangs it on a<br />
hook. The robot uses the position coordinates<br />
previously collected by the profile sensor to<br />
finely adjust the position of the part and this<br />
enables the profile sensor to guide the robot<br />
precisely and quickly on the electroplating<br />
rack.<br />
Markus Roth, CEO of Roth Technik,<br />
explains, “Whilst the process might sound<br />
simple it requires the sensor to deliver an<br />
outstanding performance, we had to install a<br />
sensor that detects and precisely measures<br />
very thin hooks, not just in 2-dimensional<br />
space but in a 3-dimensional one too”. Initially,<br />
the Roth Technik team tested various camerabased<br />
systems and other laser-based scanners,<br />
but eventually decided that the sensor was the<br />
way to go. Markus confirmed, “In the end, we<br />
chose the Baumer OXM200 profile sensor<br />
because it was the best solution for our strict<br />
requirements regarding accuracy, ultracompact<br />
design and ability to detect objects”.<br />
The OXM200 offers another major<br />
advantage, thanks to powerful, integrated<br />
measuring tools, the sensor outputs the<br />
measured values for the X and Z coordinates<br />
directly in mm, significantly reducing the<br />
number of calculations in the control. This<br />
resulted in less integration work on software<br />
and enabled the project to be up and running<br />
faster.<br />
Also, thanks to Power over Ethernet (PoE) a<br />
single cable is all that was needed to connect<br />
the sensor to the control and supply it with<br />
power, an important detail when it comes to<br />
mounting the sensor on a mobile robot arm.<br />
Further time savings are achieved by<br />
scanning the hook positions only once when<br />
the rack is inserted and as the control stores<br />
all the hook positions, the racks don’t have to<br />
be scanned each time. The result…two robot<br />
cells enable a throughput of 15 million parts<br />
per year using minimal space whilst<br />
eliminating the issues associated with a<br />
manual system.<br />
We are exhibiting at Surface World Live • 4 & 5 <strong>October</strong> <strong>2023</strong> • See us on Stand C20<br />
Affordably measures uncured powder coatings using<br />
non-contact ultrasonic technology to predict<br />
a cured thickness<br />
• Dedicated stand-alone unit is ready to measure right out of the box<br />
• Fast measurement speed—ideal for moving lines and swinging parts<br />
• Scan Mode continuously takes measurements—ideal for<br />
analyzing large areas<br />
Powder Checker<br />
Non-contact Uncured Powder Thickness Gauge<br />
• Storage of 999 readings with onscreen averaging. Stored readings<br />
can be downloaded to PosiSoft Desktop Software<br />
Powder Inspection Kits<br />
Complete solutions for measuring<br />
powder coating before and<br />
after cure are available<br />
£1950.00<br />
<strong>Finishing</strong> - <strong>September</strong>/<strong>October</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
16A Long Drive, Meadway, Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 2PN<br />
t: 01442 879494 • www.dftinstruments.co.uk • e: sales@dftinstruments.co.uk
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