New cylindrical roller bearing capability from Barden

Following significant investment in new grinding and superfinishing machines, Barden's manufacturing plant in Plymouth is now able to offer customers small batch, custom engineered cylindrical roller bearings manufactured to super precision standards.

The Barden Corporation, a UK-based manufacturer of super-precision ball bearings, now has the added capability to manufacture a range of cylindrical roller bearings up to 150mm outside diameter. Depending on the configuration of the bearing required, this diameter can be increased to 175mm.

Since 2006, significant investment in new grinding and superfinishing machines from parent company The Schaeffler Group, has enabled Barden's manufacturing plant in Plymouth to significantly improve its machining and finishing capabilities for super-precision bearings, particularly those for demanding customer applications in the aerospace and defence industries. The new machines include production machines for external and internal grinding of inner and outer rings and for super finishing of running surfaces.

The capability to produce cylindrical roller bearings extends Barden UK's offering even further. Companies that require super precision ball and/or cylindrical roller bearings for aircraft hydraulic systems, actuators, generators or other critical applications, can now purchase from a single source.

"Aerospace and defence companies often require bearings with unusual configurations, including special flanges, extended widths, unusual sizes, special corrosion protection, or a custom inner and outer ring," comments Ian Burnage, Operations Manager at Barden. "If needed, the bearing solution can be dedicated to a particular customer or application.

"Often, customers require these types of bearings in small volumes of between 10 and 100 pieces. The problem for the customer is that many bearing suppliers are not equipped to produce super-precision bearings and special configurations in low volumes. With our new machining capabilities, the Plymouth plant can now easily handle both ball and cylindrical roller bearing specials in line with customer requirements. It's what we excel at here," he continues.

According to Burnage, other industries such as the nuclear sector can also benefit from Barden's new machining capabilities, particularly those industries that are highly regulated and where traceability is critical.

Barden manufactures its bearings to ISO P4/P2 (ABEC 7/9) tolerance standards, which are the highest standards available in the industry today. "The ISO/ABEC dimensional envelope - down to 4 microns on bore and outside diameter - is not an issue for us," explains Burnage.  "A lot of Barden's product is special and doesn't fit into the characteristics that the standards define - an integrated flange, housing or shaft may be included. Here, the geometry and tolerances are customer and application-related, and some features most definitely exceed ABEC 9 requirements. That's where Barden comes in: standard, high precision features married to special attributes tailored for specific applications. That's our contribution to the bearings industry."

A high percentage of Barden bearings are tailor-made for specific applications. The company's product range includes radial, single row, super precision, angular contact and deep groove ball bearings which meet and exceed ABEC 7/9 standards. Bearings are manufactured and controlled under strict aerospace procedures, providing full traceability, controlled lubrication and complete retention of records. Manufactured bearing sizes range from 5mm to 150+mm  outside diameter. The company is capable of manufacturing bearings to a geometric tolerance of P2 or better, and envelope dimensions to P4 or better. Raceway roundness can be better than 0.5µm, with raceway surface finish better than 0.03µm Ra.

For further information, e-mail: caroline.evans@schaeffler.com or view website: www.bardenbearings.co.uk  Refer to page 116   

A purpose designed Benco support and manipulator frame

A purpose designed Benco support and manipulator frame has been supplied by Brixworth Engineering Co Ltd to the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. This has been supplied to cover the handling requirements during the production and integration of a prestigious new K-band multi-object spectrograph instrument (KMOS), designed for the very large telescope (VLT), operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and located in Northern Chile. The instrument is approximately 2.1m diameter x 1.5m long, has an anticipated total mass of 2.5 tonnes with an out of balance load of 3000Nm. A full rotation of movement of the instrument can be accommodated by the Benco manipulator frame, which even when fully loaded has been designed to withstand an earthquake side loading of 1.344g (13.2m/s^2).

The unit supplied to the UK ATC is based upon the Benco engine stand concept, which can be manufactured in a variety of configurations to cover loads up to 20 tonnes. A tailstock with in/out adjustment ensures easy loading of the instrument cryostat (or carcass) to the Benco frame using purpose designed interfaces. The head and tailstock flanges also incorporate indexing plungers to provide positive locking of the load, preventing unintentional rotation. While a full 360° rotation of the instrument was provided, locking of both axles at 45° intervals has also been incorporated to ensure the degree of access and manipulation required for the progressive assembly and installation of sub-components and associated wiring for the safe and successful completion of the instrument.

A manual ratchet drive was provided with 160:1 ratio for the controlled rotation of the workpiece, with provision for power drive from a standard cordless drill attachment also being possible. Lifting points at each corner of the frame (each fully load tested) were fitted to ensure that the frame could be lifted either with or without the load being attached. As well as the facility for bolting the frame to the floor, jacking castors were also fitted for easy manual movement of the frame within a laboratory area.

The KMOS instruments under production will be used to upgrade the optical and research capabilities of the existing telescopes which came on stream during the last decade. These are VLT's, with primary mirror of 8 metres diameter, representing some of the largest units of this type currently in operation anywhere.

For further information, e-mail: sales@benco.co.uk or view website: www.benco.co.uk

Can you get through the permeable barrier test?

Testing the permeability of the components, materials, tanks, pipes and seals that are used in automotive and aeronautical environments where hydrocarbons and water play a major role, has become part mandatory and part downright sensible in today's quality driven world.

Conventional tests are slow, taking days, weeks or even months and they are not always either accurate or consistent. To overcome this, Versaperm has introduced an advanced and sensitive meter that can quickly and accurately test hydrocarbon, water (and other) vapour permeability's for a wide range of products and materials - from plastic petrol tanks to door panels and from flat material samples to complex equipment and seals.

The Versaperm permeability meter is simple to use, requiring at most, minimal training, yet boosts accuracy and dramatically reduces the time required to make the measurement. Sometimes results can be produced in as little as 30 minutes. (Refer to the picture above).

The meter determines the amount of hydrocarbon, water or other vapour that diffuses through the materials, containers or products under test. These results are required to meet both the latest environmental and quality standards.

Versaperm's new meter can optionally be configured to measure permeability for a variety of gases including Hydrocarbon, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Helium and water vapour. The equipment is highly automated, computerised and produces results that can be accurate to within a few parts per million for some gases.

Versaperm also offers a laboratory testing service for companies that test too few samples to make the purchase of equipment viable.

For further information, e-mail: info@versaperm.co.uk or view website: www.versaperm.co.uk  Refer to page 156

Updated software makes it easier to quickly access
DeviceNet signal issues, as measured using eNetMeter DN

Molex Incorporated (NASDAQ: MOLX and MOLXA) introduces updated Brad^® NetAlytix™ v2 software to make it easier to quickly access DeviceNet* signal issues, as measured using eNetMeter™ DN.  
 
NetAlytix PC-based software has always provided an easy-to-use graphical display of network data, but version 2 is enhanced to provide a tree display for all network nodes being monitored by eNetMeter DN for faster access to data for a specific MAC ID. Nodes are colour-coded to depict their status. For example, green signals to users that everything is working properly, while yellow signals a warning and red indicates an error.

 Users can set-up a "favourites" area to view specific network parameters. The Warning/Fault pane displays all network issues in one convenient format. "One of the most powerful additions to NetAlytix v2 is the area that displays a basic graphical format of the data being monitored," said Michael Frayne, product manager, network interfaces, Molex Incorporated. "We feel that users will benefit from the enhancements. Molex, through its Brad products, has always been at the forefront when introducing simulation and diagnostic solutions."
 
The Brad eNetMeter DN is a passive device that continuously monitors a DeviceNet network and sends the information over Ethernet to a PLC or PC monitoring system. The information can be read directly by an EtherNet/IP master. Optionally, data can be accessed through a DLL interface, an OPC server or the NetAlytix v2 software.

eNetMeter DN can be used to diagnose current faults on a non-functioning network through the measurement of hundreds of network parameters. This can minimise downtime by pinpointing the node or location of the fault. The data can also be stored to historian software for future analysis. Typical applications can be found in any industrial or commercial setting where DeviceNet networks are used, including automotive, petrochemical, food and beverage, material handling, forest products, mining and metals.
 
In recent years, Brad diagnostic tools for DeviceNet have been launched, including NetMeter®, Power Monitor® tee and software tools for DeviceNet interface cards. Through its Brad product line, Molex offers a complete line of solutions for DeviceNet and Industrial Ethernet networks which empower the industrial infrastructure including PC and PLC interfaces, gateways, diagnostic tools, simulation software, cabling, cordsets, connectors, receptacles, distribution boxes and I/O modules.

For further information, view website: www.molex.com/link/xrc.html   Refer to page 108