Hi Reverse Engineer Your Conveyor.

Hi Reverse Engineer Your Conveyor.

Timing, Timing, Timing!

Efficient manufacturing boils down to cohesiveness, and a major component of this is timing. When dealing with container handling solutions, that translates into timing screws.

With the ability to make or break production, it's important that you properly manage every aspect of your timing screws. 

In this case, knowing their functionality and terminology are a great starting point.

What are they?

Timing screws are perhaps one of the most critical aspects of a packaging line. 

Without them, your line is pretty much useless. 

The major function they have is to smoothly transfer containers between packaging machines.

They run on rotary equipment and are placed next to a star wheel so that they can accept, separate, accelerate, or discharge containers according to the machine's requirements.

Timing screws can be designed in many different shapes and patterns to accommodate the container they will be handling, but to make sure you're getting one that will work best for you, careful engineering and craftsmanship must be used to get it right.

Terminology;

There are a couple different terms that are useful to know when dealing with timing screws. That way when yours is getting designed, you know what elements the designer is referring to.

Pockets and Lands;

A pocket is basically the part that the container is nestled into when it's moved along the timing screw. 

This must be carefully measured and designed so that it fits the container precisely and properly.

The land is the part of the screw that protrudes out and holds the container in place on either side. 

As the screw spins, the land moves forward, holding and pushing the container with it. 

The land can vary in size and width depending on the container being handled and the function of the timing screw.

Lead Edge and Following Edge;

The lead edge is the edge of the land that is in front of the container, separating it from the container in front of it. 

The following edge is the edge behind the container that pushes it and keeps it nestled in the pocket (the area between the lead edge and following edge).

Discharge Pitch;

The discharge pitch is basically the distance from lead edge to lead edge-or from the front of one pocket to the front of the next pocket.

Root Diameter and Outside Diameter;

The root diameter is the diameter of the inside of the screw-the cylinder that the land protrudes from.

The outside diameter includes the land. 

So, this would be the measurement of the root diameter plus how far out the land protrudes on all sides.

Other Functions;

Although the main function of timing screws is to move containers along smoothly from one section to another, new designs and creative engineering has enabled them to do far more than just that.

For instance, timing screws can also be designed to accelerate or decelerate the movement of a container, divide containers, combine them, or even halt them momentarily, but these tasks are only possible if the screw is specially tailored to the shape of the container. 

So, as was said before, proper measurement and design is crucial.

Hi Understanding the basics of amorphous-iron motors!.

Hi Understanding the basics of amorphous-iron motors!.

Understanding the basics of amorphous-iron motors;

' Motors made with amorphous iron have a niche in jobs calling for high-frequency operation and energy efficiency.

Most engineers think amorphous iron is an exotic material that is hard to come by. But the interest level in this metal is rising because its magnetic properties can promote energy efficiency in electrical machinery and power distribution equipment. So it is timely to review the properties of amorphous iron that make it useful as a component in electrical equipment.

Despite what many engineers think, amorphous iron is actually made in large quantities. Two firms now supply the entire world’s amorphous iron: Metglas in Conway, S.C., and Tokyo (a division of Hitachi Metals), and Advanced Technology & Materials Co. Ltd.(AT&M) in China. About 100,000 tons of amorphous iron is produced annually, with Hitachi Metals supplying the vast majority.

Typical amorphous iron is an alloy of iron with boron and silicon. Amorphous iron comes from these suppliers in the form of a thin (25-microns thick) ribbon or foil. This form factor arises directly from the process used to manufacture the iron:  Molten iron drips onto a wheel comprised of pure molybdenum. The molybdenum wheel is kept at a controlled temperature so iron hitting the wheel quenches quickly. The molten iron temperature drops at a rate of about 1 million°C/sec. This extra-fast quench freezes the iron molecules before they have a chance to form crystals, resulting in an amorphous structure that is much less orderly than that of crystalline iron.

Environmental Value Creation; Hitachi Metals;

Download this article in .PDF format click the following link here. This file type includes high resolution graphics and schematics when applicable.

The amorphous iron harvested from the molybdenum wheel is necessarily thin. At thickness's exceeding about 25 microns, the temperature doesn't drop as quickly for the internal iron molecules. These internal molecules would have time to form crystals so the resulting metal would lose its uniform amorphous quality.

The disorderly structure of the amorphous iron lets it respond to changes in magnetic fields more readily than is the case for ordinary crystalline iron. The magnetic field change also causes eddy currents in the iron that are an additional source of loss, and the super thin nature of the amorphous iron limits these as well. Thus amorphous iron exhibits much less power loss, typically measured in units of Watts-per-pound or Watts-per-kilogram, for a given magnetic field strength than does crystalline iron.