Spirally wound method of making one-piece homogeneous thermoplastic cylinders enables the design of chemical tanks, vessels and equipment that could not be considered in straight thermoplastic.
When one of the UK's leading manufacturers of high quality inorganic fine chemicals approached Chem Resist it was desperate to find a material and a method of construction that would stand up to the demands of processing zirconium containing slurries. Although 'inorganic fine chemicals' sound innocuous, the range of processing conditions include aggressive and hot mixtures of chemicals such as sulphuric, hydrochloric and nitric acids, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and caustic soda. The company traditionally used lined tanks including rubber lined steel, fluoroplastic lined steel and celmar, materials which in the arduous conditions experienced were prone to sudden failure.

This led to a search for new materials.

Chem Resist's development of a spirally wound method of manufacturing one-piece homogeneous thermoplastic cylinders enables the design and manufacture of chemical tanks, vessels and equipment that could not previously be considered in straight thermoplastic.

As a result, a 12m3 HDPE vessel with a solid homogeneous wall thickness of 100mm was manufactured and installed.

Since the initial installation, the company has replaced several of its traditional lined vessels and has installed further vessels on its new projects.

Chem Resist can make spiral wound plastic tanks with volumes over 100m3.

The Beta Arc BA160 DC inverter welding machine makes the ideal machine for the security industry.
This 'generator friendly' inverter welding machine packs a powerful punch when it comes to portable welding machines. Weighing in at a mere 8.0kg, the 160A inverter welder can weld from 1.6 to 4.0mm manual metal arc electrodes, making it ideal for fencing and security contractors who want to carry a small machine with them for the many on-site welding jobs they carry out daily.

Capable of welding mild and low alloy steels, high carbon steels through to stainless steel, cast iron and bronzes this powerful lightweight package is no lightweight when it come to welding duty cycle.

This sturdy unit delivers its maximum output at a 60% duty cycle rating, based on a 10 minute cycle at 40C ambient temperature, meaning it will weld on and on without a break even at its maximum output.

With IP23 rated environmental protection this versatile little machine makes the ideal partner for on site welding jobs.

New Mecwash division brings greater focus than ever before to industrial waste water processing
A major step forward in industrial waste water disposal - from both a production process and environmental points of view - can now be gained from the creation of a new operating division of specialist component washing system manufacturer MecWash Systems . The company is focusing its activities in this area through the launch of `Aqua-Save Technologies` which will concentrate exclusively on the ongoing development and installation of the company's waste water treatment capability. Benefiting form the organisation's recent move to new premises, which has enabled MecWash to offer a highly focused service to its customers, Aqua-Save Technologies will now offer a choice of units each of which is designed to recover and re-use industrial waste water arising from wash and rinse solutions and waste coolant.

This removes the potentially high cost and inconvenience of off-site disposal and produces water than can be recycled back into an industrial process.

Concentrated oily waste, which typically represents less than 5% of original volume, is then the only material that requires environmentally safe disposal - a far more simple task than that presented by conventional alternatives.

'The Aqua-Save technology allows the recovered clean water to be returned to the wash tank or a clean container for re-use,' comments Director Paul Young.

'With ever-tightening regulations presenting increasingly vigorous challenges and with water bills set to rise significantly, these are benefits which will be immediately recognised by many in the manufacturing and engineering industries.' A range of processes and capacities can be addressed with the choice of Aqua-Save units now available from Aqua-save Technologies.

Systems can, for example, be built into a choice of MecWash aqueous based component cleaning systems or can be provided as mobile `stand-alone` units that are connected directly into an aqueous wash system.

Alternatively the organisation can develop turn-key installations which can provide treatment facilities for a wide range of process waste water solutions - from machine coolants and floor cleaning machine waste, to parts wash solutions and rinse waters from other industrial processes.

'Our aqueous-based component cleaning system technology is now very well established both in the UK and overseas,' continues Paul Young, 'and is shown every time to produce high quality cleaning results, even with highly complex parts.

However the process benefits that the technology offers cannot be separated from crucial environmental obligations which is the basis upon which we have new created the Aqua-Save Technologies division.

'We believe this represents and important step forward which will allow our customers to gain from a highly focused capability in a key area of manufacturing industry,' he concludes.

Modular workstations assist the introduction of adaptable production cells as part of ongoing lean manufacturing programme.
Switching to modular Lean Tek workstations from Tube and Bracket Company has enabled Emco Wheaton to introduce adaptable production cells as part of its ongoing lean manufacturing programme. The self-contained production cells can be modified easily and rapidly to support changing manufacturing requirements and priorities and deliver continuous business improvement. 'We are aiming for maximum flexibility in manufacturing methods and what we manufacture so that we can adapt to changes in the market as soon as possible', said Brian Langsdon, Production Controller at Emco Wheaton.

'I wanted something that I could take apart and adapt whenever I wanted'.

Emco Wheaton has made products for the safe handling of hazardous fluids for over 50 years and designs and makes petroleum tank truck equipment.

The company, part of Gardner Denver, has recently opened a facility in Margate where it has been based since 1953.

For the past two years, the company has been adopting lean manufacturing to replace its traditional batch and queue production.

The objective is to optimise the overall production process and implement cellular manufacturing and related concepts such as single piece flow, Kanban and 5S to support flexible production processes and continuous business improvement.

When it started its lean manufacturing programme, the company fabricated its own workstations by welding steel components.

These workstations performed well but as the programme developed the company recognised that greater adaptability was required so that production cells could be modified and configured to meet evolving production requirements.

'The key benefit of working with Tube and Bracket is the partnership we have developed', said Langsdon.

'We discuss ideas and they come up with something quickly'.

Working to Emco Wheaton's basic specification, Tube and Bracket devised and built ten workstations with modular Lean Tek components.

The range of interchangeable and reusable components includes tubes, brackets, wheels and accessories that can be assembled into lightweight and manoeuvrable workstations, carts and trolleys that provide greater flexibility and cost effectiveness than devices made from welded steel and similar materials.

The workstations were designed to be self-contained for use in production cells for two of Emco Wheaton's core products.

They include areas for product working and assembly and incorporate ancillary facilities for lighting, power and air supply.

Production schedules and other information can be displayed on small noticeboards integrated into the overall design.

Each workstation is mounted on locking wheels and can be moved or repositioned easily by one person.

In line with lean manufacturing thinking, the workstations have been designed to optimise the working environment and occupy exactly the right amount of space for the process they support.

The modular nature of their construction means they can be modified whenever production requirements change by altering the basic dimensions or by the addition or removal of components.

'Tube and Bracket has given us nice clean workstations which include all the accessories for these production cells', said Langsdon.

'It is key to the factory that everything has its place and it becomes obvious when it's wrong'.

Tube and Bracket assembled the workstations at its factory in Banbury and delivered them to Margate.

Small modifications were made during installation to ensure that the production cells were optimised for efficiency.

Further changes were made as the production cells went live.

Each workstation originally had two locking wheels but it was soon realised that four would provide better stability.

Tube and Bracket supplied and fitted the additional components on site.

The workstation noticeboards were also repositioned to make them easier to see.

'We couldn't do this with a welded workstation', said Langsdon.

'If a cell is not right, we can take it apart and rebuild it'.

The production cells will enhance Emco Wheaton's lean manufacturing capabilities and help it introduce single piece flow for its core products.

As the company continues its drive towards lean manufacturing, it plans to standardise on adaptable modular products for its production cell workstations and other equipment.

'One of the challenges with this type of change is that it's an ongoing process', said Langsdon.

'We wanted to work with a company that understood what we're doing and could help us provide a uniform system throughout the factory'.

The MinarcMIG Adaptive 180 MIG/MAG welding inverter has been awarded the 'red dot' award for outstanding design quality and innovative design.
Kemppi's MinarcMIG Adaptive 180 'go anywhere' lightweight single-phase 230V MIG/MAG welding inverter has been awarded the internationally renowned Essen Design Zentrum Nordheim Westfallen's 2006 'red dot' award for outstanding design quality and innovative design. MinarcMIG Adaptive 180 launched in 2005 was designed to be easy to use, robust but small in sise with high power to weight output and capable of producing professional high quality welds. It can be used in a multitude of industries including education, construction, shipbuilding, agriculture, DIY and the rail industry The 'Adaptive' intelligence in this machine is usually associated with larger industrial synergic machines.

It makes them easier to use by all welding skill levels, in this case allowing users to weld mild steel using both solid and cored wires as well as stainless steel and aluminium fabrications.

More than 5000 entries were received into the red dot awards for product design and communication design and is one of the largest design competitions in the World awarded annually since 1955.

The awards will made on 26th June 2006 in the Aalto Theatre, Essen, Germany, after which the award winners will be on public exhibition in Essen from 27th June to 23rd July.

John Frost, Sales and Marketing Director, Kemppi UK said: 'Kemppi has a worldwide reputation for innovative welding technology, this award also shows that we invest a tremendous amount of development work into the overall design of our products'.

'Companies that have been awarded the 'red dot' award are all market leaders and the award is a important indicator as to whether a product has the potential to be successful on an international scale'.

'Our sales of this machine worldwide certainly show this to be the case'.

Professor Dr Peter Zec, initiator of the red dot design award said: 'Many companies participating in the red dot design award have been successfully investing in innovation and design for a long time in order to stand out from the competition and to convey their brand values'.

'However, creativity by itself is not enough; the products also have to be of high quality and also it is also the task of design to communicate this quality'.

The StarWeld Tool Open is a mobile laser welding system used for repairing injection mould tools, and can carry out repair work on unlimited sized tools on-site.
Rofin-Baasel UK will be launching the new StarWeld Tool Open laser welding system at MACH 2006. This laser system has already won the prestigious international IF product design award 2006. Almost 2000 products from 37 countries applied and the jury awarded the IF trademark to 688 products.

The StarWeld Tool Open from Rofin is a mobile laser welding system used for repairing injection mould tools, and can carry out repair work on unlimited sized tools on-site.

A cantilever arm carries a fibre-coupled laser beam to the workpiece and can process surfaces accurately in any position with short set-up times; there is no need for time-consuming and costly transportation of large tools and moulds as repair work can be done on-site.

The industrial design fulfils two key functions.

First, the cantilever arm with its large range must be able to reach difficult areas in need of repair.

Secondly, when transported, it should be as small and compact as possible, and if required it should be ready to use immediately.

The flexible cantilever arm reaches any spot, almost like a human arm, and can be locked in any position required.

After use, the cantilever arm is folded up and is protected in a transport position with all operating elements and cables stowed away.

For maintenance work, the integrated components can easily be accessed by removing panels from the enclosure.

Unlimited sized tools can be laser welded with precision build-up on tool steels, aluminium and copper alloys.

Output is 150W and high peak power ensures high speed and flexibility.

Murex Welding Products has published the fourth edition of its renowned handbook 'The safe use of oxy-fuel gas equipment'.
Billed as 'almost the industry bible', Murex Welding Products has published the fourth edition of its renowned handbook 'The safe use of oxy-fuel gas equipment'.

This 100-plus page publication covers all the key areas relating to the process from legislation and guidelines, through to the gases involved, equipment, safety devices and safe practice.

Fully illustrated and updated to include the latest legislation and product developments, the publication is available free of charge from Murex.

A new enhancement provides the simplest and smoothest heat delivery mechanism in orbital tube welding.
Using interlevel sloping pioneered by Dimetrics some 30 years ago, Liburdi Dimetrics Corp has released a new enhancement to its tube welding technique to provide the simplest and smoothest heat delivery mechanism in orbital tube welding. Accurate and stable control of welding current delivers precisely the right amount of heat into an autogenous stainless steel butt weld to generate the perfect fusion weld. The so-called 'Pure Fusion' technique creates the most favourable conditions to provide the highest quality UHP, high purity, hygienic and high integrity welds demanded of today's industry.

No longer requiring complex calculation methods for fusion weld tubing, LDC has built the technology to simplify operation for the user without the need to construct multilevel programs.

The BA 130 arc welding kit comes complete with all the accessories required to start welding straight away in a strong plastic carrying case.
This lightweight inverter based welding machine packs a punch normally associated with machines twice the size and several times the weight. The 35% duty cycle rating more than matches the requirements of manual metal arc welding up to 3.2mm electrodes and can even TIG weld, with the addition of an optional scratch start TIG welding kit.

Packed in a strong 'power tool style' carrying case this makes an ideal addition to the tool kit of any maintenance department, service engineer or plant fitter.

All you need is a 230V 13A socket and you can start welding and go on and on and on without the fear of your machine overheating or cutting out.

The 35% duty cycle is measured on a 10min cycle at 40C giving you the confidence that it can tackle even the most challenging of maintenance welding tasks.

When you combine the above features with a 2 year parts and labour warranty, rugged construction and an extremely competitive price, you will wonder how you've managed without one in your tool kit for all these years.