Linear slide systems keep on running
A
Hepcomotion product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jul 17, 2006
A service life in excess of ten years is pretty good for any wearing part but at 23 years old, four particular DualVee linear motion systems must be setting a record.
A service life in excess of ten years is pretty good for any wearing part but at 23 years old, four particular HepcoMotion DualVee linear motion systems must be setting a record.
"Almost all other wearing parts on our special purpose machines have been replaced at least once and some more often", commented Works Engineer, Steve Lunn at Hewitt and Booth.
"But the HepcoMotion systems are still going strong".
This Huddersfield-based company is a long established manufacturer of pipecleaners.
It began expanding its markets in the 1980s with the introduction of more colourful and thicker cleaners for craft and school use.
In the last ten years the medical sector has become a significant customer for its single-use apparatus cleaners.
Hewitt and Booth's continued success is borne out of this diversification and by its ability to provide consistently high quality product on minimum lead times.
The original pipecleaner cutting machine was designed by Hewitt and Booth in 1982 to meet its specific needs.
Four machines of this type were built in-house and are still fully occupied.
Each accommodates 25 bobbins of the manufactured product.
The ends from each of the bobbins are fed through the machine by hand and clamped in place onto the carriage mounted on the HepcoMotion DualVee linear slide system.
Since their installation, each machine has produced in the order of 34 million pipecleaners.
A motor drives a cam drum and this transports the carriage back and forward for a set distance.
Attached to the cam drum is a cutting mechanism that crops the pipecleaner to length.
The mass of the carriage is 5kg, the resisting force 392N and maximum speed 0.325m/s.
DualVee has been an important part of the HepcoMotion product programme for many years.
It is a proven, economical method of tailoring an accurate linear motion system to the exact needs of the application using single edge tracks and matching wheels.
DualVee components are available in a range of sizes to suit most applications with high temperature and vacuum/clean room options to complement existing stainless steel components.
To enhance the linear slide's ability to resist the dusty environment, the Hewitt and Booth DualVee systems were fitted with in-house manufactured cap wipers.
This option was not available when the components were bought in 1982 but is now offered on all HepcoMotion linear slide systems.
In addition to preventing the ingress of dirt the HepcoMotion cap wipers provide positive lubrication that increase load capacity fourfold and life by 25%.
"There is very little sign of wear on the DualVee linear systems on our pipecleaner cutting machines", Lunn concludes.
"They've really given us exceptional service".
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