Product category:
Gears, brakes, couplings and engines
News Release from: Huco Dynatork | Subject: Kerk leadscrew
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 29 March 2001
Parking system uses leadscrew for drive
gearing
Positional accuracy to within.0013mm, standard lead accuracy better than .0006mm/mm and low backlash - these are the most important attributes of Huco's Kerk leadscrew to Protectapost.
Positional accuracy to within.0013mm, standard lead accuracy better than .0006mm/mm and low backlash - these are the most important attributes of Huco's Kerk leadscrew to Newport-based, Protectapost However, this company's requirements extended beyond the consistent supply of this 'ideal' product
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 1 Sep 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Protectapost was also keen to strike a design partnership with Huco Engineering Components that would underpin its push into a highly competitive marketplace.
Manufactured in stainless steel and powered by a low voltage motor, a Protectapost is a key-fob activated parking bollard, designed to secure a driveway or reserved parking area; currently it is available in single, dual and triple station configurations.
The Kerk leadscrew is the post's drive gearing, allowing it to be smoothly extended from, and retracted into the ground.
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"Obviously when retracted, Protectapost must be flush with the ground," explains MD Mark Clement and designer of this patented device.
"The speed and position of the post is sensed by encoder but without the inherent accuracy and low backlash of the leadscrew, poor positioning may occur through electronic shift." Clearly this is unacceptable to the car owner and the pedestrian too.
Material of manufacture was another factor contributing to Mark Clement's choice of Kerk over the other screws assessed for the job.
"The unit must be completely waterproof as the chamber can fill with rainwater," he continued.
This design criterion of the Protectapost application was easily met from the Kerk standard range as all Kerk stock screws are made from 303 stainless steel.
Competitor parking bollards are mainly hydraulically driven.
They are much heavier, more complex and require expert set-up.
Conversely, Protectapost is compact, stylish and mechanically simple.
Above all, it promises to be reliable; its components must therefore meet this guarantee.
The leadscrew's special thread form has been developed for maximum life, quiet operation and compatibility with Kerk's patented anti-backlash nut.
This unique nut does not require high spring forces to maintain bi-directional, anti-backlash characteristics.
The Kerk assemblies therefore have a low drag torque and are not subject to the premature wear that besets other systems.
Mark Clement is also keen to emphasise that his standardising on Kerk did not rest on the product's attributes alone.
"This is a new and highly competitive market," he explained.
"I chose Huco because I was looking for a partner to provide expertise in motion control, not simply a supplier." Protectapost is already generating a great deal of interest in Europe and once the current UL procedure is completed, it will also be available in the USA.
"The development of this product requires flexible working relationships with specialist companies and I certainly have that with Huco," Mark Clement concludes. Request a free brochure from Huco Dynatork ...
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