Product category:
Metering pumps and dosing systems
News Release from: Failsafe Metering International | Subject: Puls-Meter
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 17 March 2004
Dispenser innovation helps automotive
breakthrough
Failsafe Metering International Puls-Meter dispensing technology for two part adhesive has played a pivotal role in a manufacturing process innovation developed for the automotive industry
Failsafe Metering International Puls-Meter dispensing technology has played a pivotal role in a manufacturing process innovation developed for the automotive industry The Failsafe Puls-Meter is the only adhesive dispensing system in the world that can guarantee the ratio of a two-part reactive chemical adhesive to a greater accuracy than 'six sigma' - vital if joint integrity is to be ensured
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 11 Nov 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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A patented two-component reactive adhesive dispensing system has been developed that, using electro-mechanical liquid metering, is capable of dispensing to an accuracy of two decimal places
The company technology will grow in importance, especially in those industries turning increasingly towards adhesives in a greater number of structural applications.
Japan-based TRI Engineering patented robot-based hemming system (RHS) is the latest evolution of conventional hemming.
The hemming process is used to join two components, such as a door panel and its frame, by simply folding the edge of one over the other to create a mechanical interlock.
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It already has a substantial foothold in automotive manufacturing environments.
Looking simple enough on paper, it is, in fact, fraught with all kinds of process and material variables that can degrade both the integrity and the aesthetics of the joint.
Conventional hemming operations use large presses to hem a total body panel in one step.
Like any type of large press, this consumes a lot of energy, is noisy and occupies substantial 'real-estate' on the factory floor.
The press normally uses an upper and lower die - two for every body panel - both of which can cost around GBP250,000 each.
In contrast, the robotic hemming system, being commercialised in the UK by Design Services Engineering, uses a single die in combination with a multi-headed robot that is programmed to follow the external contour of the panel being hemmed.
Not only is it far more cost effective but it is also more flexible, takes up less 'real estate', is more suited to niche manufacturing, consumes less power and causes aluminium to flow rather than fold - eliminating the potential for cracking.
In one particular hemming cell, developed for Mayflower Vehicle Systems, it is being used for the manufacture of body panels for a prestige automotive company.
It is worth noting that the automotive manufacturer stipulated that Failsafe technology was to be used in this case.
The Puls-Meter technology accurately applies adhesive prior to the actual hemming operation.
It forms one of a number of steps - all of which are performed by a single robot utilising multiple heads.
When one considers how the Puls-Meter technology works - and how it guarantees its results - it is plain to see why it has become a technology of choice for a leading car manufacturer.
In operation, the Puls-Meter makes use of an important fundamental property of liquids under pressure, in this case, the reactive liquids in a two-part adhesive system.
When subjected to high pressure, both liquids become hydraulic and exhibit a maximum density per unit volume.
While in this compressed state, each liquid stream is divided uniformly into precise volumetric shots or dots at a pre-specified relative ratio (usually from 1:1 to 10:1).
Each one is then electronically checked for accuracy and, if okay, fired forward at high rates to form mixed liquid shots or flow.
The biggest distinction between this and a conventional two-part metering and mixing system is that in most processes, an occasional manual weight check of the two outputs, prior to the mixer, is the only way to check if the ratio is correct in theory.
For example, with conventional machines, if a two-part resin system is used in the manufacture of a car, the current way to check for the correct ratio content of the two-part adhesive is by taking representative unmixed samples, at intervals, from that specific application.
However, any ratio test results generated would only be relevant to that theoretical 'off line' adhesive ratio check and would not be representative of the production output.
By using the Failsafe Metering system, all the dispensed adhesive is automatically checked, dot by dot, for ratio, just before it is mixed and applied.
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