A weekly look at new products, innovations

Editor's Note: Each week, Rubber & Plastics News will take a look at some of the rubber industry's new products and innovations on www.rubbernews.com. Does your company have a new product or new innovation? To be considered for inclusion in this recurring feature, email [email protected]

Cimcorp Automation Ltd. said its enhanced gripping technology used for Cimcorp's layer picking solution has proven its ability to pick and place almost any product in distribution centers worldwide.

With a near 100 percent picking capability, Cimcorp said its system can reliably and accurately automate virtually any layer picking process and provide increased efficiency and reduced labor costs, while ensuring complete traceability as products move throughout a facility.

Cimcorp said its layer pick system is made up of a heavy-duty clamping and vacuum-based tool and a large, fast gantry robot. In this system, these tools can be used together or independently with variable force and vacuum strength based on the SKU to be handled. For products that require mainly the clamping force, multiple layers can be picked at one time to increase efficiency and ease of product picking, the company claimed. Cimcorp said the layer pick system is suited for facilities that pick more than 1,000 layers per day from 50-500 SKUs.

Cimcorp said it began using the layer picking technology in the beverage industry and has since enhanced the tooling to handle anything from standard corrugated cases to shrink wrap products, bottles, tubs and open trays. Cimcorp said its layer-pick solution stages every SKU that is picked in layer quantities within the work envelope of the gantry robot. Moving the replenishment load only once to a staging location and picking from that location eliminates any risk of moving unwrapped or unstable product to a stationary layer picking device, the company claimed.

The solution utilizes a built-in Warehouse Management System that can collect order information from a customer host system and use customer stacking rules and picking sequences to build customized order pallets.

To watch a video of Cimcorp's layer pick system, click here for the video.

For more information, go to the company's website, http://www.cimcorp.com.

Solvay Specialty Polymers said that 13 of its advanced polymer grades were included in the latest release of the Digimat platform, an expansive materials database and simulation tool from e-Xstream engineering, an MSC Software Co.

The additional polymer grades from Solvay allow Digimat to offer expanded capabilities for computer design and simulation of fiber-reinforced composite parts that target automotive, electronics, food-contact and other applications, Solvay claimed.

Solvay said the 13 additions to the simulation platform's Digimat-MX database draw from Solvay's Amodel polyphthalamide (PPA), Ixef polyarylamide (PARA), Veradel polyethersulfone (PESU) and Ryton polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) product families and deliver a selection of mechanical properties across a range of temperatures to precisely meet customer requirements. Solvay's Ixef and Veradel materials are the first PARA and PESU resins to ever appear in e-Xstream's materials database, which provides leading-edge computer modeling for designing fiber-reinforced thermoplastic parts.

Among the new materials added to Digimat-MX are six automotive grades of Amodel PPA, including Solvay's A-1133, A-6135, AS-1145, AS-1933, AS-1945 and AS-4145 grades. Compared to standard polyamides, Solvay said these Amodel PPA grades offer higher strength and stiffness at elevated temperatures, better retention of properties in humid environments and greater resistance to a broader range of chemicals.

Additionally, two FDA-approved Amodel grades—FC-1140 and FC-1150—also were added to the Digimat-MX library. These were designed for high strength and stiffness, Solvay said, and combine excellent thermal properties, low water absorption and good hydrolytic stability for food service and consumer applications such as coffee machines and ovens.Ixef 1022, 1521 and 1622 PARA resins offer a unique combination of strength and aesthetics. Despite their high glass loadings, Solvay said the smooth, resin-rich surface delivers a high-gloss, glass-free finish that is ideal for painting, metallization or producing a naturally reflective shell.

Veradel AG-330 PESU combines good chemical resistance with a high heat deflection temperature of 204°C (399°F), making it suitable for baby bottles and other food service applications. Solvay said it is inherently flame retardant for use in electronic components and testing devices.

Lastly, Ryton R-4-200BL PPS offers a unique combination of properties and a cost/performance balance unmatched, the company said. Key properties include thermal stability, dimensional stability, chemical resistance and inherent flame retardance.

For more information, click here.

Jet Edge Inc. has introduced its iP60-30 60,000 psi (4100 bar), 30hp (22 kw) hydraulic waterjet intensifier pump.

Designed fowaterjet shops that desire the reliability of a hydraulic intensifier pump but have limited power, Jet Edge said the iP60-30 draws only 37 full load amps at 460vac (60Hz) or 74 full load amps at 230vac (60Hz).

The iP60-30 is capable of producing 0.6 gpm (2.3 L/m) of ultra-high pressure water at a continuous operating pressure of 55,000 psi (3800 bar), Jet Edge said, and is economically priced and easy to maintain.

The iP60-30 features a reliable tie-rod design that eliminates threads on the high pressure cylinders, end caps and hydraulic cylinders. The iP60-30 includes a hydraulic accumulator to provide smoother hydraulic pressure, reduce spikes and prolong hydraulic pump life.

For full specifications, visit www.jetedge.com, e-mail [email protected] or call (763) 497-8700.