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]

Qualitest International Inc. has devised an innovative way to combine several of its low temperature testers into a single, multi-purpose system for testing rubber materials. Qualitest said this Low Temperature system is “incredibly easy to use and is extremely safe” and there is no lifting is necessary when switching from one testing method to another.

Qualitest's TR-Tester, Gehman Tester and Brittleness Tester are combined into the low temperature system consisting of a base unit with a cooling bath and a rig changing system, Qualitest explained, which is mounted on a carousel to facilitate simple switching between testers.

This combined Low Temperature Tester can conduct tests automatically, increasing test precision by up to 400 percent; capacity by up to 50 percent; and decreasing labor time by up to 75 percent, the company said.

Qualitest's Low Temperature system can carry out three tests on rubber: temperature retraction procedure; relative stiffness tests; and brittleness tests. These tests meet several internationally recognized standards, including ISO 2921, ISO 1432, ISO 812 and ISO 815-2, the company said.

For more information, click here.

Beckhoff Automation L.L.C. said its software can distribute numerous complex functions in control hardware with up to 256 processor cores. Many-core controllers will play a central role in the future of machine control, and Beckhoff said its C6670 industrial server can meet the rising connectivity and control requirements of these smart factories.

In order to make the most effective use of this many-core computing performance, Beckhoff said support from powerful software, such as the TwinCAT 3.1 automation platform, is a necessity. Computers with many-core architectures are different from conventional Industrial PCs, Beckhoff added, as they feature multiple processors, and each is equipped with several cores. These computers' memory architectures provide a notable difference, Beckhoff claimed. One technique, known as NUMA (non-uniform memory access), provides each processor with its own dedicated memory. Beckhoff has implemented this design in its C6670 industrial server that features two Intel Xeon packages, each offering 6, 12 or 18 cores and from 64 to 2,048 gigabytes of RAM.

This computing power can only be utilized effectively, however, if the performance of each core is fully leveraged by TwinCAT 3.1 software, Beckhoff said. The flagship control software from Beckhoff can map various machine and process workflows, suitable for parallelization and distribution of different tasks as function modules.

For more information, visit www.beckhoffautomation.com.

WSF Industries Inc. has developed new vulcanizing autoclaves for curing rubber or plastic products and components. A major application is the vulcanizing of elastomeric coatings on stators used on downhole drilling tools for the petroleum hydraulic fracturing industry, according to the company.

The horizontal systems feature an integral RapidLoader cart to provide access for loading and unloading as well as a Rapidoor quick-actuating door that locks and unlocks in seconds. The pressure vessels are constructed of carbon steel—other materials available, WSF said, and operate at full vacuum up to 150 PSIG at 350°F (177°C).

The RapidLoader features a variable speed motor drive capable of speeds near 30 feet per minute, with other speeds available, WSF added. The vulcanizing control system features a free-standing control panel with variable speed motor drive and variable steam temperature/pressure control, the company said. It is capable of storing multiple vulcanizing cycle recipes with paperless recording and several available data acquisition options, WSF said. Typical sizes range from 36-in. to 42-in. inner diameter and 24-ft. to 30-ft. vessel lengths.

For additional information, contact [email protected] or visit www.WSFindustries.com.