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].

Mitas a.s. has introduced the AirCell, an inner tire that enables the inflation of large agricultural tires by +/- 1 bar (from 0.8 bar to 1.8 bar) within just half a minute. Mitas reported this is more than 10 times faster than the current method of inflation.

Mitas AirCell is located on the rim inside the tire and occupies about 30 percent of the volume of the tire. The AirCell has been designed for the Mitas 710/75 R42 SFT, and other sizes will follow. AirCell is inflated continuously to a maximum of 8 bar during the tires use, Mitas said, releasing some pressure on demand, which enables a rapid increase of pressure into the agricultural tire itself adjusting the pressure in seconds rather than minutes. Mitas AirCell will be available for the Fendt 900 Vario equipped with Mitas 710/75 R42 SFT starting in Nov. 2016. Mitas said this pressure inflation system is marketed as VarioGrip Pro received a DLG Agritechnica Gold Medal.

Not only does the AirCell enable rapid tire inflation, Mitas said, but it helps to release the pressure just as fast again as the volume of the outer tire is reduced by up to 30 percent. Mitas said the AirCell is not in contact with the tire itself, and so it does not create any additional friction or heating. Additionally, Mitas AirCell is made from sturdy rubberized materials that retain its shape even when inflated to high pressures so the volume of the outer tire does not depend on the inflation of AirCell, Mitas claimed.

Mitas AirCell will be available for Mitas 710/75 R42 SFT, the Mitas 710/70 R42 SFT and additional sizes too. Mitas manufactures AirCell in the Czech Republic.

For more information, click here.

APS Elastomers has developed a ‘tough' thermoplastic elastomer for target stands.

Made in Idaho, the Last Stand are TPU brackets that clip onto rebar rods to construct an A-frame swing type target stand. The height can be adjusted by varying the length of the rebar inserted through the bracket, APS said, allowing a range of adjustment for angled ground.

APS Elastomers said The Last Stand TPUs are tough and durable, have easy processing, good colorability, are well-suited for soft and rigid application, are lightweight, and have excellent low temperature flexibility and are fatigue resistant.

The Last Stand is the culmination of nearly two years of product development and testing, the company said.

For more information about The Last Stand, visit www.laststands.com.

Maplan GmbH has created a fully-automatic zero defect manufacturing of precision molded parts for the automotive industry. The Maplan MTF400/250editionS machine has two hydraulic drives featuring Cool-Drive technology with servo actuation.

At the core of the production cell is the Maplan MTF400/250editionS elastomer injection molding machine, Maplan said. The machine's components enable a high level of processing in terms of process design, energy efficiency and process reliability, the company said. To ensure fully automated manufacture of precision molded parts with metal inserts, automated separation and feed of the metal parts was required, Maplan said. Overall, the solutions for automation were comprised of four main assemblies: feed unit for metal rings; separation and positioning unit for metal rings; pick and place unit; and sprue removal unit.

The machine's inspection module comprises a laser sensor for sprue detection and cameras that check the molded parts in a multi-cavity mold, the company said. Additionally, Maplan said for tooling and ergonomic reasons, a wider clamping unit at an optimized operating height was specified, providing ample space for large multi-cavity moulds. The optimized operating height guarantees the operator improved access for inspection and maintenance as well as for changing molds, Maplan said.

The precision molded part is made out of rubber, as well one or more metal rings, which are placed in the mold by means of an automatically extendable hotplate shuttle, the company said.

A laser sensor is mounted on the sprue removal unit at the front of the machine. This device moves into the clamping unit of the machine on every cycle to grasp the sprue and then remove it on the basis of the “pick and place” principle, according to Maplan. As it moves out of the machine, the laser sensor scans the sprue plate to check whether for example a sprue has not been removed from the mold. The metal rings are fed from a vibration hopper, which supplies rings sequentially. In addition, Maplan said it separates the single or multiple rings and places them in the correct position onto a separation section, so that the rings are laid out in a matrix ready for the next cycle.

For more information about Maplan, visit www.maplan.at/en.