Thursday, July 8, 2010
Issue 241
| Applications at a Glance | |
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Banner Tracking in WinMark Pro |
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Cutting Nylon Webbing |
| News from Synrad | |
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Download 3D Product Models at www.synrad.com |
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| Browse Applications Database | |
| Watch Video Clips | |
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| SYNRAD's sealed CO2 lasers are used in a variety of industrial processes including cutting, welding, drilling, and marking. This news brief features news and information from Synrad, and highlights some of the interesting materials and products that are processed daily by Synrad's line of CO2 lasers and marking heads | |
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| To demonstrate this new feature, a two-foot length of vinyl (PVC) window frame was marked with a long text string using a Synrad 100 W laser and an FH Flyer marking head equipped with a 370 mm focal length lens. This setup produced a focused spot size of 540 mm (0.021") across the mark field. Part movement was via a linear stage using a tracking encoder connected to Flyer's User Interface I/O connector.
The mark file consisted of a long text object, formatted as Simple stroke text that included company name, part number, and manufacture date. This text object totaled 99 characters (not including spaces) and measured 518.2 mm long x 9.7 mm tall (20.4" x 0.38"). Note that this length of text - 518.2 mm (or 20.4") - exceeds the maximum field length, 297 mm (11.7"), of the 370 mm focal length lens in the direction of travel. Marking Velocity was set to 3175 millimeters per second (125 in/sec) at a Power percentage equivalent to 100 W. For the Drawing object, the Track Marking Object property and Banner Marking property were both set to Yes and the Banner Window Interval was set to 50.8 mm (2.0"). This particular text string was successfully marked at a maximum conveyor speed of 24.4 meters per minute (80 ft/min). As seen in the accompanying video, the text string is stitched together seamlessly to form a continuous mark across the entire length of the part and, as mentioned earlier, this mark could be repeated indefinitely. For more in-depth information on banner tracking, download Application Note #8, WinMark Pro's Banner Tracking Functionality, from the WinMark Pro web site at:http://www.winmark.com/products/winmark_ApplicationsNotes.html |
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Nylon (often referred to as polyamide or PA), is the most common synthetic polymer fiber available. A frequent use for nylon fiber is in the production of nylon webbing, which is used to produce hundreds of products for restraining, supporting, and securing loads. These products typically include horse halters and pet leashes, backpack, climbing, and parachute harnesses, as well as seat belts, tow straps, and lanyards.
For this customer application, we were asked to determine optimum speeds for cutting 1.14 mm (0.045") thick nylon webbing. The beam delivery setup for our XY cutting table consisted of a 63.5 mm (2.5") positive meniscus lens with a 100-micron (0.004") focused spot and a 1.8 mm (0.07") depth of field. We used 0.7 Bars (10 PSI) of clean, dry air (CDA) delivered coaxially with the focused beam as an assist gas.
At a power setting of 25 watts, we achieved cleanly cut edges with slight melt-back at line speeds of 1.65 meters per minute (65 inches/minute). In this case, the slight amount of melt-back along the cut edge is desirable since it seals the edge, which prevents the nylon fiber from fraying and results in a clean, finished appearance to the item.
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| This section of nylon webbing was cleanly cut with 25 watts of power at a rate of 65 inches per minute. |
Download 3D Product Models on www.synrad.com
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3D models of Synrad lasers, marking heads and accessories are available on our website in IGS and SLDPRT formats. Download SolidWorks® eDrawings viewer, available free from the SolidWorks® web site, to view, print, and review SLDPRT drawings. Users with compatible 3D CAD software already installed can easily add IGS or SLDPRT Synrad product models to their own mechanical designs.
All 3D IGS and SLDPRT files are zipped for quicker download, and must first be opened or saved to your computer using a zip utility program such as WinZip®. As always, outline and mounting drawings of Synrad's full product line are available in pdf and dxf formats.
Visit our library of technical drawings and 3D product models, and to link to SolidWorks® free eDrawings viewer at:
http://www.synrad.com/search_apps/Default.htm
Synrad, Inc.
4600 Campus Place
Mukilteo, WA 98275
Tel: 1-425-349-3500
Fax: 1-425-349-3667
E-mail: synrad@synrad.com
SYNRAD and Synrad product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of SYNRAD, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.