The post ACE Tips: Essential Data For Sizing Your Gas Spring appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

Let’s take a look at some of the common ones you’ll see, as well as examples of their typical uses:

Push-type gas springs to lift and lower loads. These gas springs suit devices that lift or lower loads with easy control and minimal exertion. They support covers and lids in many industries, including automation and machine building, medical technology, electronics—and more.

Pull-type gas springs to fit constrained spaces. These compact springs can mount in any orientation and position. Unlike push-type springs, the gas pressure in the cylinder retracts the piston rod. Pull-type gas springs are used in various industrial applications, as well as medical devices, electronics and furniture.

Locking gas springs to hold a position. Many chair-type applications, such as mobility systems, need to maintain a certain position to support the end user. For example, when a person triggers a chair into motion by pressing a button or lever, a piston valve opens—extending the spring and moving the seat into position. When the user triggers the seat again, the valve closes, locking the piston rod—and chair—into position.

Rust-inhibiting gas springs to protect against corrosion. Many gas spring vendors offer rust-inhibiting versions of their standard models to protect against corrosion in food or hygienically sensitive areas. ACE Controls, for example, offers standard gas springs with an advanced UV coating or stainless steel outer bodies that can also be filled with food-grade oil—conforming to FDA standards.

To learn more about gas spring design and customization, download our latest white paper.

Download the White Paper

The post Your Guide to Gas Spring Design and Customization: Part II appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

Here’s how these components met the demands of the actuator—and improved the overall safety of the oil refinery:

Special Safety Valves Open 50 Times Faster. The oil refinery, located in Yanbu, condenses and liquefies natural gas for transport using explosion-proof compressors, which regulate the pressure in the pipes. If the pressure dips too low, the compressors switch on. If the pressure gets too high, they switch off. To ensure these compressors maintain the right working pressure while simultaneously avoiding overpressure, DGI developed special pneumatic actuators. Should overpressure occur, the system’s built-in pneumatic cylinder opens the large, 24-inch safety valve. Normally, throttle valves open at a speed of one second per inch—but DGI designed its valves to open 50 times faster.

At the same time, DGI needed a way to safely absorb the energy generated by the valves as they opened. The company teamed up with ACE Controls to incorporate hydraulic shock absorbers that could emergency-stop the piston rods on the cylinders.

MAGNUM Shock Absorbers: The Last Line Of Defense. Due to the small size of the actuators, ACE engineers selected their compact, yet powerful MAGNUM industrial shock absorbers (type MA3325). When the valves open, the rod makes contact with the shock absorbers, which engineers positioned in the front and rear of the cylinder. The dampers then fully stop and control the piston rod as it moves horizontally.

Without the absorbers in place as the system’s final safety measure, a number of devastating things could happen. The cylinder, actuator and compressor could experience irrevocable damage. Toxic gas could also leak out and potentially trigger an explosion—endangering personnel, the environment and other nearby facilities.

For these reasons, ACE shock absorbers are part of the Yanbu success story—and have improved the overall safety of the plant. To learn more about this application, download our latest case study.

Download The Case Study  

The post ACE Industrial Shock Absorbers Improve Oil Refinery Safety Valves appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

Barrel agitator stations, used to process and stir casting resins, have to carry out a number of complex functions on resin barrels as large as 200 liters. For a long time, however, companies were using only modified machines from the painting industry, which lacked a number of safety features.

That’s why Bavarian-based company Scheugenpflug AG designed a new barrel agitator station using ACE industrial gas springs. These springs prevent damage to the machine in the event of sudden pneumatic failure.

Existing Challenges. Barrel agitator stations are responsible for the processing, stirring and controlled heating of flowing media. Used in applications with a high material consumption rate, they ensure a homogeneous potting material at certain temperatures. Until recently, however, only modified barrel agitator stations from the enameling and painting sectors were used to stir and process casting resins in large 200-liter barrels.

Not only that, but these machines failed to meet the specific demands of different casting resins.

To overcome these challenges, Scheugenpflug designed a new barrel agitator station with a special bell, which operators lower over the barrel to carry out a number of functions. The team, however, needed to integrate safety measures in the event of a sudden pressure drop, which would cause the lifting unit to fail and the bell to drop down towards the barrel. This scenario risks damage to the machine, as well as to the barrel itself.

Scheugenpflug contacted ACE to help design a solution.

ACE Industrial Gas Springs Improve Safety. ACE engineers selected industrial gas springs (type GS-40-1000), which would control the lowering of the bell in the event of pneumatic failure. These maintenance-free, adjustable components can handle forces from 2 to 2,923 pounds, provide up to a 39.37-inch stroke and operate via pressurized nitrogen gas. In this case, ACE engineers worked with Scheugenpflug onsite, carrying out a series of tests to determine how much gas needed to be loaded into the springs. Testing was a success, and Scheugenpflug engineers integrated the springs into their new machine.

Download The Case Study  

The post ACE Gas Springs Improve Barrel Agitator Safety appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

At best, shock and vibration can cause machine operators to dial down cycle times. At worst, shock and vibration can damage machine components, causing downtime.

One way to combat the shock and vibration loads in blow molding machines is the use of shock absorbers to cushion the closing mold and the reciprocating rod that stretches the bottles.

Recently, ACE Controls created a new type of shock whose size and damping characteristics are tailor-made for use on the most common types of PET blow molding systems.

ACE’s new PET Shock Absorbers are used on both the molds and stretch rods of carousel blow molding machines—such as those from Sidel® and Krones®. These fast, efficient machines can achieve about in excess of 2,000 cycles per hour.

In this high-cycle operating environment, standard shock absorbers typically last only two to three months before failing. ACE’s PET shocks, by contrast, can last for 20 million cycles or about a year of operation. ACE achieves this long life by managing both the high forces and heat found within a blow molding machine.

Tolerates high forces, resets quickly. Forces from the closing mold, for example, can be substantial, and the ACE PET shocks have a short-stroke design that can dissipate up to 1.8 million in-lb of energy per hour and tolerate impact velocities as high as 12 ft/sec. The shock also features a relatively large oil chamber—filled with food grade lubricant—which also helps improve cycle life.

Copes with the heat. In addition to a heat-dissipating aluminum body, the ACE PET shocks feature a proprietary elastomer seal that can withstand temperatures to 300ºF and an accumulator rated to 225ºF. Conventional shocks use seals that top at 150ºF and tend to fail prematurely when exposed to the high heats within a typical blow molding machine.

The post New Shock Reduces Downtime in Blow Molding Machines appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

For a recent undersea pipeline application, one offshore engineering company created a new connector system using face-seal technology for improving the safety on oil rigs. This new design allows crews to safely disconnect in dangerous conditions. The system is based around 10 MAGNUM self-adjusting shock absorbers from ACE Controls.

Download The Case Study   

The post ACE Industrial Shock Absorbers Protect Oil Rig Pipelines appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

Because these rugged fiber and elastomer pads offer such high performance in absorbing shock loads, PAD material is now being specified not just as a way to support heavy machines but also as a way to absorb shock within the machine. One example is PAD’s recent adoption as an impact-damping washer in a line of robust ball screws from SKF.

Download The Case Study   

The post Specialized Elastomer Washers Protect Ball Screws Against Shock Load Damage appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

When testing high-performance machine parts, something as simple as choosing the right methods of eliminating noise and vibration can make all the difference. And one way to achieve the most accurate testing possible is with vibration dampening machine components.

For a new test stand that measures the performance of its hydraulic pumps for excavators, Kawasaki Precision Machinery found that installing rubber-metal isolators helped reduce noise and vibration, yielding more accurate results than in the past.

Download The Case Study   

The post ACE Shock Absorbers Isolate Noise In Hydraulic Test Stand appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..

From pick-and-place equipment to conveyor belts to linear transfer lines, moving work pieces and finished products from point A to point B is a major part of today’s fast-paced production environments. In many cases, speed and precision are top priorities. So too is safety. Protecting both operators and equipment from destructive impact forces is a critical task—one that is often accomplished with shock absorbers and safety dampers. In the case of linear modules that must endure high speeds and loads, well-designed safety dampers provide reliable insurance against impact damage at an affordable cost.

Download The Case Study   

The post Safety Dampers Protect Linear Modules From Runaway Motion appeared first on ACE Controls Inc..