Assembly - December 2008 - (Page 44) Assembly Events again, and it’s a pretty safe bet that energy concerns are here to stay. In terms of specific technologies, one of the most dramatic was a dedicated solar panel conveyor on display at the Bosch Rexroth exhibit. According to Bosch director of marketing services Kevin Gingerich, his company has begun developing lines like the one on display in response to a number of inquiries from solar panel manufacturers making the transition to mass production. Gingerich notes that currently such systems often have to be custom built, due to the variety of products being manufactured. However, Bosch and its customers are working on standardizing both production equipment and the panels themselves to bring down costs. Another business sector with eyes on the solar panel market is the robotics industry. Because solar panel manufacturing requires both a great deal of material handling as well as a number of repetitive processing steps that must be precisely and gently executed, it is Among the many innovative new products at this year’s show was this Light Guide Systems work instruction unit from OPS Solutions. ATExpo included a co-located Green Manufacturing Expo and conference, with exhibitors displaying everything from wind generators to reusable packaging. But the effects of the recent spike in energy costs could be felt everywhere. Granted, at press time benchmark light, sweet crude was trading at around $70 per barrel—down from well over $100 per barrel around the time of the show. But then again it also seemed to be inching back up Contrinex Series 700 — the world’s toughest inductive proximity sensors PRECISION INDEX CONVEYOR Series 700 M8 with S12 Connector Exceptionally rugged and impervious • Housings machined from a single piece of stainless steel • The one-piece stainless-steel housing eliminates the weak spot of conventional sensors — the fragile plastic sensing face • Mechanically and chemically very rugged and resists operating pressures of up to 850 psi. • Condet® technology provides sensing distances on steel and aluminum up to 3X those of conventional sensors of a similar size • Ideal for assembly applications where contact with moving product, machine parts or hot shavings is possible, or harsh liquids are used for cleaning or lubrication Contrinex Inc. Fax: (860) 388-3574 Old Saybrook, CT 06475 E-mail: info_us@contrinex.com Toll free: (866) 289-2899 www.contrinex.com Visit our Design Site at www.contrinex.com PROVIDING A COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO PRECISION INDEX APPLICATIONS. Model #6770-001A - 6” Wide x 48” Long - $12,120 NORTHSTAR INDUSTRIES INC. 25 Heritage Drive • Tiffin, OH 44883 • 419-455-9258 • www.tiffinnorthstar.com IS0 9001 certified 44 ASSEMBLY / December 2008 www.assemblymag.com http://www.tiffinnorthstar.com http://www.contrinex.com http://www.tiffinnorthstar.com http://www.contrinex.com http://www.contrinex.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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