Wisconsin Oven ships walk-in oven to medical equipment manufacturer

May 24, 2017
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Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, Wis., has shipped an electrically heated enhanced-duty walk-in series oven to a medical equipment manufacturer for sterilizing its products. The work chamber of this sterilizing oven is 14x34x8 feet, and the maximum temperature rating is 300°F. The customer required a temperature uniformity of ±2°F at 160°F, and this was proven based on a thirty-point test. 

The equipment has sufficient capacity to heat 18,000 pounds of swab boxes from 85°F to 160°F within 180 minutes when loaded into an ambient oven. The oven body is constructed with tongue and groove panel assemblies featuring patented high-efficiency panel seams (provides 25% better insulating efficiency).

"At Wisconsin Oven, we strive to find heat treat solutions for our customer's toughest problems," says David Burke, Sales Representative. "For this oven, we focused on the heating rates for the large loads of products which will help increase production rates and efficiency."

This walk-in oven was fully factory tested and adjusted prior to shipment. All safety interlocks were checked for proper operation and the equipment was operated at the normal and maximum operating temperatures. An extensive quality assurance check list was completed to ensure the equipment met all Wisconsin Oven quality standards. This equipment is backed by Wisconsin Oven's five-Year WOW warranty.

www.wisoven.com

Medical manufacturer chooses Ipsen Titan vacuum heat treating system

March 30, 2017
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Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., recently shipped a Titan H2 vacuum heat-treating system with 2-bar gas quenching to Costa Rica, where it will be used to manufacture surgical components. With its compact dimensions and superior quality, the Titan helps companies accelerate the pace of innovation while satisfying the strict legal requirements of the medical industry. The company also utilized Ipsen's full-scale support offerings with Ipsen U training, a spare parts kit, and installation/start-up support to advance their equipment and maximize uptime.

This standardized vacuum furnace features an 18x24x18-inch all-metal hot zone with a 1000-pound load capacity. It is capable of operating at temperatures of 1000 to 2400°F with ±10°F temperature uniformity.

Equipped with the PdMetrics platform for predictive maintenance – which securely connects to a network of integrated sensors on the furnace to gather and analyze data, run algorithms and provide real-time diagnostics – the Titan furnace provides sophisticated monitoring of critical systems and key parameters that improve the health and integrity of the equipment. They also received a gas backfill reservoir, a loader with a 2000-pound load capacity, and a complete air-cooled, closed-loop water system.

The manufacturer decided to take a proactive approach to preventive maintenance by ordering one of Ipsen's spare parts kits. These kits help ensure equipment uptime and keep the furnace running smoothly. They also opted for technical support and training, including installation supervision, start-up service and seats at Ipsen U – a three-day course that provides a broad overview of furnace equipment, processes, and maintenance using a hands-on approach to learning.

www.IpsenUSA.com/TITAN

Intermetallic Ti3Au is four times harder than pure titanium, more biocompatible

January 5, 2017
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Researchers at Rice University, Houston, report that they have developed a titanium-gold-intermetallic (Ti₃Au) said to be four times harder than titanium. The team, led by physics Prof. Emilia Morosan, measured the hardness in conjunction with colleagues at Texas A&M University's Turbomachinery Laboratory and at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University.

Because titanium and gold by themselves are among the most biocompatible metals and are often used in medical implants, the team believed Ti₃Au  would be comparable. In fact, tests by colleagues at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston determined that the compound was even more biocompatible than pure titanium, and its wear resistance is also higher.

According to Prof. Morosan, "This compound is not difficult to make, and it's not a new material."

In fact, the atomic structure of the material — its atoms are tightly packed in a "cubic" crystalline structure that's often associated with hardness — was previously known. It's not even clear that Prof. Morosan and former graduate student Eteri Svanidze, the study's lead co-author, were the first to make a pure sample of the ultrahard "beta" form of the compound. But due to a couple of lucky breaks, they and their co-authors are the first to document the material's remarkable properties.

"This began from my core research," says Prof. Emilia Morosan,. "We published a study not long ago on titanium-gold, a 1-to-1 ratio compound that was a magnetic material made from nonmagnetic elements. One of the things that we do when we make a new compound is try to grind it into powder for X-ray purposes. This helps with identifying the composition, the purity, the crystal structure, and other structural properties.

"When we tried to grind up Ti₃Au, we couldn't," she recalled. "I even bought a diamond (coated) mortar and pestle, and we still couldn't grind it up."

Prof. Morosan and grad student Eteri Svanidze decided to do follow-up tests to determine exactly how hard the compound was, and while they were at it, they also decided to measure the hardness of the other compositions of titanium and gold that they had used as comparisons in the original study.

What the team didn't know at the time was that making the compound at a relatively high temperature produces an almost pure crystalline form of the beta version of the alloy — the crystal structure that's four times harder than titanium. At lower temperatures, the atoms tend to arrange in another cubic structure — the alpha form . The alpha structure is about as hard as regular titanium. It appears that labs that had previously measured the hardness of Ti₃Au had measured samples that largely consisted of the alpha arrangement of atoms.

Read the full-length article, "High hardness in the biocompatible intermetallic compound β-Ti₃Au," in Science Advanced.

http://news.rice.edu/2016/07/20/titanium-gold-new-gold-standard-for-artificial-joints/

MTS electrodynamic test systems feature intuitive and energy-efficient operation

November 26, 2016
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MTS Systems Corp., Eden Prairie, Minn., offers Acumen electrodynamic test systems, which are streamlined, highly intuitive platforms for dynamic and static testing of materials and components. Acumen test systems provide the flexibility of electrodynamic actuation, giving test professionals an easy and energy-efficient way to expand in-house test capabilities with minimal impact in the lab.

Each system features excellent lateral stiffness, highly rigid load frames, a unique high-performance direct-drive motor, and an industry-leading load cell.  They  provide integrated tools for highly precise load and motion control, no matter which frame is chosen.

Unique integration with MTS TestSuite Multipurpose Software also enables automatic setup, smooth task flow, simplified actuator control and intuitive limit setting, reducing the risk of human error.

Tests include fatigue and fracture, component strength and durability, tension, compression, flex/bend, and FDA regulatory tests for biomaterials and components. Equipped with a Bionix  EnviroBath, MTS Acumen test systems enable efficient, accurate testing of biomedical and general material specimens in fluids heated to body temperature.

MTS Acumen test systems consume far less energy than other technologies. They can be installed rapidly, without the need for hydraulic pumps or related infrastructure. All that is needed is a single conventional electrical outlet, and once installed, they provide clean, quiet, and extremely cost-effective operation.

Designed for safe, user-friendly operation, the instruments include a standard T-slot table, an optional integrated enclosure, streamlined cabling, and a universal power supply. They perform consistently and accurately, test after test, yet they require very little maintenance. 

http://www.mts.com/acumen