ave you ever wondered how ergonomically shaped handles, latex gloves, or the seamless protective caps needed for pipe
ends are manufactured? Well the answer is by ‘dip moulding’, a complex process that relies on the thermal properties of the materials used. The process requires heatable moulds or
mandrels that correspond to the desired shape of the final product. The pre-heated mould is immersed in a bath of liquid plastisol – a polymer bath containing, for example, PVC particles. The temperature of the mould attracts the particles and causes them to bond, with the thickness of the resulting layer influenced by varying the temperature or dipping time. After removal, the plastic layer is baked and cured on the mould in
MINIATURE SHOCK ABSORBERS: SAVE SPACE AND RESOURCES, INCREASE PERFORMANCE
A key component of efficiency in mechanical engineering is keeping the dimensions of overall designs compact. For example, if a drive is also required to decelerate at the end of a travel distance, a more powerful, larger drive is often installed, but this consumes more resources. Alternatively, non-electric products can be used as a braking solution, reducing both the structural and ecological footprint. Savings arise, among other things, from the fact that miniature and industrial shock absorbers allow masses to be moved with the smallest possible pneumatic cylinder, enabling the use of smaller valves and maintenance units. Compressed air and the electricity required for distribution are also permanently saved.
Considering pick-and-place solutions, for
example, pneumatic end-of-stroke cushioning requires approximately three to four cubic centimeters of air, which is often compressed to up to 7 bar. This isn’t necessary with miniature shock absorbers, as they decelerate movements safely and quickly when they reach their end positions. Hydraulic components allow cycle rates to be increased and protect machines and materials.
an oven, and a water bath is then used for cooling. Finally, these go through a stripping station where the finished products are removed. The BIS Group, with its BIS Machinery division, specialises in mechanical engineering, engineering and automation, while also serving customers in the plastics industry. For one of these customers, engineers from the TST Group (part of BIS since 2025) developed a compact dip moulding machine that arranges the various stations for producing plastic parts along a linear travel path – from an immersion side at one end to the cooling and breakout position at the other. For this application, damping was essential at both end positions, but with this proving to be a challenge, Dutch project manager Niels Kuipers contacted the Benelux team of damping specialist ACE, part of the Stabilus Group. BIS had originally opted for a package solution consisting of an electric linear drive and integrated hydraulic shock absorbers. “The drive, coming from a renowned German supplier, worked perfectly, but the performance of the supplied shock absorbers was insufficient for our purposes,” explained Kuipers. The forces of the masses being moved placed
strain on the entire structure through harsh stop movements when reaching the end positions. Ralf Küppers, ACE’s sales engineer for
the Benelux region, received the essential technical data regarding mass, speed and drive force as well as several videos showing various perspectives of the construction itself, its drive and dampers. This gave the ACE team enough information to develop a design and arrange a trial delivery of appropriately selected miniature shock absorbers. ACE provides the calculation programs
24
The SC190-SC925 are designed for soft damping
used for this free of charge on its website:
https://www.acecontrols.co.uk/uk/sizing.html
The dampers were delivered within 24 hours and immediately assembled and tested on-site by BIS. However, Kuipers then sent new videos to ACE which suggested the miniature shock absorbers had been selected with damping properties that were too hard. So, the engineers again experimented with
the mass, speed and drive force values, using the software. No combination, however, could explain why the dampers weren't working in harmony with the linear drive. Küppers takes up the story: “We enquired whether additional pneumatic damping had been activated in the system settings. And lo and behold, another video of the linear
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