Northwest Dryer & Machinery Co.
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Model 3950 X-Y Laser Scanner The Northwest Dryer 3950 Laser Scanner is designed to be an economical, reliable replacement for the “Orange Box” scanners that have been original equipment on X-Y Chargers since 1979. We’ve designed the enclosure to mount onto an aluminum baseplate that will use the existing mounting points- there is no modification of your charger beams. The 2 connections are identical to the original equipment- both Power input and Data output are the same Bendix connectors, so there are no alterations to be made there either. It’s literally a Plug-n-Play swap. We’ve upgraded the laser to a solid-state diode type, capable of 50 milliwatts; it runs normally at 35 milliwatts which compares to the 15 milliwatt unit available in the Orange unit. A stronger beam will be reflected and “seen” by the camera even through heavy steam, pitch and other circumstances so your lathe keeps peeling. The Laser is in a feedback loop with the Main Processor- when the camera starts to “see” a reduced amount of reflected light the onboard controller increases the power to the laser to compensate. The Camera is a precision-machined housing that we produce in our own shop; it is specially designed to house 4 separate precision-ground lenses to focus the reflected beam onto a photo-array chip. By focusing the beam so narrowly the resolution is many times more accurate than was ever possible before. The Photo-Array Chip is a much higher resolution chip than the Reticon chip in the old units; it’s the same concept as comparing a 1 megapixel digital camera to a 5 megapixel camera. By combining the precision lenses with the state-of-the-art chip we can offer accurate measurements out to distances of 10 feet! The components are all controlled by an onboard processor with many features; it monitors the performance and “health” of the unit, and makes adjustments as necessary. It controls the communications rate to output data faster than any charger computers will query. We’ve been developing this Scanner for almost 3 years; it’s gone through several stages where we included another feature or subroutine to make it faster, more flexible, reliable and cost efficient specifically for the application to the X-Y Chargers. We started with the premise that the actual machinery- the “Iron” is good, capable equipment; being controlled by computers, PLCs and hydraulics that are up to the task of peeling when given occasional repair and rebuilding. The weak link in the chain has been the Orange Box scanners. They were designed in 1979, and are built today with the same components that were used 27 years ago. In fact most of those components are obsolete. The old units are requiring more frequent repairs, and more expensive procedures to keep them in service. We’ve designed this new unit to interface seamlessly with the rest of the system with no modifications; to offer performance better by every measure. This will translate into better recovery from each block that is peeled, and more throughput per shift because of better reliability. Because we machine and manufacture almost all of the components in our own shop we can offer this Scanner at a price that is comparable to the service costs of the existing units over the course of 2-3 years. By combining these new Scanners with your existing Charger/Lathe you can realize increased throughput and better reliability; and avoid the huge costs involved in a complete Charger Control Upgrade. Plant personnel can make the changeover in a matter of minutes, instead of weeks. Our commitment to have replacement units in stock ensures your continued productivity in the event of an accident. Our new 3950 Scanner weighs approximately 15 lbs, versus almost 70 lbs for the Orange version., and is easily held in position while installing. Changing a scanner has always been uncomfortable-if not downright dangerous. The opportunity for an accident or damage during installation is virtually eliminated by using our new Blue Unit. Available in mid-February! |
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