The Visiport and Discair product lines have been offered with 3M VHB adhesives as standard since their inception. 3M VHB (very high bond) adhesives have a number of advantages that have made it a good choice for most installations:
1. Excellent bonding to clean glass and polycarbonate window substrates.
2. Conformance to surfaces nearly 1-mm out of flatness.
3. High resistance to water soluble coolants at correct pH.
4. Excellent vibration resistance characteristics.
There are applications, however, for which users have expressed a desire for bonding and application alternatives. Two options that are currently in early introduction include bonding of Visiport VP220.B5 models with two-component adhesives together with VHB, and a bolt-on style unit for use with polycarbonate. If your application may require the use of non-standard mounting methods, please contact us for details on the VP220.B5.E and VP220.B5.D configuration codes.
The all new Visiport Model VP220.B5 represents the 4th Generation of T2K spin window design. More powerful than any other spin window on the machine tool market, the VP220.B5 is T2K's flagship system. Incorporating a new brushless DC motor and driver controller, and using a new rotor with NdBFe "Supermagnets", the VP220.B5 delivers more torque to power away coolent and chips for high-speed machining applications. The addition of an optical switch allows the system to easily be turned on and off by the machine operator or service personnel whenever access to the machine cabin is required. Simply shine a flashlight on the sensor, and the Visiport can be turned on and off.
Features:
>Same size as the previous A-type Visiport units.
>More than twice the continuous torque of any previous unit, the Visiport 220.B5 is suited to much heavier coolant load applications. Featuring the latest solid metal conductor board design for maximum power-handling capacity, the brushless DC motor driver delivers 50 oz-in of continuous torque at a 5 amp input level (versus 18 oz-in for a VP220-A).
>Photo-optic switch allows unit actuation and shut-off at the machine tool window with a simple flashlight. Since the toggle switch located on the terminal box is sometimes installed out of harms way and out of easy reach, the optical switch provides an easily accessible on-the-unit reset capability.
>Separate LED function and torque arrays show power at unit and amperage level corresponding to load on disc. A power LED indicates presence of current at the Visiport, and green, yellow, and red LEDs provide operator feedback indicating relative load on the disc. This is useful, for example, to indicate that maintenance to remove chip accumulations on the unit or inside the disc labyrinth are advisable.
>New forward-facing disc seal provides better protection against small chips being drawn into the labyrinth seal in most machining environments.
>Three wire harness exit ports (left, right, & down) rather than two (left or right), provide increased flexibility to route the conduit aspirating the unit and protecting the wire harness in whichever direction is best suited to the machine tool. Users indicated to T2K that restoring the previously available exit straight down from the unit to prevent chip accumulation was strongly desired. In returning this feature to the unit, T2K further increased flexibility by standardizing the thread of the exit ports to G1/4, allowing installation of NPT, EO, Push, JIS, and just about any other pneumatic or hydraulic interconnection system applicable to the task.
>Support for 8-mm polyurethane (PUR) tubing in addition to previous stainless steel wire over PTFE tubing (flex) allows low cost connections and maximizes field installation flexibility, as PUR can be cut to size at the time of installation, unlike flex. The PUR tubing is compatible with 8-mm Push fittings available from Parker, Festo, SMC and a number of other pneumatic component suppliers. T2K offers both Festo and/or Parker brand fittings, depending on the application.
>Support for EO-type solid metric tubing has also been added to support OEM installers using metric 8-mm, 10-mm, and 12-mm solid pipe as a means to aspirate the unit and route the wire harness. To save costs, some OEM users specified interconnection methods with the VP220-A that were subject to subsequent field failure and coolant penetration. In order to eliminate such problems, T2K has tested and now recommends EO-type fittings for this purpose. EO-type fittings are a popular fitting system in Europe, and are available from Parker's Ermeto division in Europe.
>Addition of a grounding terminal, also known as a protective earthing (PE) terminal, in the Visiport VP220.B5 allows installers wishing to ground the Visiport unit to comply with local electrical codes can do so without the unit modification to add the terminal previously with the VP220-A.
The all new Visiport 220.B5 is available with all these features, starting at the same $1,099.95 MSRP as the previous VP220-A generation of spin window systems. For details, please contact T2K toll free in North America at (800) 267-2120, or via email at sales@t2k.net.
This posting is intended to provide a summary of the errors in the PDF files currently posted. As files are updated, this errata will be updated to reflect any known errors.
We apologize for any inconvenience these errors may cause. Please check back soon for updated information, or contact us directly by phone, fax, or email for assistance. Contact information is here.
Link: VP220B Unit Dimensions,
File: assy-inst-220b.pdf
1. Note indicating "*Customer specified by meter of foot;" should read "by meter or foot".
2. Dimensions from Centerline of unit to centerline of exit ports is missing; dimension from centerline of unit to bottom of unit is missing and should be 6.8"/173mm.
Links: VP220B Exploded Views, A/B/C-Size,
Files: assy-220b-exp-(a/b/c).pdf:
1. Note 3 for OPTIONAL SPARES should read 8MM, not 6MM.
2. Part labelled "CONNECTOR COVER, P/N 220B" should read "UNIV. CONNECTOR COVER, P/N 220B1003, INC. O-RING".
Link: VP220B Configuration Chart,
File: t2k-vpb-des.pdf:
1. "E08, 8-mm EO" text is mispositioned.
2. Connection line to G08, G10, and G12 are missing. These fittings are available at this time from T2K.
Link: VP220B Installation Guide,
File: t2k-vpb-man-v4.pdf:
1. Page 6, number item 4; "installating" should read "installing".
2. Page 6, note 1; fittings are not illustrated.
3. Page 12, "Bonding the Visiport", step 1; figure 4b missing.
4. Page 19, para. 5; "operatin" should read "operating".
End errata as of 21-OCT-2003.
Spin windows augment safety programs. Without Spin Windows, an operator may be tempted to bypass a machine interlock in order to get a peek at what's happening inside. This creates the potential for catastrophic injuries.
Given the possibility of product liability and injury settlement awards due to the possibility of a machine operator becoming injured or killed due to exposure to the work area via a bypassed or defeated interlock, T2K suggest that management, unions, and insurance underwriters look at the possibility of endorsing the safety benefits of spin windows.
Additionally, given the approval of the "C Level" Safety Standards for Machine Tools in the European Union in late 2001, T2K would recommend that all builders, operators, and insurers acquaint themselves with the current state-of-the-art with regard to designing machine tools with operator safety in mind.
Key differences between the EN Standards and previous efforts at machine tool safety design is the fruition of research into the effects of the tool and workholder failure in lathes and machining centers. Namely, the attempt to explicitly match the maximum anticipated energy a machine may impart in a catistrophic failure to a projectile with the actual ability of the machine tool enclosure design to contain that energy without exposing the operator to death or injury.
Also factored into these and the recent revisions to the ANSI AMT B11 standard is the research into the degredation of polycarbonate impact resistance over time due to the influence of metalworking fluid exposure.
Research sponsored in Germany concluded that polycarbonate (sold under the trade names Lexan, Macrolon, Tuffak, etc.) can lose a dangerous level of the material's initial impact resistance in just a few years. Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine which polycarbonate windows are affected by visual examination alone.
As a result of their findings, the German Machine Tool Builder's Association recommended that their members classify polycarbonate as a wear material that should be replaced every two years. Further, even if the polycarbonate was encapsulated with an edge treatment, glass, and an operator side overlay to protect the polycarbonate from metalworking fluid exposure, the original recommendation was that such a window be replaced every five years.
Since the research into polycarbonate embrittlement came out in 1999, the makers of encapsulated safety windows seem to have pushed the consensus for replacment cycle on such product closer to ten years, due to the experience the industry is having with such windows.
As all T2K bonded spin window systems are mounted to machine tool windows, this subject is more than of passing interest. As an installation service, T2K can provide Visiport and DiscAir spin window systems pre-mounted on almost any standard thickness of polycarbonate available, including metric sizes. T2K also pre-mounts customer supplied machine tool windows, and can purchase windows from most builders.
Finally, T2K has a ditribution arrangement with a custom machiine tool window fabricator in Germany that supplied machine tool windows meeting any required impact standard. We welcome customers and builders to get a competitive quotation on machine tool safety and polycarbonate windows from our facility.
Contact T2K for details.
The answer to this question is highly dependant on the type of machine tool, material to be machined, coolant volume and delivery method, and window configuration of each machine tool application.
In general, air-powered DiscAir units are designed for light to medium duty machining, where the volume of coolant and chips hitting the operator window is intermittent or splashy. Continuous coolant flow or high pressure systems dictate the use of electrically-driven designs such as Visiport. Visiport units may be bonded onto new polycarbonate, multi-layered or reinforced glass windows. Visiport is an ideal retrofit solutions for polycarbonate windows which are badly damaged as a result of heavy chip bombardment. Visiport is recommended where heavy chip bombardment and coolant flooding will occur. The motor torque and chemically strengthened spin disk provide consistent operator visibility in the harshest of machining environments.
While Visiport and DiscAir will work in most machining applications where the requisite space and sufficient coolant is present, Visiport represents the first truly safe spin window design for lathes. As a retrofit for existing machine windows, Visiport is light, rugged performer under medium to heavy chip bombardment and coolant spray, and provides the maximum field of view available on the market.
For end users, machine tool dealers, and application specialists, the Visiport 220.B5 and DiscAir 230 models are the best all-around choices for your machine tool visibility problems. For OEM's, T2K offers the widest range of products produced in the world at competitive prices that help differentiate top-notch, productivity-driven machine tool products from the pack. T2K's objective is to offer a family of spin window products, services and accessories to help customers make choices based on their specific technical requirements.
While T2K produces a range of spin window products, due to the nature of machine tool design, there simply may be inadequate clearance to accommodate even the lowest profile (1 5/8") Visiport or DiscAir units. The protective metal bars or grills on some lathes will preclude installation of any spin window without modification to the machine enclosure.
If you run into such a situation with your current machine tool, please contact T2K and your machine tool dealer. Customizations to accommodate your chosen spin window products can be made with the cooperation of your machine tool builder. T2K has access to a number of machine tool modification designs and your machine may be among them. Contact T2K for details.