Lobe knobs for aircraft designers

Lobe knobs for aircraft designers

Lobe knobs for aircraft designers

Keywords Clamps, Knobs, Rencol, Thermoplastics

Rencol has launched a new range of reinforced thermoplastic lobe knobs. This provides aircraft design engineers with a variety of colours, colour combinations, sizes and shapes. Being highly competitively priced, the range is thought to be a versatile resource for those responsible for equipment design.

Knobs come in eight cadmium-free colours with a matt finish: black, red, yellow, green, blue, white, grey and orange. The handle and cap of the knob are moulded separately, allowing them to be specified in different colours. This allows engineers to design equipment with knobs colour-coded for aesthetic or safety reasons. For corporate visibility, company logos or instructions can be printed or moulded into the plastic, for added visual impact, again in a variety of colours.

Rencol's lobe knobs are manufactured from the high-impact-resistant thermoplastic, Glass-filled Nylon 6. Made in two separate pieces, they are hollow and light, yet believed to be almost unbreakable. There are five knob sizes, between 30 and 75mm in diameter. A wide variety of male and female thread sizes are available in brass, aluminium, zinc-plated steel or stainless steel, to suit individual design and cost requirements.

Customised moulding services can be provided at highly competitive rates for designers and buyers with special requirements.

Lobe knobs are held in stock in a variety of colours for immediate delivery. No minimum order limit applies. A Rencol catalogue is available on request, detailing the full range of lobe knobs and many other complementary products to aid equipment design.

Rencol has also agreed a deal to distribute the full range of Andreas Maier GmbH (AMF) toggle clamps in Britain. The clamps allow workshop technicians to hold metals, plastics and textiles securely in place, e.g. for welding, drilling or glueing. Rencol can supply these high quality clamps in 47 versions and 111 sizes from current stocks at highly competitive prices.

AMF toggle clamps claim a reputation for durability, providing consistent performance over many years. Most of the range is constructed from stainless and galvanised steel, including solid stainless steel rivets set in case-hardened steel bushes, with tempered clamping screws. This makes the toggle clamps suitable for use outdoors. Stainless steel clamps are anti-magnetic, so can be used for clamping magnetic metals. Manual and pneumatic versions are available.

According to Rencol, manual clamps have a lever system which generates high clamping forces with minimal operator effort. The lever locks the clamping screw in place, preventing it from vibrating open as components are being machined. "Safety interlocking toggle clamps" provide greater locking security, for heavier levels of vibration. The range includes clamps with a variety of clamping forces, opening angles and mounting positions. Handle shape has been designed to assist leverage and reduce the risks of repetitive strain injury.

Pneumatic toggle clamps relieve operators from the repetitive strains of manual clamping. Remote control of opening and clamping positions allows any number of pneumatic clamps to be activated in sequence for production line automation. Clamping forces up to 10 bar pressure (10,000 Newtons per square metre) are reported possible with the strongest clamp. A safe locking feature keeps clamps securely closed, even if there is a drop in pneumatic pressure.

A toggle clamp catalogue is available on request, detailing dimensions and clamping forces for the toggle clamp range.

For further information contact Ray engineering. Tel: +44 (0) 117 950 6666; Fax: +44 (0) 117 950 4550; E-mail: claire@rencol.com; URL: http://www.rencol.com