Whether you’re a product developer working on a new prototype fiber or a researcher looking to develop new production processes, you’ll need lab-scale equipment to produce your small volumes of carbon fiber.

For laboratory settings, full-size fiber manufacturing equipment is impractical. Fortunately, you can find lab-scale carbon fiber equipment to suit the needs of research and development much better.

When selecting laboratory equipment, keep in mind that you’ll not only want smaller versions of carbon fiber manufacturing machines, but also equipment that is flexible and can adapt to different processes as needed.

All of the systems are modular, thus individual components can be purchased, and as the need arises components can be added on.

We’ve put together a list of some of the best carbon fiber equipment for laboratory applications:

We here at Izumi International are looking forward to attending The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) in Orlando, running from September 11 to 14.

After 40 years in the textile and fiber industry, we here at Izumi International often see common errors in the fiber production process.

For one, correct tension control is commonly overlooked in composite material manufacturing.

Even with the most modern equipment, if the starting tension at the creel is not controlled properly, then the final product may be constructed of fibers with varying tension. As a result, it will not fully utilize the strength of all fibers equally. This can degrade the mechanical properties of the final product.

In other cases, we see applications where tension on fibers is so high that it causes filament damage. This can also degrade the quality of the final product.

At Izumi International, we’re proud to be official distributors of Musashi Engineering automated dispensing equipment. Musashi is the largest fluid dispenser manufacturer in Japan, and their wide line of dispensing products are frequently used in Asia’s electronics manufacturing industry—an industry that demands high-precision applications.

Why do we favor Musashi dispenser products over brands that are better known in the U.S.? There are several important reasons:  

Engineering expertise

Musashi Engineering, Inc. was established in 1978, giving them nearly 40 years of experience in the automation world.

But it’s not just longevity that matters here. Nearly half of Musashi’s 700 employees have an engineering background, meaning product design, development, and testing are all done with an expert eye.

Do you need to transport products to conveyors at multiple heights? Do you need to load products into vertical storage racks and then retrieve them?  If so, you’ll need a high-quality vertical lifting actuator, or lift station.

In our experience, Robotunits extruded aluminum lift stations are among the best solutions for multi-level product conveyance or storage requirements. Here’s what sets them apart:

Looking for a reliable way to dispense pastes, sealants, epoxies and other adhesives for your manufacturing or R&D line? We’d like to get you pointed in the right direction.

In previous posts, we’ve looked at the general types of fluid dispensers available for product automation and how they work. In this post, we’re going to start with the needed adhesive application and list some of the specific dispensing products that are a best fit.

In previous posts, we’ve discussed the strength and efficiency of extruded aluminum framing for mounting robots and other manufacturing equipment. We noted its strength when it came to bearing weight, but there’s another aspect to consider as well.

Several months ago we were at a trade show and saw a Robotunits aluminum frame in use. Representatives from ABB had set up a demonstration of their FlexPicker robot on the exhibition floor, and they relied on a Robotunits aluminum frame for the display. See the video we shot below:

If you’re involved in LED manufacturing, you understand how much relies on your equipment providing exact accuracy each time. You want to avoid wasteful mistakes while creating LED products that are perfectly consistent from production day to production day.

Unfortunately, some of the more finicky steps of LED production pose challenges for consistency. This is especially true in the case of the potting of phosphors for white LEDs.

Whether you specialize in the production of carbon fiber, textile fiber, fabric, film, or any other kind of fiber or web product, proper measurements of length and speed are vital to your success.

Accurate and stable speed and length measurements ensure consistent output for your fiber or web material process. Inaccuracy in a processing line can result in various problems. If you produce less material than your equipment setting indicates, you’ll upset your customer; producing too much means a profit loss for your company.

Many companies rely on the speed or length counters which are initially included on the equipment. But as time passes, how do you know that reading is accurate? 

Are you considering investing in an aluminum frame system to mount production equipment or build workstations? T-slotted aluminum extrusion systems are growing in popularity due to their ease of assembly and adaptability to changing workflows. (See our previous blog post to learn more about the many advantages of aluminum extrusion systems.)

There are many aluminum extrusion systems on the market to choose from. Here at Izumi International we highly recommend the Robotunits system, for several reasons: