The importance of the accuracy of the tension coming off of a creel or let-off is forgotten at times. Extensive design effort is put into the equipment to actually produce the sheet or tube formed from carbon fiber or other high-performance fibers, but in many cases the front end of this process is overlooked.

The accuracy of tension coming off of the creel can influence the mechanical properties of the part, and either enhance or degrade it depending on the tension control. In some cases, it is not the absolute value of tension which is important, but the minimization of deviation of tension between ends. A single tow of fiber with higher tension than the others could degrade a UD sheet or a pultruded part…. etc.

We have many success stories from our customers implementing our creels. Uniformity and improved characteristics of a UD sheet or tape, better mechanical properties observed in a pultruded part, stronger filament wound products, and better strength in a woven fabric.

With several decades of experience building industrial control panels for our equipment delivered worldwide, Izumi International now provides industrial control panel design and fabrication services for our customers as well.

We have an in-house UL-508A certified panel shop, and have electrical engineers and electrical technicians on site to design to and build to code requirements.

Karakuri ningyo (からくり人形) are traditional Japanese automated puppets with origins dating back to the 7^th century. Eventually, they gained widespread popularity around 17^th century Edo period in Japan, when a theater opened in Osaka with Karakuri puppets on stage. These dolls relied solely on mechanical components such as springs or cams and clever engineering techniques to produce life-like movements, such as a tea serving doll or an archer doll which loads an arrow in his bow and shoots them one by one. Fast forward to present day 2020, and we live in an age where programmable logic controllers enable precise control sequences in millisecond increments, and 6-axis robots configure a completely automated production line. We now integrate sophisticated electronic controls to fulfill our industrial automation requirements.

However, there are still industrial automation processes that can be done by a fully mechanical, “Karakuri” type system. These systems would require no electricity, which could help achieve a green manufacturing target that may be required in a plant. Having no electronic controls also means lower cost, making integration of this type of automation affordable in situations where cost is a key

The Powered Roller Conveyor System from Robotunits is a multi-faceted system that handles product transportation suited to your individual needs. It is designed for immediate use with any orientation or application, and can be combined with all products of the Robotunits Modular Automation System.
Special highlight: The integrated guarding block for Poly-V belts is an integrated part of the roller design and can be assembled without tools.

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A relatively new development in the world of fluid dispensers, the non-contact jet dispenser uses a jetting mechanism to drop fluids from a distance on to the substrate, so that the nozzle never touches the surface of the product. Jet dispensing is performed by high speed dot pulsations from the nozzle, therefore dot dispensing as well as connecting these dots to form line dispensing can be achieved.

The main focus of the Robotunits technology is to offer quicker, more flexible, and more intelligent solutions. This is true in particular for the Robotunits Conveyors. The range includes high performance conveyors with a wide range of belt properties with or without cleats in different shapes and sizes. Accumulating, vacuum or magnetic conveyors and custom conveyors outside of the standard dimensions are also available by special order. The Belt Conveyor System is seamlessly integrated into the Modular Automation System: The extrusions and fasteners used in the conveyors systems are the same as the framework, making integration into equipment framework easy.

Izumi International can also integrate these conveyors into turn-key material handling solutions: for small scale systems which only require a single conveyor to large scale material handling projects requiring several conveyors.

There are a variety of conveyors in the lineup as shown below:

With the increasing variety of resin systems available for carbon fiber and other high-performance fibers, there is a growing need for development of sizing materials which interface well with each resin/fiber combination.

For the development of the sizing material, it is often difficult to experiment without obtaining un-sized fiber. Unless you produce the fiber in your own facility, in many cases it would be necessary to de-size the fiber first, and then apply the desired sizing materials.