A new spin on tables for testing

June 22, 2006

A college physics lab needed to spin test some assemblies, but managers didn't want to buy an expensive, long-lead-time centrifuge or outsource the task.

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Edited by Stephen Mraz

Instead, the lab decided to use a relatively low-cost high-capacity indexer designed and built at Centricity Corp., Girard, Ohio (centricity.net). It had to go from 15 to 115 rpm, and change speed in a few tenths of a revolution. The company combined a round, adjustable-speed indexing table with a slip ring, and a counterbalance system. Operators can program the spinning indexer's motions profile using a touch-screen pendant.