Welcome
 Welcome
to the first issue of Porous Works,
the newsletter of Applied Porous Technologies, Inc.
Our company was founded with the intention of becoming
the supplier of choice for porous metal products.
One of our original goals was to provide total product
support to our customers. We believe that this periodical
will help to ensure that we attain that goal.
It
is our hope that the news and information in this
and future issues will increase your understanding
of our capabilities and the benefits of using our
porous media in new and existing product designs.
So that you can also get to know us on a more personal
basis, we plan to feature a member of our highly
dedicated staff in each issue. Finally, we will use Porous
Works to keep you apprised of any changes
in our product offerings, equipment or company policies.
Since we want to make this newsletter as relevant
to your business as possible, we look forward to
hearing your comments on the first issue. We would
also welcome any suggestions you may have for future
issues. Thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
Ed
Swiniarski, President
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APT Breaks Ground for Installation of Hydrogen Gas Storage
System
With our manufacturing operations continuing to grow, Applied
Porous Technologies, Inc. (APT) has begun the installation
of a new hydrogen storage system that will enable us to increase
the efficiency of our sintering furnaces. Although heated
electrically, the furnaces used to process our stainless
steel porous metal are constantly blanketed and flushed in
hydrogen to provide a clean, dry, oxygen-free atmosphere.
This keeps the stainless steel free from oxides and other
contaminants and provides for the best corrosion resistance
in the finished product.
APT’s new
hydrogen storage system incorporates a series of high-pressure
storage tubes
which feed into a control
manifold to manage the delivery of hydrogen to our various
furnaces.The greater efficiency of this system will enable
us to maintain competitive pricing. The modular system will
initially store 30,000 cubic feet of hydrogen, but we can
easily expand it in the future as production growth warrants.
The unit is being installed, and will be maintained, by ABCO
Welding and Industrial Supply, Inc. We expect it to be on-line
by March, 2003. |
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| Satisfied Customer: Flair Corporation
Flair
Corporation produces industrial air dryers and purifiers.
A critical component of this
Ocala, Florida, company’s air dryers is a means
of monitoring the relative humidity of the air that
is being dried. Flair recently began developing a new
air dryer.They asked APT to create a prototype for
a fitting to hold the miniature circuit board that
would sense the
dew point of the dry air created. Our sintered porous
metal was the ideal material to use, since it would allow
the air to pass through, while keeping out dust and water.
Flair provided us with sketches and requested that the
fitting and cover that we produced be able to withstand
the 150 pounds of pressure to which
it would be subjected.
APT
supplied this customer with five prototype pieces.
We soon received
a letter from Flair's R & D Engineer, Byron George,
which stated, in part, “I was very impressed
with how perfectly the miniature circuit board
fit into the cavity and how well you grasped what
the function of the device was… You did a masterful
job on the prototypes.” |
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| Humidity
Sensor Assembly |
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| Applied Porous Technologies Expands QC Capabiliaties to Meet
ATEX Directive |
| Product
Marketed to Europe Now Complies with ISO 4003 and ISO 2738 |
One
unique property of sintered porous metal is its ability
to stop flame propagation during an ignition
event that might occur, for example, in a malfunctioning
gas sensor.
APT manufactures and supplies many components and engineered
devices that are incorporated into systems as flame arrestors.
In most cases, customers are required to have the finished
product tested and approved by testing agencies such as UL
(USA), the CAS (Canada), and CE (Europe) prior
to going to market. APT often participates in the application
of
our porous metal components into these devices and provides
the customer with design assistance to ensure that the finished
device will get the required approvals.
A new
directive, with a compliance deadline of June 30, 2003,
has been issued
in Europe. It requires all devices sold within
the European Economic Area for explosion-proof applications
to meet the same stringent set of criteria. This is known
as the ATEX Directive (from the French ATmospheres EXplosibles).
For our part, this means that the porous components and
devices we provide to our customers must be certified to
meet design
specifications per ISO 4003 for porosity and ISO 2738 for
density.
In response to
these directive requirements and in support of our existing
and potential new customers,
APT has invested capital in new equipment and developed
the necessary testing methods to comply with the directive.
As
customers develop new products or move to certify existing
products before the deadline, APT is ready
to support the tighter product specifications and certification. |
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Airpot Corporation,
of Norwalk, CT, manufactures air cylinders and pneumatic dampening
devices. This company was recently asked to develop and produce a specialized
air cylinder that would become an integral component of a safety mechanism
designed into the “next-generation” cockpit doors for commercial
airlines. Airpot, in turn, contacted APT for assistance in designing
a series of porous metal dust covers (or filters) to be incorporated
into the air cylinder. This was a high-priority project, and Airpot
needed our quick response to their requirements for design input, prototype
turnaround, and scale-up for manufacturing.
To save time and
tooling costs, APT performed initial prototype work on parts that were
laser cut from larger components built on existing tooling. In some
cases, we filled prototype requests on the same day. We produced the
blanks and coordinated with a reliable outside vendor to perform the
laser cutting. The parts were then hand-delivered in time for Airpot
to finish building the device and deliver it to a third-party testing
group the following morning.
Once the design
was finalized, production tooling was quickly built and qualified,
so that APT could meet Airpot’s tight manufacturing and delivery
schedule. Tom Lee, Vice President of Engineering at Airpot, says, “We
were under tremendous pressure from our customer to design special
air cylinders for two new cockpit door latches. Applied Porous Technologies
was able to provide the filters
very quickly, and they provided great technical support. With their help, we
were able to meet
an aggressive production schedule.”
As a service-driven
company, APT works to ensure that each of our customers is as satisfied
as Airpot was. |
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| New
Product: Seamless Porous Metal Tubes |
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Applied
Porous Technologies is now producing a series of porous
metal tubes and is working to develop a new line of
end products around them. Porous metal tubes are produced
by isostatically pressing powdered metal in specially
designed molds to produce a seamless tube structure
that is then sintered to form rigid porous filter tubes.
The tubes can then be incorporated, with various hardware,
into devices that include cartridge filters, gas spargers,
applicators, air rollers, and other unique devices.
We
currently produce tubes up to one inch in diameter,
in most of our standard pore sizes. We will soon be
expanding that line to include 1.5-, 2-, and 2.5-inch
diameter tube products. |
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Sintered Porous
Metal: An Engineering Medium
An
artist, trying to capture just the right effect, will choose
a material that best suits the piece. Whether
it is oils, watercolors, or charcoal,
the proper medium is every bit as important to the end product
as
the idea itself. Before making the choice, the artist must first
understand how a particular medium can be used. Consideration must
be given to such things as how a material flows on a brush, how
it will blend with other colors, or how it sits on the canvas.
The more an artist can learn about the application of each medium,
the more tools become available – enhancing the artist's
ability to turn an idea into a successful work of art.
For the design
engineer, working with porous materials is much the same. The
more an engineer can learn regarding the unique characteristics
of porous materials, the greater the ability to successfully
incorporate
them into a design. Every porous material has a unique set of
characteristics, and sintered porous metal is no exception. Although
filtration
is a common end use, the material exhibits a variety of properties
that can be exploited in a wide range of other applications.
For example, sintered porous metal can be used to control flow.
It
can also prevent flame propagation in an explosive atmosphere.
In addition, sintered porous metal is used to sparge gas into
process streams. It exhibits high corrosion and temperature resistance,
making it an excellent choice of material for harsh environments.
Sintered porous metal also works well as a rigid support material
for other media.
The list of
unique applications grows constantly. With such an extensive
range of useful properties, it is clear
that sintered porous metal is truly an engineering medium and
a
tool that should be a part of every design engineer’s
tool kit.
As the Applied
Porous Technologies name suggests, we are not just in the business
of building filtration products.
Our true
specialty
is in providing our expertise and experience in the development
and application of porous materials. We are constantly working
to increase our understanding of
the capabilities of our medium, developing new porous materials,
and teaching our customers how
to use this knowledge in their
own applications.
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