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Controlled atmosphere glove box system
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Edwards to merge with BOC The merger between Edwards High Vacuum International Ltd and British Oxygen Company Ltd, first proposed by BOC on Friday 12th January 1968, is now in progress. With the backing of the Industrial Reorganization Corporation and approval of the Edwards Board of Directors, the British Oxygen Group had, by the end of February, captured 91 per cent of the Ordinary shares and 98 per cent of the Cumulative Preference shares. It had been originally stipulated that if 90 per cent of the shares were obtained the merger would go through. In a statement issued on the 26th January 1968 the Board of Trade declared that it did not intend to refer this proposed merger to the Monopolies Commission. While it will be some time before the practical effects of the take-over are seen in the activities of Edwards High Vacuum International, an article in the Sunday Press, on the 21st January, hinted that BOC's most probable directions of interest might lie in furthering the development of whole-system electronic equipment, electron beam welding and cryopumping. Vacuum pump conlraet A European subsidiary of Varian Associates, USA, has been awarded what is claimed to be the largest vacuum pump contract ever placed. Made by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the order calls for delivery of 270 VacIon pumps at a total cost of approximately one half million dollars. Varian was selected out of 13 prospective suppliers, on a basis of performance and price. The pumps will be produced by Varian SpA, of Turin, Italy. In use, they are to provide pressures below 10 -9 torr in two intersecting storage rings in a synchro-cyclotron. Each storage ring is made of 6-inch pipe formed into a race track, 325 yards in diameter. The rings and their pumps are heated to 570°F to achieve the ultrahigh vacuum required in the performance of fundamental research on elementary particles.
continuous and uniform application of powdered metal coatings to steel strip. Joint work has led towards the development of the process on the production scale. The decision of National Steel to take out a licence follows a period in which they have operated the process on their own pilot plant at their research centre at Weirton, West Virginia. The stainless properties of the strip treated by the ACC process are fully maintained to a depth of about 0.002 inches. Deeper than this, the properties fairly rapidly change to those of the base steel. The product has certain of the corrosion and oxidation resistance qualities attributed to stainless steel and the strength and ductility of mild steel. It can be welded by conventional techniques using a stainless steel filler. In outline, the process consists of coating a low cost steel strip with chromiumcontaining materials, re-coiling the strip into a normal tightly-wound coil and heating the coil in a modified annealing furnace. The resulting strip may be used in the ex-furnace condition, when it has a matt appearance, or it may be re-rolled to give a bright appearance. The overall production cost will be a fraction of that of stainless steel strip. A similar agreement is about to be finalised with John Summers & Sons Ltd of Shotton, England. Hastings adapts instruments for export Hastings-Raydist Inc of Hampton, Virginia, has issued the following policy statement regarding export sales of their full line of thermal flowmeters, thermal conductivity type vacuum gauges and air velocity measuring instruments: all of these products are available for use on 220 volt, 50 cycle ac, which is the predominant
source of supply in most foreign countries. The company designates these instruments by a prefix letter " E " in the model number. Many of the Hastings instruments are normally calibrated in English increments such as cubic feet per minute and feet per minute, but they offer to supply their products with the calibrated dial face in metric units of litres per minute or metres per second, etc. There is no increase over the US published price list for instruments to operate from the higher power source and with the metric calibration. There is no added cost to overseas customer for packaging or preparation of the necessary documents, provided shipment can be made by an air method. Through the company's manufacturer's representatives in foreign countries, the customer can be quoted a delivered price which includes transportation and customs duty, where applicable. Controlled atmosphere glove box system Vacuum/Atmospheres Corporation, North Hollywood, California, has reported the completion and delivery of their new HE113-104 Controlled Atmosphere Glove Box System to Standard Oil Company (Ohio). This custom-built system will be used for research and production in an electrochemical processing facility. Six separate chambers with a total of 20 work stations are interconnected to perform all necessary functions in the HE-I13-104. Materials for fabrication and assembly enter through the ante-chamber and the vacuum oven airlock. These materials then pass through the various chambers during progressive steps in fabrication which include a TIG welding operation and an electron beam welding operation. The dry box system is
The HE-113-104 Controlled Atmosphere Glove Box
Licenses for new chromising process Albright & Wilson Ltd's Associated Chemical Companies division and Head Wrightson & Co Limited have announced the signing of a licensing agreement with the National Steel Corporation of USA. It is to operate Associated Chemical Companies' process for the conversion of the surface of carbon steel to a surface having the characteristics of many stainless steels. It will also enable National, in the production of these materials, to use processes and equipment covered by Head Wrightson patents. The Associated Chemical Companies division started research work leading to this process four years ago in their Harrogate laboratories. Early in 1966, contact was made with Head Wrightson in view of the latter's successful development of patented processes for the 285
Vacuum news
used to assure a low contamination level in the finished product. A n isolated PostMortem Box is provided for inspection and testing to ensure quality control. The main portion of the system has 4 standard HE-373 BIN Dri-Train Gas Purification Systems with 5 cfm mechanical vacuum pumps which maintain pressure in the system and evacuate the ante-chambers. The electron beam welding chamber has its own 10-inch oil diffusion pumping system. The Post-Mortem Box uses a modified Dri-Train Gas Purification System. The HE-113-104 is designed and built in a " T " configuration and the overall length in the longest dimension is approximately 32 feet. Veeco Annual Report The 1967 Annual Report for Veeco Instruments Inc, (Terminal Drive, Plainview, New York 11803, USA) is now available, covering the period from the I st October 1966 to the 30th September 1967 and including all the data on Veeco's subsidiary Lambda Electronics Corporation. The company's sales showed a 34 per cent gain over the 1966 total with an increase in net income of 42 per cent. Earnings per share were 55 cents compared to 40 cents in the previous year. With the addition of Lambda's expertise in advanced electronic circuitry, two new systems, the Monopole Residual Gas Analyzer and a Low Energy Electron Diffraction system, have been developed. The company's West German plant has been sold, owing to failure to reach anticipated manufacturing profits, and sales operations have been transferred to a new office. In France, a new sales office and demonstration room has been leased in Versaille and the smaller office in Paris will be sold. The report states that progress in England continues to justify the company's efforts in this market. Pennsalt quarterly dividend The Board of Directors of Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation, Philadelphia, at a meeting on 3rd January, declared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share on the common stock, and 62½ cents per share on the $2.50 cumulative convertible preference stock. Dividends were payable 1st February to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 15th January. Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation is the US parent company of Pennsalt Ltd, Camberley, Surrey, incorporating the F J Stokes Division.
Conferences and group activities Innovation for profit SIRA have organized a Conference on profitable innovation by industrial firms to take place in the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne, on the 6th-8th May 1968. Speakers from industry, government organizations, industrial research associations and universities will highlight the problems of successfully phasing innovation into industrial enter236
prises and will suggest how technological advances over the next decade or so may present new problems and new opportunities. The increasing fragmentation of R & D means more specialization and it is becoming almost impossible to maintain "in house" the full range of expertise required to operate a business successfully. There is therefore a growing dependence on technology generated outside the firm. This demands a new outlook and a fresh approach to the management of innovation. It is the objective of this conference to highlight techniques now being adopted and to examine future lines of development. Contributions will be made by speakers representing a wide range of technologicallybased industries, and the relevance of their knowledge and experience to the operations of the instrument and control-equipment manufacturing industry will be suggested. The provisional programme includes the following topics: Policy for innovation: Industry, the market for research; the role of Government in R & D ; when to invent and when to licence; and financing innovation in the final development and commercial stages. Strategy and tactics for innovation: getting value from university research; transferring technology to industry; the research association interface; technological market forecasting as a basis for project selection; O R techniques applied to R & D programme evaluation; operation of an R & D function in the instrument industry; equipping people for R & D" specialized industrial training; increasing the effectiveness of R & D by exploiting technical information; getting value from the technical consultant. Prospect for innovation: Impact of technological developments on instrument manufacturing in the fields of microcircuits, new optics, computers as design aid, and new materials. Impact of technological developments in instrument markets covering industrial users, medical instrumentation, and instrumentation for extreme physical environments. Formation of the British InfraRed Manufacturers Organisation (BIRMO) Six major companies active in the research, development and production of military infrared equipment and components have formed the British InfraRed Manufacturers Organisation. B I R M O is concerned with equipment and components which operate in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum extending from approx 1.0 to 15.0 microns in wavelength. This band includes the more important atmospheric "windows" (which have proved very significant in military applications) but excludes much of the "near infrared" technology which extends from the visible region (0.4 to 0.8 microns) to a wavelength of one or two microns. The "near infrared" region is of growing importance and while all the present B I R M O members have some activity in this area it was felt that the new organisation would be more effective if it were initially to restrict its interest to the 1-15 micron waveband. The companies are: Barr &
Stroud Ltd, EMI Electronics Ltd, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Ltd, Hymatic Engineering Co Ltd, Mullard Ltd and Standard Telephone & Cables Ltd. These firms have worked together for many years on Government contracts where a high level of investment has resulted in a very advanced infrared technology. The gradual relaxation of military security affecting this technology has enabled the industry to take a closer look at possible civil and industrial applications and has simplified the problems associated with selling the technology overseas. The exploration of these potentially valuable export markets has revealed the need for overseas buyers to have some point of contact with the British infrared industry as a whole. The aim of B I R M O is to fill that need and also to act as an interface between the industry and the relevant Government departments and establishments at home. The member companies stress that their association with B I R M O will in no way restrict their individual activities. Normal commercial security will be maintained. Applications by other companies for membership of BIRMO will be considered on their merits, the essential qualification being an interest and activity in the 1-15 micron region of the spectrum. B I R M O is chaired by M r D A Higgs of Hymatic Engineering Co Ltd. The secretariat is located at 1-19 Torrington Place, London, W C 1. Engineering aspects of lubrication The Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Imperial College, London, will run its annual course on the Engineering Aspects of Lubrication from the 4th to 21st June 1968. This three-week, full-time Course complements the series of one-week Courses held in the past year for engineers and industrialists, but the 3-week Course has a more mathematical approach. The full theory of lubrication is developed up to the point where thrust, journal and hydrostatic bearings may be designed theoretically and compared with practice. An understanding of the very difficult problems of gear and ball bearing lubrication is also given, requiring a knowledge of the behaviour of lubricants and bearing surfaces under pressure. A number of lectures will deal with specialist subjects including the mechanism of wear and boundary friction, recent advances in elastohydrodynamics, hydrostatic bearings and computer-aided design of bearing systems. Mr P T Holligan, recently of Glacier Metal Co Ltd, will deal with selection of bearing metals and the use of ptfe. Porous bearings will be discussed by the Development Manager of Bound Brook Ltd. Shell Research present recent work on the structure and use of grease, while a lecturer from Monsanto will consider the properties and selection of synthetic lubricants. Full bound sets of lecture notes and a textbook are issued to every student attending the Course. The Course, which is under the direction of D r A Cameron costs 50 guineas. Further details may be obtained from the Registrar, Imperial College of Science arid Technology, London SW7.
news
Edwards to merge with BOC The merger between Edwards High Vacuum International Ltd and British Oxygen Company Ltd, first proposed by BOC on Friday 12th January 1968, is now in progress. With the backing of the Industrial Reorganization Corporation and approval of the Edwards Board of Directors, the British Oxygen Group had, by the end of February, captured 91 per cent of the Ordinary shares and 98 per cent of the Cumulative Preference shares. It had been originally stipulated that if 90 per cent of the shares were obtained the merger would go through. In a statement issued on the 26th January 1968 the Board of Trade declared that it did not intend to refer this proposed merger to the Monopolies Commission. While it will be some time before the practical effects of the take-over are seen in the activities of Edwards High Vacuum International, an article in the Sunday Press, on the 21st January, hinted that BOC's most probable directions of interest might lie in furthering the development of whole-system electronic equipment, electron beam welding and cryopumping. Vacuum pump conlraet A European subsidiary of Varian Associates, USA, has been awarded what is claimed to be the largest vacuum pump contract ever placed. Made by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the order calls for delivery of 270 VacIon pumps at a total cost of approximately one half million dollars. Varian was selected out of 13 prospective suppliers, on a basis of performance and price. The pumps will be produced by Varian SpA, of Turin, Italy. In use, they are to provide pressures below 10 -9 torr in two intersecting storage rings in a synchro-cyclotron. Each storage ring is made of 6-inch pipe formed into a race track, 325 yards in diameter. The rings and their pumps are heated to 570°F to achieve the ultrahigh vacuum required in the performance of fundamental research on elementary particles.
continuous and uniform application of powdered metal coatings to steel strip. Joint work has led towards the development of the process on the production scale. The decision of National Steel to take out a licence follows a period in which they have operated the process on their own pilot plant at their research centre at Weirton, West Virginia. The stainless properties of the strip treated by the ACC process are fully maintained to a depth of about 0.002 inches. Deeper than this, the properties fairly rapidly change to those of the base steel. The product has certain of the corrosion and oxidation resistance qualities attributed to stainless steel and the strength and ductility of mild steel. It can be welded by conventional techniques using a stainless steel filler. In outline, the process consists of coating a low cost steel strip with chromiumcontaining materials, re-coiling the strip into a normal tightly-wound coil and heating the coil in a modified annealing furnace. The resulting strip may be used in the ex-furnace condition, when it has a matt appearance, or it may be re-rolled to give a bright appearance. The overall production cost will be a fraction of that of stainless steel strip. A similar agreement is about to be finalised with John Summers & Sons Ltd of Shotton, England. Hastings adapts instruments for export Hastings-Raydist Inc of Hampton, Virginia, has issued the following policy statement regarding export sales of their full line of thermal flowmeters, thermal conductivity type vacuum gauges and air velocity measuring instruments: all of these products are available for use on 220 volt, 50 cycle ac, which is the predominant
source of supply in most foreign countries. The company designates these instruments by a prefix letter " E " in the model number. Many of the Hastings instruments are normally calibrated in English increments such as cubic feet per minute and feet per minute, but they offer to supply their products with the calibrated dial face in metric units of litres per minute or metres per second, etc. There is no increase over the US published price list for instruments to operate from the higher power source and with the metric calibration. There is no added cost to overseas customer for packaging or preparation of the necessary documents, provided shipment can be made by an air method. Through the company's manufacturer's representatives in foreign countries, the customer can be quoted a delivered price which includes transportation and customs duty, where applicable. Controlled atmosphere glove box system Vacuum/Atmospheres Corporation, North Hollywood, California, has reported the completion and delivery of their new HE113-104 Controlled Atmosphere Glove Box System to Standard Oil Company (Ohio). This custom-built system will be used for research and production in an electrochemical processing facility. Six separate chambers with a total of 20 work stations are interconnected to perform all necessary functions in the HE-I13-104. Materials for fabrication and assembly enter through the ante-chamber and the vacuum oven airlock. These materials then pass through the various chambers during progressive steps in fabrication which include a TIG welding operation and an electron beam welding operation. The dry box system is
The HE-113-104 Controlled Atmosphere Glove Box
Licenses for new chromising process Albright & Wilson Ltd's Associated Chemical Companies division and Head Wrightson & Co Limited have announced the signing of a licensing agreement with the National Steel Corporation of USA. It is to operate Associated Chemical Companies' process for the conversion of the surface of carbon steel to a surface having the characteristics of many stainless steels. It will also enable National, in the production of these materials, to use processes and equipment covered by Head Wrightson patents. The Associated Chemical Companies division started research work leading to this process four years ago in their Harrogate laboratories. Early in 1966, contact was made with Head Wrightson in view of the latter's successful development of patented processes for the 285
Vacuum news
used to assure a low contamination level in the finished product. A n isolated PostMortem Box is provided for inspection and testing to ensure quality control. The main portion of the system has 4 standard HE-373 BIN Dri-Train Gas Purification Systems with 5 cfm mechanical vacuum pumps which maintain pressure in the system and evacuate the ante-chambers. The electron beam welding chamber has its own 10-inch oil diffusion pumping system. The Post-Mortem Box uses a modified Dri-Train Gas Purification System. The HE-113-104 is designed and built in a " T " configuration and the overall length in the longest dimension is approximately 32 feet. Veeco Annual Report The 1967 Annual Report for Veeco Instruments Inc, (Terminal Drive, Plainview, New York 11803, USA) is now available, covering the period from the I st October 1966 to the 30th September 1967 and including all the data on Veeco's subsidiary Lambda Electronics Corporation. The company's sales showed a 34 per cent gain over the 1966 total with an increase in net income of 42 per cent. Earnings per share were 55 cents compared to 40 cents in the previous year. With the addition of Lambda's expertise in advanced electronic circuitry, two new systems, the Monopole Residual Gas Analyzer and a Low Energy Electron Diffraction system, have been developed. The company's West German plant has been sold, owing to failure to reach anticipated manufacturing profits, and sales operations have been transferred to a new office. In France, a new sales office and demonstration room has been leased in Versaille and the smaller office in Paris will be sold. The report states that progress in England continues to justify the company's efforts in this market. Pennsalt quarterly dividend The Board of Directors of Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation, Philadelphia, at a meeting on 3rd January, declared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share on the common stock, and 62½ cents per share on the $2.50 cumulative convertible preference stock. Dividends were payable 1st February to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 15th January. Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation is the US parent company of Pennsalt Ltd, Camberley, Surrey, incorporating the F J Stokes Division.
Conferences and group activities Innovation for profit SIRA have organized a Conference on profitable innovation by industrial firms to take place in the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne, on the 6th-8th May 1968. Speakers from industry, government organizations, industrial research associations and universities will highlight the problems of successfully phasing innovation into industrial enter236
prises and will suggest how technological advances over the next decade or so may present new problems and new opportunities. The increasing fragmentation of R & D means more specialization and it is becoming almost impossible to maintain "in house" the full range of expertise required to operate a business successfully. There is therefore a growing dependence on technology generated outside the firm. This demands a new outlook and a fresh approach to the management of innovation. It is the objective of this conference to highlight techniques now being adopted and to examine future lines of development. Contributions will be made by speakers representing a wide range of technologicallybased industries, and the relevance of their knowledge and experience to the operations of the instrument and control-equipment manufacturing industry will be suggested. The provisional programme includes the following topics: Policy for innovation: Industry, the market for research; the role of Government in R & D ; when to invent and when to licence; and financing innovation in the final development and commercial stages. Strategy and tactics for innovation: getting value from university research; transferring technology to industry; the research association interface; technological market forecasting as a basis for project selection; O R techniques applied to R & D programme evaluation; operation of an R & D function in the instrument industry; equipping people for R & D" specialized industrial training; increasing the effectiveness of R & D by exploiting technical information; getting value from the technical consultant. Prospect for innovation: Impact of technological developments on instrument manufacturing in the fields of microcircuits, new optics, computers as design aid, and new materials. Impact of technological developments in instrument markets covering industrial users, medical instrumentation, and instrumentation for extreme physical environments. Formation of the British InfraRed Manufacturers Organisation (BIRMO) Six major companies active in the research, development and production of military infrared equipment and components have formed the British InfraRed Manufacturers Organisation. B I R M O is concerned with equipment and components which operate in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum extending from approx 1.0 to 15.0 microns in wavelength. This band includes the more important atmospheric "windows" (which have proved very significant in military applications) but excludes much of the "near infrared" technology which extends from the visible region (0.4 to 0.8 microns) to a wavelength of one or two microns. The "near infrared" region is of growing importance and while all the present B I R M O members have some activity in this area it was felt that the new organisation would be more effective if it were initially to restrict its interest to the 1-15 micron waveband. The companies are: Barr &
Stroud Ltd, EMI Electronics Ltd, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Ltd, Hymatic Engineering Co Ltd, Mullard Ltd and Standard Telephone & Cables Ltd. These firms have worked together for many years on Government contracts where a high level of investment has resulted in a very advanced infrared technology. The gradual relaxation of military security affecting this technology has enabled the industry to take a closer look at possible civil and industrial applications and has simplified the problems associated with selling the technology overseas. The exploration of these potentially valuable export markets has revealed the need for overseas buyers to have some point of contact with the British infrared industry as a whole. The aim of B I R M O is to fill that need and also to act as an interface between the industry and the relevant Government departments and establishments at home. The member companies stress that their association with B I R M O will in no way restrict their individual activities. Normal commercial security will be maintained. Applications by other companies for membership of BIRMO will be considered on their merits, the essential qualification being an interest and activity in the 1-15 micron region of the spectrum. B I R M O is chaired by M r D A Higgs of Hymatic Engineering Co Ltd. The secretariat is located at 1-19 Torrington Place, London, W C 1. Engineering aspects of lubrication The Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Imperial College, London, will run its annual course on the Engineering Aspects of Lubrication from the 4th to 21st June 1968. This three-week, full-time Course complements the series of one-week Courses held in the past year for engineers and industrialists, but the 3-week Course has a more mathematical approach. The full theory of lubrication is developed up to the point where thrust, journal and hydrostatic bearings may be designed theoretically and compared with practice. An understanding of the very difficult problems of gear and ball bearing lubrication is also given, requiring a knowledge of the behaviour of lubricants and bearing surfaces under pressure. A number of lectures will deal with specialist subjects including the mechanism of wear and boundary friction, recent advances in elastohydrodynamics, hydrostatic bearings and computer-aided design of bearing systems. Mr P T Holligan, recently of Glacier Metal Co Ltd, will deal with selection of bearing metals and the use of ptfe. Porous bearings will be discussed by the Development Manager of Bound Brook Ltd. Shell Research present recent work on the structure and use of grease, while a lecturer from Monsanto will consider the properties and selection of synthetic lubricants. Full bound sets of lecture notes and a textbook are issued to every student attending the Course. The Course, which is under the direction of D r A Cameron costs 50 guineas. Further details may be obtained from the Registrar, Imperial College of Science arid Technology, London SW7.