Pocket-sized Unilux pixel packs portable power for textile inspection

Unilux -  designer and manufacturer of industrial stroboscopic inspection systems, introduced the Pocket Pixel, a pocket-sized, battery-powered pulsed LED light for high-speed inspection applications in textile mills.

The Pocket Pixel uses a unique reflector design to focus 30% brighter light on fast-moving spinning equipment to allow mill maintenance engineers to keep them synchronized with double the output of any other LED strobe in its class.

“Pocket-sized, battery-powered units are ideal for inspectors who need to examine tens of thousands of spindles every day,” said Michael Simonis, president, Unilux. “Textile mill managers told us they like the power of the traditional Xenon strobes they were using, but dragging a cable and extension cord was clumsy and a safety hazard.”

The larger strobe lights were not as maneuverable in tight spaces. With the reflector on this pocket-sized design, the users are able to use eight LED lamps to generate enough power at low flash rates and low pulse duration (under 50 micro-seconds) to be highly effective in this type of application.

In an on-site test of a ring spinning machine with spindles turning at 16,642 RPM, the Pocket Pixel was set to 16,500 feet per minute, and the light visually froze the spindles’ movement.

With spindles 75mm apart, inspectors were able to see six at a time. The Pocket Pixel also works well on TFO (two for one) machines and it can be used to monitor wear on traveler chips, which have a life span of five or six days.

Simonis said LED strobes deliver the same functionality of traditional Xenon strobe but are more effective in textile mills – where spindles can rotate at more than 22,000 revolutions per minute (RPM) – because the light gets brighter as the flash rates increase.

“The Pocket Pixel allows flash rates up to 50,000 flashes per minute, far beyond what an ordinary strobe can do,” he said. And while a Xenon strobe typically has a very short flash 10 to 100 microseconds  the Pixel allows users to adjust a flash duration from 10 to 250 microseconds. Shorter flash durations minimize the blur of whatever you’re watching, while longer durations provide more light. Users can set the Pocket Pixel flash rate to automatically adjust proportionately to the flash rate, giving the best balance in light intensity and flash duration.”

For textile mill applications, the Pixel has a higher uptime potential than Xenon strobes because the LED lamps have a three- to five-year life, and even if one of the LEDs burns out, the others still allow inspection.

When the single lamp of a Xenon strobe burns out, inspections must be suspended until the lamp is replaced. The Pocket Pixel can run for up to two hours continuously using rechargeable NiCad batteries.

It can be used as a handheld unit or permanently mounted. Unlike traditional Xenon strobes, the Pixel’s sustainable, eco-friendly LED lamps do not emit ozone or UV rays, have minimal disposal  requirements and consume less energy in operation.

Courtesy: Unilux Inc. (www.unilux.com).