Jet Press struts its Camloc stuff

The customer’s process called for a stillage on the back of a vehicle used to move the car doors between sections of a plant, protecting the panels whilst also keeping them dry. The application wasn’t quite an open and shut case because a part of the design involved lifting a lid weighing in at 65kg, which needed effortless and precise opening to 90° together with safe, controlled closing. 

The Jet Press team tasked with the project calculated that 680 Newtons would be required to match the prescribed mounting design, delivering a 3kg opening force with a 5kg closing force, and set about modifying a Camloc gas strut for a bespoke solution to the challenge. As a result, the struts were manufactured so that once the heavy lid was opened to 10° the lid lifts itself right through to fully open at 90°. By fine tuning the gas pressure, the Jet Press team was able to precisely engineer the Camloc struts to the application, delivering the desired opening and closing forces over a lengthy service life.

Jet Press stocks a range of Swift & Sure Vari-Lift Gas Springs with stroke lengths available from 60mm and up to 500mm and spring forces from 5kg through to 250kg. Econoloc Vari-Lift Camloc Gas Springs feature a spring-loaded shroud that springs into place when the gas strut is fully extended to  prevent the strut from compressing. It is a safety feature which avoids the need for a separate safety rod. Jet Press says that these struts are often paired with a standard Vari-Lift Gas Strut, offering one handed operation to activate the lock and release it.

Blocklift Gas Struts and Stop and Stay Gas Struts offer machine designers a variety of options says Jet Press: for example the Blocklift Gas Strut uses a release pin to allow the strut to move, whilst the Stop & Stay Gas Strut uses a friction mechanism that allows users to halt the movement at any point.

The Camloc Cam-Shoc Damper is either filled with oil or a gas/oil emulsion and absorbs shocks (and even blasts) in a wide range of situations: most of these products are also available in a stainless steel option for use in harsh environments. Jet Press also offers machine builders a range of Camloc Cam-Stays: these are manually operated multi-positional stays with between five and ten holding positions and which can be mounted facing up or down. They also offer a reversible option featuring six holding positions. Medium Duty Lid Stays are said to be well suited for holding open lighter lids like inspection covers, and Jet Press also supplies a wide range of mounting brackets for gas struts together with end fitting connectors.