Hydraulics & Pneumatics March 2022

PNEUMATICS IMI Thompson Valves, a division of IMI Critical Engineering, has supplied valves for the Ariane 5 that launched the James Webb Space Telescope into space on Christmas Day 2021. It is claimed to be the most powerful telescope that has ever been built and will allow astronomers to study the beginning of the universe shortly after the Big Bang. 20 years in the making The project to launch the telescope has taken more than 20 years, involving more than 10,000 people from 14 countries all over the world. The telescope was launched on the Ariane 5 rocket from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. It will travel for 29 days until it is placed 92 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS March 2022 www.hpmag.co.uk into orbit 1.5 million kilometres away from earth. It is hoped that the telescope will provide a clear picture of the first stars and reveal the atmospheres of exoplanets. It is intended to be the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and is 100 times more powerful. The telescope takes its name from James Webb, a former NASA administrator. Valves fit for space IMI Thompson Valves supplied valves for the engine of the Ariane 5 rocket. The valves needed to meet the most stringent of quality checks before being accepted. The launch was successful due to the huge collective effort of NASA, the European Space Agency, The National IMI Thompson valves shoot into space Centre for Space Studies (CNES) in France, Arianespace and ArianeGroup. IMI Thomson Valves supplied the parts to ArianeGroup directly. Supporting space research Kevin Perry, commercial director – Energy EMEA, IMI CCI, says: “We are so proud to have worked with the ArianeGroup and NASA to make the James Webb Telescope launch possible. IMI have a long history of producing valves designed for the most challenging environments, and this was no different! We can’t wait to see what sights the telescope will uncover once fully deployed.” www.imi-critical.com Elesa is now supplying a wide selection of durable industrial magnets, now including new sizes in round and rectangular flat designs – also application-specific cable fixing magnets. These join the existing range of standard magnets in different styles, sizes, pull forces, and materials for all types of permanent positioning and clamping needs. Typically, they are used for closure of doors, holding of workpieces, location of jigs or simply for temporary paperwork. The range includes: flat retaining magnets with steel containment body, galvanized or colour lacquered; with a sandwich configuration of the poles, in a brass or steel containment body. This configuration delivers maximum permanent power, even with the smallest workpieces. Different construction materials (ferrite, aluminium nickel cobalt, samarium cobalt, neodymium iron boron) offer a choice of specific attraction strength, resistance to temperatures (e.g. up to 80degC and 200degC.) also resistance to corrosion, workability and the possibility of demagnetisation. Elesa flat magnets are generally fixed in place with glue or grub screws. Other types include cylindrical magnets, unshielded magnets, also horseshoe and profile magnets together with accessories such as setting bolts, grub screws and steel discs with or without adhesive tape. So, whatever the application, it looks like Elesa has a magnetic solution. www.elesa.com New industrial magnets added to Elesa range