BWC Engineer Guest Speaker at High School Career Fair

SR. Project Engineer Ariel Oriel attends a high school career fair in February 2010 -- Ariel speaks to students and parents about his journey to become a mechanical engineer, and what his job entails at Bishop-Wisecarver. Ariel also met the FTC Team #3470 Bishop-Wisecarver is sponsoring this year. Watch this wrap-up video of his experience >>

FRC Team #2628 Prepares For the Big Game!

The 2010 FRC (FIRST Robotic Competition) for high-school students is in motion, and Bishop-Wisecarver is sponsoring TEAM #2628 Treasure Island Pirates from San Francisco, CA -- This is a video of their progress as of February 2010. Instructor Bob Christensen and his team of students are hard at work to meet their upcoming deadline.

On Track With UtiliTrak

Cruising by the assembly department this afternoon, and snapped a photo of Corrosion Resistant UtiliTrak just off the assembly line. Why use Utilitrak Linear Guides? The UtiliTrak linear guide from Bishop-Wisecarver® provides a narrow, compact profile solution for a variety of environments where smooth, high speed motion is required -- an ideal choice for running two systems in parallel using Bishop-Wisecarver’s DualVee® guide wheels and MadeWell® crowned rollers. Absolute parallelism is not required, as UtiliTrak's design compensates for mounting errors. Available in steel or polymer, bridge connections are also available to further simplify assembly.

Get more info online here or give us a call (888) 580-8272

Team #3470 is Feeling Anxious About HotShots!

Heritage High Robotics Club, Part 2 -- While the February deadline is fast approaching, the Heritage High Robotic Club works harder. The students look forward to their first HOTSHOTS! Competition, and expect the unexpected on competition day.

Teacher Rob Pardi from Heritage High School and his team of ten students will be competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge for Northern California called HotShots! on February 27, 2010 at Pioneer High School in San Jose.

Sr. Project Enginner Speaks at Career Fair

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 -- Sr. Project Engineer Ariel Oriel spoke with students about his career in mechanical engineering at the Heritage High School Career Fair

FIRST Robotics Team #1516 Working Hard

February 11, 2010 – Bishop-Wisecarver stopped by the robotic club classroom at California High School to watch FRC Team #1516 hard at work in preparation for the 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition. Senior Glenn Carros (left) makes an adjustment to the robot with help from a fellow team member. FRC Team 1516 sponsored by Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation® www.bwc.com

Bishop-Wisecarver Sponsors FRC Team #1516

February 2, 2010 -- California High School instructor John Korzick and club mentor Stewart Leicester of FRC Team #1516 stopped by Bishop-Wisecarver today to visit with co-founder Bud Wisecarver.

Bishop-Wisecarver is pleased to sponsor Team #1516, and look forward to their progress.

To see more photographs and follow updates from Bishop-Wisecarver, friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @BWCnews >> Learn more on our website at http://www.bwc.com/

To learn more about the FIRST Robotic Challenge, visit the US FIRST website here.



(Click on the photographs for a larger view)

Bishop-Wisecarver Sponsors FRC Team #2628

Bishop-Wisecarver is sponsoring two FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) Teams for 2010 from the San Francisco Bay Area -- Treasure Island Pirates #2628 and Fightn' Grizzlies #1516.

Read the first log of activity and view photographs from Treasure Island Pirate member Orlando Mendieta >> Friday, January 29, 2010 Treasure Island Robotics Team

"Hi my name is Orlando Mendieta, and I am part of the T.I.J.C Robotics team. I work behind the scenes helping out in any way I can. I am writing a status report on the progression of our robot.

We are currently on schedule and have our frame built. We are laying out all the electronics to control the ‘bot until Tuesday. We are also putting parts on the board and wiring from Friday, January 29 until Tuesday, February 2.

When we finish that, we will start working on the pneumatics.

Our schedule consists of working Mondays – Thursdays with the building team from 1pm until 3:30pm and Mondays – Thursdays with the wiring team from 3:30pm until 5pm. We normally have 4-7 dedicated members working on the robot at any given time, not including the help we receive staff and outside mentors. We are on schedule, expect to meet our deadlines, and hope to do well in the competition."

Thank you Team #2628 for sharing. Bishop-Wisecarver looks forward to your next update! To see more photographs and follow updates from Bishop-Wisecarver, friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @BWCnews >> Learn more on our website at http://www.bwc.com/

To learn more about the FIRST Robotic Challenge, visit the US FIRST website here. Below is an animation explanation of the 2010 Breakaway Game.

Heritage High Robotics Club, Video Part 1

Heritage High Robotics Club, Video Part 1

Preparing for FIRST Tech Competition Club

Sponsored by Bishop-Wisecarver www.bwc.com

The 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition for high-school students has begun, and we are sponsoring the Heritage High School Robotics Club in Brentwood, CA -- This is a video of their progress as of January 2010. Teacher Rob Pardi from Heritage High School and his team of ten students will be competing in the Northern California HotShots! competition on February 27, 2010 at Pioneer High School in San Jose. As posted on the Norcal FTC website, "...the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is a robotics competition for upper middle and high-school students. It offers the traditional challenge and excitement of a FIRST Robotics Competition but with an accessible and affordable robotics kit. The ultimate goal of FTC is to reach more young people with a lower-cost, more accessible opportunity to discover the excitement and rewards of science, technology, and engineering."

Harsh Environments? No problem!

Food Industry Pick, Place & Packaging Environment Ideal for Guide Wheel Technology

Why did Flexicell choose HepcoMotion® GV3 offered by Bishop-Wisecarver’s for their application? Because this guide wheel technology has a proven record of excellence -- find out how this challenge was solved >>

Challenge: Flexicell, a company which designs and manufactures robotic material handling for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and durable goods industries needed linear guides that could withstand the elements in a food production environment. They also needed to accommodate a variety of lengths, speed and load requirements.

Application Description Case packing, tray loading, palletizing cells and various other loading and unloading systems required a two-axis pick and place system, driven by two servo motors. Used to top load cases, trays, cartons and other containers, the system would also serve as a collator, pattern maker and/or used to load products into other packaging machines.

Solution: The customer was interested from the beginning in guide wheel technology based on its excellent performance record over the years in harsh environments. Speed, up to 40 cycles per minute/100" per second and loads up to 75 pounds were also handled well with guide wheel technology.

Products Used: HepcoMotion® GV3 with P1, P2 and P3 Precision Grade Slides

Contact us to discuss your specific linear motion needs: 888.580.8272 or visit us online www.bwc.com

Elevated Temperatures & Harsh Environments? No Problem!

Find out how this challenge was solved by using a LoPro Linear Actuator System from Bishop-Wisecarver -- these systems can be ordered non-actuated or actuated using a belt, roller chain, ball screw or lead screw >>

Challenge: The Plasma Cutter operates in a very harsh environment consisting of smoke, abrasive dust, weld splatter, hot sparks and elevated temperatures.

Application Description : This machine operates in the Manufacturing / Production industry on a factory floor. The CNC Plasma Cutter produces shapes, or parts, from metal plates of various thicknesses.

Solution: The CNC Plasma Cutter was constructed using ball screw driven LoPro® systems to handle the required positional accuracy. The y-axis and the torch head are mounted to LoPro wiper wheel plates. The selected components can handle the harsh environment and elevated temperatures.

Products Used:
• Three (3) size 4 LoPro ball screw driven systems with wiper wheel plates, steel beam mounted. Working envelope is 26.5" x 45.75" and can accommodate standard 4' x 8' material.

• Custom drive ends were fabricated into the machine frame.

• Expandable/Collapsible bellows covers were purchased to help reduce environmental contamination on the lead screw and track surfaces.

• Machine operates inside a fabricated fume hood.

Contact us to discuss your specific linear motion needs: 888.580.8272 or visit us [ online ]

(Catalogs may be downloaded directly)

HepcoMotion Custom HDLS 24' Long, Offered by Bishop-Wisecarver

In this video, the 24' long system has a gear box mounted to one end. The travel length is 14.83'

Find more info about HDLS systems at Bishop-Wisecarver [com]

HDLS utilizes heavy duty slides and actuates them by AT series belt. Narrow and wide unit versions are available. The narrow unit is taller than the wide unit making it stiffer. The wide unit is better suited for applications with high moment loads. Both the narrow unit and the wide unit feature left, right, and dual output shafts. Gear boxes may be supplied directly coupled to units along with optional AC motors and brakes. Extended output shafts on gear boxes are also possible to drive two systems in parallel. Optional shock absorbers and rubber buffers are available for HDLS systems.

BWC Sponsors Heritage High Robotics Club in 2010 FTC Competition

The 2010 FIRST Tech Challenge for high-school students has begun, and as sponsors of the Heritage High School Robotics Club in Brentwood, CA, we couldn't be more excited it's that time of year!

Teacher Rob Pardi from Heritage High School and his team of ten students will be competing in the Northern California FTC competition on February 27, 2010 at Pioneer High School in San Jose. With the February deadline fast approaching, the students held a meeting today (photo on the left) to discuss their next steps in completing the second half of the robot (on the right).

As posted on the Norcal FTC website, "...the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) is a robotics competition for upper middle and high-school students. It offers the traditional challenge and excitement of a FIRST Robotics Competition but with an accessible and affordable robotics kit. The ultimate goal of FTC is to reach more young people with a lower-cost, more accessible opportunity to discover the excitement and rewards of science, technology, and engineering."

Throughout the next two months, we will be sharing their journey with you. Check up on the blog regularly to get news and updates on these busy future engineers-in-training.

Also, you can follow us on Twitter for quick and easy updates at Twitter.com/BWCnews

Plant Closure at BWC During the Holidays

The holiday season is upon us! We wish you a safe and happy holiday from all of us at Bishop-Wisecarver. Please remember our plant closure is from December 21st to January 1st.

For now, enjoy our variety of videos posts on YouTube, our tweets on Twitter and our status updates on Facebook. For more product inquiries, quote requests and much more, visit www.bwc.com

Bishop-Wisecarver has a YouTube page!

Check out the BWC video page on YouTube >> Watch application stories, product features, custom-made assemblies and so much more.

(Either click the link, or view below -- Use the arrows to sort thru videos)