Morgan Electro Ceramics has opened a new facility at its site in Southampton, UK, dedicated to the design and manufacture of fibre-wrapped piezoceramic tubes that are used in commercial and military sonar instruments. The facility, which is the only one of its kind in the UK, has been set up in response to an increasing need for 360 degree high-energy projectors. It provides equipment manufacturers with reliable, pre-stressed tubes that give a high degree of accuracy for sub-sea detecting and sensing.
The tubes are pre-stressed during the manufacturing process with glass fibre wrapping which increases their reliability under high drive conditions. The process increases the maximum tensile stress, which, in turn, increases maximum drive voltage. The risk of ceramic failure through excess tension, which is a problem with standard piezoceramic tubes, is also minimised.
The pre-stressed tubes are available in a range of sizes and design. Small tubes, up to 100mm diameter can usually be manufactured from one piece of piezoceramic and larger tubes, up to 500mm diameter, are constructed with multiple tapered ceramic segments. Tubes can be made from any of Morgan Electro Ceramics’ wide range of piezoceramic materials, such as: PZT804 and PZT807, which have low dielectric loss and thus minimise self heating; and PZT403 or 401, which are designed for use when maximum acoustic intensity is critical.
This investment in manufacturing capability further reinforces the company’s strategy to not only supply the PZT ceramic, but to also provide complete sensors and transducers.
“Our value-added manufacturing has real benefits to our customers,” says Tony Beswick, General Manager, Morgan Electro Ceramics. “We can be involved in the design process right from the beginning and assemble the whole product if required. This enables a more efficient manufacturing process and allows our customers to optimise the supply chain.”