Solenoids clear the lanes for ten-pin bowling 11 May 2011

Solenoids manufactured by Penny + Giles Controls are being used in servicing US-manufactured machinery that cleans and oils the lanes in tenpin bowling centres throughout Europe.

Canterbury-based Embassy Services, which specialises in servicing, repairing and refurbishing tenpin bowling machinery, says the equipment provides the accuracy and robustness required, and adds that it is also now using Penny + Giles for the pin spotting sensors.

Stuart Munnings, of Embassy Services, says that, while laminate has replaced timber on bowling lanes, they are still oiled o help protect the surface and control the path of the ball.

"If it is thrown properly, a bowling ball is spinning when it leaves the hand [and] no matter how fast it is spinning, the ball will slide through the first heavily-oiled twenty feet of the lane," he states.

"It then has a degree of guidance in the middle section where the oil is shaped and tapered, before reaching the final section, at which stage the lane is almost dry because the oil has been stripped off," he continues. "At this point, stored energy in the ball is released, creating the hooking action."

Munnings explains that game play can be significantly affected by the length and depth of the coating. "Hence the need for the accurate and reliable solenoids to ensure that the machine correctly controls the flow and shape the oil," he says.

In practice, the wheel-mounted machines begin their three-stage process at the bowler's end, where a cleaning head applies a detergent, which is then removed by a vacuum head and the machine begins to deposit the new coating of oil, built up in layers.

As well as controlling the supply of oil and lowering the buffing brushes and cleaning vacuum heads, Penny + Giles' solenoids also play a part in shaping and tapering the coating.

In total, 12 solenoids are fitted to each machine – a pair of larger units for cantilevers to raise and lower all the heads and smaller units for the machine's oil tanks.

As for the pin spotter development, Penny + Giles' latest solenoids are managing the height of the table associated with the pin spotter mechanism – which assembles and places the pins, registers the first bowled ball, and sweeps away fallen pins after picking up the standing pins ready for the next bowl.

This solenoid is an upgraded version of an old US-manufactured component, which was dual 50/60 Hertz and tended to run hot, making it unreliable.

"The solenoids had become unnecessarily complicated over the years, but fortunately, when we invited Penny + Giles to look at the problem they very quickly produced a thoroughly developed product that we were able to use straight away."

Staff reporter

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