Articles
If you are a business owner considering equipment leasing, keep in mind the legal adage “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”Paying to use equipment for a specified period of time can save you money, particularly when what you need is expensive, requires... more »
So you’ve selected the optimal pressure or leak testing system for your application. Now the challenge is making sure your testing system matches up precisely to your equipment. Without a sound connection, the testing will be ineffective — and possibly... more »
Surprisingly, hydraulic hose assemblies rank among the highest maintenance concerns for many operations, whether for mobile equipment or industrial machinery. Besides the cost of a replacement assembly, many operations have to figure in the cost of driving... more »
Common, everyday problems do not go away once a company has successfully adopted lean. Daily problem solving must still occur in order to sustain a lean operation. Here are some tips, compiled by Bosch Rexroth, for solving daily problems. These tips aim... more »
Vibration monitoring instrument selection involves choosing the sensor, cable, and monitor appropriate to the application. The primary selection criteria are: Frequency RangeAt what minimum and maximum speeds in revolutions per minute (rpm) will the machine... more »
Introduction Early RFID implementations were fundamentally driven by external mandates, but along with significant technological improvements, more readily available component options, cost reductions, and shared lessons learned, the technology has proven... more »
Drop into any hardware store or home improvement center, and you’re likely to find aisles full of tools labeled “ergonomic.” But what exactly does that mean for consumers? Simply put, ergonomics is the science of designing and producing tools, furniture,... more »
One of the new minefields for a product manager is the mandatory European Community (EC) Harmonized Safety Compliance Directives and Standards, with the most current being ATEX directive 94/9/EC. ATEX stands for “Atmosphere Explosive” (in French) and... more »
What is a gripper? Why use one? A gripper is a device that enables holding of an object to be manipulated. Think of the human hand: just like a hand, a gripper enables holding, tightening, handling, and releasing of an object. A gripper is just one component... more »
When we think about building heat, our first thought may be of forced air -- you know, the big unit suspended from the ceiling blowing hot air with the force of a jet engine. While that might work for some, independent reports reveal that gas-fired infrared... more »
Most facilities need to get maximum life out of their motors, because they are expensive to replace in terms of both money and labor. Electrical, insulation resistance, and thermal measurement are three tests that can troubleshoot motors, drives, and... more »
Selecting a sensor is a difficult task since no one sensor fits all applications, and there is no real industry standard on how to go about selecting your product. Other challenges you may encounter include finding compatible instrumentation or requiring... more »
Markets and applications such as petrochemical, freeze protection, metal casting, pulp and paper, and transportation are just a sampling of the many areas that have valve heating needs. The markets requiring valves seem to be without boundaries. For example,... more »
As the global manufacturing market continues to get more competitive, it is important to ensure that your factory is running at a peak level of efficiency. Any downtime due to process-related malfunctions is considered non-value-added downtime directly... more »
Conventional rack, shelving, and drawer systems used in many stamping facilities are a less-than-lean method of storing dies. They consume a lot of floor space, and locating and retrieving dies encroaches on production time. In addition, these conventional... more »
Quality and manufacturing engineers are in a continuing battle to increase their competitiveness by improving quality and throughput while decreasing the cost to manufacture. The challenge to find the most effective way to inspect product in-process can... more »
You’re part of a team involved in developing a new machine, and among your jobs is designing the onboard compressed air or vacuum system. You’ve read up on the various air moving technologies, plugged in your flow and pressure/vacuum requirements – maybe... more »
Increasing energy efficiency and reducing downtime are two of the most sought-after goals in many industrial environments. Multiple improvements can be made to machinery to help achieve these goals; one example is the switch from elastomer lip seals to... more »
Over the last 10 years, industrial facility owners and managers have increasingly sought to use their corporate network or a standalone parallel network for security technologies, including intrusion, fire, and video surveillance systems. Using Internet... more »
North American product manufacturers and contract packagers are always looking for ways to reduce cost and maximize time and space economy. One strategy that is receiving more interest is using large character inkjet printers with piezo technology to... more »