Articles
As manufacturers continue to push the limits of machine performance to increase productivity and reduce downtime for greater customer satisfaction, suppliers are called upon to offer increasingly creative solutions. One of the most effective ways to achieve... more »
You probably don't spend much time thinking about all the applications in your plant that require compressed air. But compressed air is a costly utility that can easily account for 1/3 of a plant's total electricity usage. Yet, compressed air is often... more »
On the surface, you might think that purchasing a workbench or workstation is a relatively simple proposition. Your employees have work to do, and they need an efficient, comfortable, and practical place to do it. But before you can be sure that you're... more »
Minimum recommended supply wire sizes should be determined based on personnel and equipment safety being of the utmost concern. The final decision on the proper supply wire size should be reached by a qualified electrical professional, after taking into... more »
For manufacturers, safety labels on their products have never been more important. Inadequate warnings could have a wide variety of consequences for the manufacturer, its employees, and its customers -- consequences that range from noncompliance to lawsuits... more »
While government contractors and other suppliers to the U.S. military have only recently started to explore the role of outsourcing contracts as a means to create a competitive advantage, the practice is on the fast track. Analysts estimate that outsourcing... more »
Increased sophistication of products is driving demand for training; so is the need for channel and sales partners to be in very close relationship with vendors.At ABB Low Voltage Drives, for example, demand is growing, and attendees are asking for in-plant... more »
Manufacturers have traditionally relied on power press machines to stamp out many of their parts in large numbers at high rates -- but that may be changing as the economics of production change.Not long ago manufacturers would routinely set up complex... more »
For the most part industrial and commercial electrical systems are getting safer and more reliable.The U.S. Fire Administration's most recent report, analyzing data from 2001, estimates that 8.7% of the nation's 47,785 non-residential fires were caused... more »
The design and location of a dust collection system's hood, ducting, collector, and fan can collectively add sufficient static pressure requirements that larger, more expensive-to-operate motors are necessary to maintain effectiveness. Optimizing these... more »
The mathematics for properly designing ventilation and emission control systems have been around for quite awhile, but our studies of hundreds of systems show that many are wasting energy, while still lacking capacity to meet applicable codes and process... more »
A roller screw is a mechanism for converting rotary torque into linear motion, in a similar manner to acme screws or ball screws. But, unlike those devices, roller screws can carry heavy loads for thousands of hours in the most arduous conditions, making... more »
As far as plant and machinery are concerned, hydraulics is a source of noise. The emergence of noise on hydraulic installations is very complex because a large number of operating and control elements working together are attached to sound-radiating mountings... more »
A common electrical procedure in industrial environments involves disconnecting and/or changing out motors. Some motors may be driving equipment that is downtime critical and thus it is important to be able to change them out quickly and safely. Other... more »
Today's distribution and warehousing operations typically see customer requirements that dictate how drummed product can arrive at their facility/facilities for storage and ultimate use.Because of specific storage, racking requirements, and material handling... more »
The manufacturing industry has witnessed the rise of plain plastic bearings during the last 20 years. Recently, the prevalence of plastic bearings in the automotive industry has also been on the rise. To succeed in automotive applications, plain bearings... more »
Most plant engineers don't give too much thought to the heaters operating within their processes and applications -- unless those heaters fail, require significant maintenance, or cause other problems.Unfortunately, heaters play an integral role in many... more »
Why use current-limiting fuses? Use them because they can reduce both the magnitude and duration of a fault current. A UL listed, current-limiting fuse must clear a short circuit current in less than one half cycle in its current limiting range. In this... more »
Think back on some of the greatest innovations in our history -- fire, the wheel, electricity, the telephone, and the computer, to name a few. What made these innovations successful is that they were developed not out of a mere desire to innovate but... more »
If production people are lined up to complain about jammed equipment and rising defect rates, it must be heating season.As one operations manager says, "When they start coming, I know it's fall."When heating systems crank up in early fall, often running... more »