Plant Engineering articles from December 2008

Plant Engineering archives from December 2008

The road map to best practices requires a change in culture.
December 1, 2008... By Don Reed, UGL Unicco In my job as director of technical operations at UGL Unicco, I am often asked about 'best practices' by managers and executives of client and potential client companies. In our current global economy, where...

Find hidden waste to optimize compressed air systems.
December 1, 2008... By Wayne Perry, Kaeser Compressors In most plants, no compressed air means no production. Keeping the air system up and running is normally the responsibility of the maintenance crew. When more capacity is needed, purchasing steps in and...

Find the best path to security in wireless sensor networks.
December 1, 2008... By Steve Toteda, Dust Networks Wireless sensor networking is emerging as a game-changing technology for the industrial market. With the first wave of industry-standard products now available and compelling case studies that demonstrate...

The basics of energy optimization.
December 1, 2008... By Mark Price, Fluke Corp. Many operations managers are experiencing a new level of strategic importance within their organization. Their budgets are suddenly under the microscope, offering previously unrecognized savings potential. To get...

A three-point approach to effective alarm management.
December 1, 2008... By Michael J. Martinez, Invensys Process Systems Incident investigation findings and internal process safety initiatives have made alarm management critical in most process operations. Proper alarm management helps an operator return the...

Sustainability is a best practiceat BMW Manufacturing.
December 1, 2008... By Briggs Hamilton, BMW Manufacturing Co. Since beginning production in 1994, BMW Manufacturing Co. in Spartanburg, SC, has been a leader in developing and practicing operations that ensure sustainability. Reducing its negative impact on...

Top Plant winners focus on thriving, not surviving.(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... Bob Vavra, Editor The show, 'Survivor' is a reality TV game. It's not, however, real. 'Reality television' is the greatest oxymoron ever created, easily outdistancing 'jumbo shrimp' and 'congressional oversight.' Nothing on television is...

2008 Top Plant.
December 1, 2008... Bob Vavra, Editor There has been much written about the failures of U.S. manufacturing. Here are a couple of success stories: * A small Illinois niche manufacturer has grown the business with a unique commitment to making a product...

Success floats.(Sandra Westlund-Deenihan of Quality Float Works Inc)(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... By Bob Vavra, Editor Building a global manufacturing business is just the latest success for Quality Float Works The president of Quality Float Works Inc. is many things: A concerned small business owner. A global entrepreneur. A vocal...

Commitment to change.
December 1, 2008... By Jack Smith, Managing Editor The pursuit of excellence is more than partof the fabric at Square D in Columbia, MO - it's the culture When the Square D circuit breaker plant in Columbia, MO began operating in late 1978, it was pretty...

Global Plant Engineering circles the planet.
December 1, 2008... Staff From Boston to Bangalore and from Chicago to China, the first issue of Global Plant Engineering landed on desktops around the world in December. The e-book's unique horizontal format makes it easy for readers to access pertinent...

Johnson Controls offers ideas on energy savings at Greenbuild meeting.(Conference news)
December 1, 2008... Staff The emphasis at the Greenbuild Conference in Boston in November was energy efficiency, and Johnson Controls was among the vendors presenting efficient solutions for the manufacturing sector at the conference. 'More than ever...

Manufacturing Summit focuses on key plant floor issues.
December 1, 2008... Staff According to the 2008 Plant Engineering Salary Survey, to be published in the January issue, the key issues facing plant floor managers are finding and developing skilled workers, developing a strategy for sustainability, working...

Rockwell Automation puts focus on convergence at conference.(Conference news)
December 1, 2008... Staff Rockwell Automation has released results of a new study representing a broad cross-section of manufacturing industries revealing that companies are progressing toward converging their IT and controls engineering organizations are...

Focus on your market, ABB chairman tells workers.(Joe Hogan)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Staff ABB global CEO Joe Hogan told an employee gathering in New Berlin, WI in November that even in tough economic times, the fundamentals of business will help drive the company to success. 'Continue to focus on your market...

Detect, mitigate voltage tagsto combat 'dirty power' issues.
December 1, 2008... Rob Loomis, SoftSwitching Technology Unscheduled downtime in highly automated Lean manufacturing environments is expensive in terms of scrapped material, lost productivity, missed shipping deadlines and, ultimately, lost sales. Even with...

Technology, workforce, education on ProMat 2009 menu.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Staff Looking for new ways to move inventory throughout your facility or finished product out the door to distributors and retailers? If so, ProMat 2009 may be a good place to start looking for solutions. The biennial event, sponsored by...

AHR Expo blows into the Windy City.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Staff More than 1,800 exhibitors - representing 30 countries - will convene at Chicago's McCormick Place Jan. 26-28 for AHR Expo, which this year features solutions ranging from energy efficiency to information technology. ...

Employee Free Choice Act 'anti-business, anti-employee'.
December 1, 2008... Staff Early in 2009, the House and Senate will be asked to vote on one of the most anti-business and anti-employee proposals to come before our Congress in many years. This misnamed proposal, the 'Employee Free Choice Act' is commonly...

Fast manufacturing facts:.(Brief article)(Statistical data)
December 1, 2008... Staff In Oct. 2008, average hourly earnings in manufacturing were $17.85, up 0.3% from August 2008, and up 2.9% from Oct. 2007 The manufacturing employment of 13.3 million workers represents 9.7% of total non-farm employment ...

Prototyping makes production easier.(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... By Corinne Dupuy, Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Louisiana Seeing is more than believing in manufacturing, particularly when you're considering new large, heavy and expensive machinery and parts. Yet, creating a full-scale model,...

Internet Connection.(Company overview)
December 1, 2008... Staff For more information on how to advertise in Plant Engineering's Internet Connection, call Jim Langhenry at (630) 288-8789. abb-drives.com ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable customers to improve...

A perfect storm hits the skilled workforce.
December 1, 2008... By Terry Wireman, Vespa Partners LLC The term 'The Perfect Storm' was probably applied to the technical workforce during 2005-2006 timeframe. The expression is derived from the movie with the same name. However, the application is even...

Identify, use best practices to take control of maintenance.
December 1, 2008... Staff We all want to get it right. For most of us, it's one of the first things we can remember, that applause from an adoring mother as we finally manage to pile three bricks on top of each other. The challenges get bigger as we get...

Torque sensor.
December 1, 2008... Staff The 4503A series torque sensor has two separately calibrated test ranges to simplify rotary device testing allowing a single instrument to sense specimen operating ranges and additionally sense the torque peaks above nameplate levels...

High-temperature ball bearings.
December 1, 2008... Staff Deep Groove ball bearings for high-temperatures can operate reliably in extreme conditions and often can eliminate a need to specify expensive special bearings or costly lubricants. The bearings are designed for industrial...

Force, torque sensor system.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Network Force/Torque (Net F/T) sensor system measures six components of force and torque (Fx, Fy, Fz, Tx, Ty and Tz); provides an EtherNet/IP and CAN bus communication interface; and is compatible with standard Ethernet. The...

Air motors.
December 1, 2008... Staff Dynatork air motors have been redesigned to lower air consumption, increase reliability and eliminate the need for lubrication, which could introduce contamination. Recommended for paint stirring applications, the air motors are also...

ANSI process pump.
December 1, 2008... Staff The ANSI Model 3196 process pump features i-Frame, an onboard condition monitoring system. Nested on top of the power end to measure critical vibration and temperature readings, the system activates early warning systems when...

Dust collectors.
December 1, 2008... Staff Torit PowerCore dust collectors are available in stand-alone and bin-vent configurations and feature PowerCore media technology, which replaces six traditional, 8-foot long fabric filter bags. The filter packs can be removed from the...

Brake cleaner.
December 1, 2008... Staff U-10 brake cleaner has a low VOC content and improves brake performance by removing brake fluid, dust, dirt, grease and oil without disassembling the brake unit. The VOC content of the cleaner is less than 10%, meeting the new...

Pneumatic torque wrench.
December 1, 2008... Staff Featuring continuous and repeatable torque capabilities and accuracies of [+ or -]5%, the Raptor pneumatic torque wrench runs fastest when it counts, during actual torque, not only free nut run down! Its lightweight design...

Control switch, lock-out relays.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Series 24 serial control switch relay (SCSR) and serial lock-out relay (SLOR) facilitate remote control, monitoring or lock-out of circuit breakers while retaining local control through a manual trip/close handle. Addressable...

Pneumatics brochure.
December 1, 2008... Staff A new 12-page brochure, titled 'Energy Efficiency in Pneumatics,' discusses energy cost savings through intelligent use of pneumatics. The brochure has three main areas of achievable cost savings related to compressed air...

Vertical bypass, isolation switch.
December 1, 2008... Staff Combination automatic transfer-bypass/isolation switches for loads up to 3,000 A are designed to reduce the unit's footprint by nearly 50% by locating the bypass/isolation switch above the transfer switch. Standard break-before-make...

Temperature, process controller.
December 1, 2008... Staff The EZ-ZONE RM is a configurable rail mount multi-loop temperature/process controller that integrates an entire assembly of control loop functionality into one DIN-rail mounted package. The instrument can be used as a PID...

Industrial duty tape dispenser.
December 1, 2008... Staff The EZ-9000 tape dispenser is designed with a memory function that allows the operator to program the unit to cut up to six different lengths, from as small as 3.15 inches up to 39.3 inches. Built for industrial use, the automated...

Gas monitor docking station.
December 1, 2008... Staff The iTrans DS2 docking station is designed to automate calibration, record-keeping and instrument diagnostics for fixed-point gas monitors. Previously, these functions had to be manually performed by a field technician carrying...

RS-232 to USB converter.
December 1, 2008... Staff The OM-CONV-USB includes driver software and has a data transfer rate of greater than 1Mbps. The converter is powered from the USB cable with no external power required. Simply install the driver software into the PC and connect the...

Knife gate slurry valve.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Fabri-Valve SV1 push-through slurry valve features a Guillotine Gate design that slices through high-density slurry at an angle and prevents the seat from cutting and tearing. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene gate support...

Continuous vertical lift.
December 1, 2008... Staff The model 180 high-speed continuous vertical lift is designed to accept loads horizontally, convey them vertically and discharge them horizontally in a 'Z' pattern. The lift runs in a single vertical direction - up or down - or can...

Document holder, lockout station.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Iso-Lok doc combo board combines the features of a lockable document holder with those of a safety lockout station and group lockout box. Securely keeping both the permit-to-work documents and lockout equipment in the same unit,...

Digital gauges.
December 1, 2008... Staff Digital pressure gauges are available in variety of sizes, accuracies and price ranges to suit a broad spectrum of applications. The gauges have a backlit LCD, selectable engineering units and min/max recall. Type D1005PS is a...

Performance management software.
December 1, 2008... Staff TrakSYS 6.0 service-oriented architecture application software has been enhanced to widen its scope from shop floor equipment performance to an enterprise-wide decision support system. The software collects data from multiple...

Tri-lobe blower family.
December 1, 2008... Staff The DB blower series represents the latest addition to the Com-paK Plus family. DB 166C and DB 236C offer reduced footprint, simple installation and maintenance, as well as reduced noise and vibration. The new controller integrates...

Dual axis inclinometer.
December 1, 2008... Staff The dual axis inclinometer sensor is designed for angular tilt detection and feature compact rectangular housings that may be mounted at [+ or -]10-, [+ or -]45-, [+ or -]60- and [+ or -]85-degree angles. Inclinometer sensors may be...

Multi-surface grinder.
December 1, 2008... Staff The LL2U-MS is a modular multi-surface grinding machine with extended flexibility to grind complex work pieces. The machine can be configured as a chucker, shoe-type centerless, roll-type centerless and center-type work (between...

Stranded wire, smaller gauges.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Xtra-Guard family of performance cables now includes 26 AWG and 28 AWG stranded conductors, which help reduce cable diameter, help provide better flexibility and increase compatibility with today's smaller connectors. The new...

Differential pressure transmitter.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Series 616K differential pressure transmitter is designed for building automation applications such as air handlers, duct pressure and filter monitoring. The transmitter not only alleviates cumbersome turn pots typically found in...

Robotic meat gripper.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Meat Gripper is designed specifically for handling meat and other fresh and frozen food products, and is manufactured from extremely light materials approved by the FDA and USDA administrations, adheres to all production cleaning...

Lightweight pressure calibrators.
December 1, 2008... Staff The 719 electric pressure calibrator has a built-in electric pump that makes it possible to quickly calibrate and test pressure devices with one hand, and a cleanout port. The electric pump can be programmed to set target pressures...

Lighting power packs.
December 1, 2008... Staff The BZ-50 and BZ-150 high-output, universal-voltage, plenum-rated, RoHS-compliant power packs provide design flexibility as well as increased energy savings potential. The power packs use zero-crossing to switch line voltage loads...

Control valve actuators.
December 1, 2008... Staff CVA electric, non-intrusive control-valve actuators are available in linear and quarter-turn actions, and are suitable for a wide range of control-valve applications throughout the plant. The actuators eliminate the need for air...

Plastic butterfly valves.
December 1, 2008... Staff BYB series industrial butterfly valves feature a rugged, one-piece plastic body that can stand up to high flow rates and elevated stress conditions. The lever-operated valves are available in 2- to 8-inch PVC, CPVC, PPL and PVDF...

Managed switch.
December 1, 2008... Staff The Smart Managed Compact Switch (SMCS) has eight ports capable of simultaneous Gigabit operation. The SMCS is suitable for Profinet, EtherNet/IP and standard Ethernet applications. Two versions are available, one with eight...

Dense phase conveyors.
December 1, 2008... Staff CycloLok dense phase conveyors are designed to handle highly abrasive and friable materials, and to withstand harsh environments. Their wear-resistant characteristics make them ideally suited as alternatives or replacements for...

Combustion testing instrument.
December 1, 2008... Staff The SOX2 Combustion Check standalone tool measures flue gas %O2, temperature and calculates %CO2 and % excess air. The instrument tests natural gas, oil #2 and propane, and switches among them with the push of a button. The...

Low-profile floor scale.
December 1, 2008... Staff The RoughDeck low-profile floor scale for scrap weighing applications can be equipped with an indicator that calculates weight and payout and is 'legal for trade.' The scale from Rice Lake features tread plate decks welded to 6-inch...

What you're talking about online:.
December 1, 2008... Staff * On our searchable Website content: 'Your articles are amazing! It helped me a lot with my research about different kinds of valves and actuators and how this stuff works with other mechanical devices. Again, thanks a lot!' ...

KellerOnline updates Website navigation tools.
December 1, 2008... Staff KellerOnline, the online safety management tool from J. J. Keller & Associates Inc., has recently been redesigned to provide subscribers with new usability and navigation features, along with a new look and feel. A Search Box...

An easy off solution to repair a greasy mess.
December 1, 2008... Staff When cleaning or repairing an item crusted with grease, it doesn't have to sit in solvent for hours to be ready for repair. As Chet White noted in our August 2000 Tips & Tricks issue, the trick is to use oven cleaner on the metal...

Sustainable sustainability programs.
December 1, 2008... By John Williams, Woodard & Curran The global economy continues to drive demand for natural and social capitals upward and concerns and requirements for protecting our environment grow. The current financial crisis creates significant...