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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Copenhagen: U.S.-China Climate Negotations Get Hot
December 18, 2009 3:56 am | by Michael Casey & Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Writers | News | CommentsCOPENHAGEN (AP) — President Barack Obama and other world leaders took stalled climate talks into their own hands Friday, holding an emergency meeting to come up with a political agreement to salvage a conference marked by deep divisions between rich and poor countries. But neither Obama nor Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered any new commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions as they addressed the U.
Honda Scaling Back North American Production
December 18, 2009 3:46 am | News | CommentsTORONTO (CP) — Honda Motor Co. Ltd., tempering some of the optimism wafting through the North American auto industry, will scale back production at three of its plants in January, including trimming output of Civic compacts at its plant in Alliston, Ont., the Globe and Mail newspaper reports.
Recalled Simplicity Crib Deaths Rise To 11
December 18, 2009 3:39 am | by Christine Simmons, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Despite several recalls and warnings, the number of reported baby deaths linked to defective Simplicity cribs has risen to 11. The most recent death occurred in September when a 7-month-old child from Princeton, Ky., became entrapped in the crib when a part of it broke, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.
CPSC Delays Ruling On Toy Lead Limits
December 18, 2009 3:36 am | by Jennifer C. Kerr, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Makers of toys and other children's products won a reprieve Thursday from federal regulators trying to implement legislation Congress passed more than a year ago after a holiday season marred by scores of lead-tainted toy recalls. The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to delay for another year — until February 2011 — the certification and independent third-party testing rules on the amount of lead allowed in children's products.
NY GM Plant To End 'Big Block' V-8 Production
December 18, 2009 3:23 am | News | CommentsTONAWANDA, N.Y. (AP) — General Motors' Buffalo-area engine plant is marking the end of the line for a class of V-8 engine that's been produced there for 50 years. On Friday, the Tonawanda (ton-uh-WAN-duh) plant will stop production of the latest variation of the "big block" V-8 engines.
GM Shuts Down Saab After Sale Collapses
December 18, 2009 3:10 am | News | CommentsDETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. will wind down Saab after talks to sell the brand to Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars collapsed. GM says issues arose during the sale talks that could not be resolved. GM says it will continue to honor Saabcustomer warranties. GM previously tried to sell the brand to Koenigsegg Group AB, but the Swedish carmaker withdrew from the talks last month.
Trash-Talking Intelligently, Or Not At All
December 18, 2009 2:54 am | by Masha V. Petrova, founder/CEO, MVP Modeling Solutions | Articles | CommentsOr to put it simply — do not talk trash about anyone, whether you know them or not, on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc, because your words WILL comeback to bite you. Here is a real life example. I am a member of the Board of Directors of a newly formed non-profit, called the Franklin Foundation.
SlipNOT With Metal Flooring
December 17, 2009 11:06 am | Product Releases | CommentsSlipNOT (Detroit, MI) Metal Safety Flooring offers a variety of slip-resistant flooring products, such as floor plate, bar grating, and ladder rungs. In addition, other products can be custom fabricated according to a user’s need. The SlipNOT flooring is an extremely hard, high-traction surface, ranking between 55 and 63 on the Rockwell C scale, and can endure the abuse of feet, cars, or heavy machinery.
Safe And Simple Cranks
December 17, 2009 11:06 am | Product Releases | CommentsRatcheting crank handles from Lowell Corporation (Worcester, MA) offer an alternative to handwheels and other devices for machine control. Designed for permanent mounting on shafts or studs, the handles are less likely to slip, stick, or freeze than other devices. The small arc of operation is easier and safer for the operation, and helps reduce wear on the machinery.
Totally Tubular Sensors
December 17, 2009 11:05 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe GlobalProx line of tubular inductive sensors from Balluff (Florence, KY) allows for a wide range of choice and flexibility in sensor selection with tubular M8, M12, M18, and M30 sensors in multiple varieties of 3- and 2-wire DC outputs. The most recent expansion includes additional 3-wire DC PNP and NPN models for more control variations and more metal porthole models for robust applications.
A T-Rex For Your Plant
December 17, 2009 11:04 am | Product Releases | CommentsCooper Instruments (Warrenton, VA) has released the T-Rex Test Stand to accommodate a variety of materials, component, and product tests. The rugged and flexible system provides the capacity of 4 tons in tension and 10 tons in compression, with custom and larger capacity systems also available.
PMMI's 'Powerful Show' Of Processing And Packaging
December 17, 2009 4:45 am | News | CommentsArlington, Va. — Several new features at next October’s PACK EXPO International 2010 (October 31-November 3; McCormick Place, Chicago, IL) will make it easy for packagers and processors from around the globe to enhance operational excellence across the production line, speed new product commercialization and grow brand sales.
PACK's 'Powerful Show' Of Processing And Packaging
December 17, 2009 4:45 am | News | CommentsArlington, Va. — Several new features at next October’s PACK EXPO International 2010 (October 31-November 3; McCormick Place, Chicago, IL) will make it easy for packagers and processors from around the globe to enhance operational excellence across the production line, speed new product commercialization and grow brand sales.
CSB Warnings: The Fiery Side Of Ice
December 16, 2009 11:24 am | Articles | CommentsAn idled pipe and cold temperatures set off a series of events that culminated in a gas explosion and chlorine gas release at Valero's McKee refinery. The CSB looks at ways the incident could have been avoided. If you're having trouble watching this video, try downloading the latest version of Flash Player or contacting your IT department.
The Snowman And His 1 µm Nose
December 16, 2009 11:18 am | Articles | CommentsResearchers at the Britain's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) made a tiny snowman out of two tin beads, and then went as far as to mill out a smile and eyes using a focused ion beam. The little guy's nose, which is under 1 µm wide (or 0.001 mm), was made out of platinum and was deposited by an ion beam.
