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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Reduce Electronic Waste Heat Without Breaking The Budget
April 5, 2013 3:13 pm | by Kimberley Dawn, CEO, Noren Products | CommentsThermal management has been one of the primary concerns for today’s industrial facilities that must rely on maximum performance of sophisticated and highly advanced computers and components. Excess heat generated by electronics, if left unchecked, can damage the effectiveness of components and other intricate equipment inside panels and enclosures.
Control The Flow
April 5, 2013 3:09 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsControlled-volume metering pumps (also known as metering pumps, feed pumps, or dosing pumps) are reciprocating positive displacement pumps typically used for proportional liquid blending or metered single liquid transfer. These pumps need to be able to perform flawlessly, which means highly accurate, repeatable, and adjustable flow rates.
Understanding The True Value Of Anti-Seize
April 5, 2013 3:05 pm | by Michael Feeney, E.I.T., Henkel Corporation (Loctite® Brand Products) | CommentsAlthough the purpose of an anti-seize may be obvious due to its name, it is a subject not well understood and certainly under utilized. Anyone who has snapped the head off a bolt or screw would sympathize that a lot of time, blood, sweat, and maybe even tears, are wasted when anti-seize is an afterthought.
BMW Manufacturing Reports Record Production Volume
April 5, 2013 2:53 pm | CommentsBMW Manufacturing achieved another record production year. Annual production of 301,519 vehicles marks 2012 as the highest production volume in the Spartanburg, South Carolina plant’s 19-year history. This represents a nine percent increase over the production volume for 2011 (276,065). Since 2010, the plant’s production output has increased by 90 percent (159,284).
Manufacturing American Efficiency
April 5, 2013 2:35 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | CommentsThe majority of today’s LED solutions are not produced in America. And for the first five years of doing business, that was true for NEUTEX Advanced Energy Group as well. Headquartered in Houston, NEUTEX has become one of a list of companies that have recently moved operations to the U.S. from overseas. Today, the company is developing its Houston presence as it positions itself as a leading manufacturer of LED lighting.
Modular Control Buildings Bring Flexibility To Remote Processing Sites
April 3, 2013 8:05 am | by Matt Hodson, President and CEO, Principal Technology Inc. | CommentsPressures to reduce staff levels for onsite operations coupled with the increasing sophistication and expense of automation and control equipment have led to growing trend to use modular structures to house and protect sensitive process and automation controls.
Virtualization In Manufacturing
April 3, 2013 8:00 am | by Manufacturing Business Technology | CommentsManufacturing Business Technology took time to talk to Frank Hill, director of manufacturing business development, Stratus Technologies, about virtualization. Hill explains what it is, how virtualization can help manufacturers take advantage of the processing power they may already have, and how to mitigate some of the risk facing companies every day.
Redundancy In Manufacturing Control Systems
April 1, 2013 8:05 am | by Greg Lynch | CommentsReliability in process control systems has a different meaning in each industry. Depending on the type of interruption and the severity of the consequences, some manufacturing systems require PLC redundancy to keep people and equipment safe.
Q&A: The Evolution Of PLM
April 1, 2013 8:02 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsEnterprise software can be a major point of complexity for manufacturers, particularly in the way it seems to change at an incredible speed. In order to help work through some of those changes in product lifecycle management (PLM) software packages, we spoke with Richard Mizuno, a partner at Kalypso.
The Virtual Plant Seen Through Standardized 3D HMI
March 29, 2013 8:05 am | by Chris Parkinson, Senior Engineer, HMI Technology Lead | CommentsHMI or Human Machine Interface – everybody has them. From physical pushbutton stations to sophisticated graphical interfaces with 3D representations of equipment – HMIs are the visible part of a controls and/or manufacturing intelligence system.
Q&A: On Equity (And Unions) At Nissan’s Miss. Plant
March 29, 2013 8:02 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | CommentsBack in the early aughts, global automaker Nissan invested some $2 billion in 4.2 million square-foot vehicle assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi. Since May 27, 2003, the company has been producing as many as 10 different models there, and currently employs 4,350. However, the relationship between Nissan management and plant floor employees haven’t always been smooth.
Industrial Automation Ripe For Energy Harvesting
March 27, 2013 8:05 am | by Digi-Key | CommentsIndustrial control and automation is not an obvious application for energy harvesting, although machinery, by its very nature, is an obvious source of energy, ripe for harvesting. Nevertheless, why exploit energy harvesting in a plant or factory environment?
Using Permanent Magnet Technology To Create System Energy Savings
March 26, 2013 9:05 am | by Roman Wajda, Baldor's Industry Business Manager for Air and Unit Handling | CommentsAt a time when energy efficiency is of utmost importance, recent developments in motor technology have changed the playing field within cooling tower HVAC systems. This new technology, a permanent magnet (PM), laminated frame direct drive motor allows for the removal of all the mechanical components such as gearboxes, drive shafts, disc couplings and existing motors.
New Network Communication Technologies Enhance Motor Feedback Systems
March 22, 2013 9:08 am | by Vikram Phadke, SICK Product Specialist - Encoders | CommentsOver the past 25 years, improvements to motor feedback technology have allowed servo system manufacturers to reduce costs and provide products that are simpler, more reliable, and more accurate. New network communications technologies are now enabling the next set of breakthrough innovations in feedback device technology.
Great Northern: Boxing Out The Competition
March 20, 2013 9:00 am | CommentsIn 2007, with the intention of growing the company’s sales channel and increasing revenue through acquisition of new customers, Bill Calengor, Vice President of Great Northern Corporation (Creative Carton at the time) set out to expand on its traditional business model and bring its corrugated box business online under a new brand.
