Emerson reminds U.S. college students to apply, by May 31, to its 2021 ASCO EngineeringΒ Scholarship Program. The merit-based scholarships reward excellence in education and service, and the potential forΒ leadership and contributions to the engineering, instrumentation, systems, and automationΒ professions. In its 14th year, the scholarship program is a key part of Emerson’s strongΒ commitment to supporting quality, […]
Compressed air fail: Breathing air problems
An automotive manufacturer had various paint booths in which they prepared their products.Β The painters working in the booths used compressed air for breathing inside pressurized suits to protect against fumes.Β When the facility was built, a large breathing air purifier was installed to condition against carbon monoxide poisoning, should the air compressors ingest the […]
Why can compressed air hose reels be a leakage source?
It is very common to find retracting style hose reels installed in locations that use hand tools.Β These items are installed for convenience and make it easy to put the air hoses away, reducing trip hazards β but they have some commonly found problems that can increase compressed air costs and lead to performance problems: […]
Compressed air optimization β 5 basic demand side measures
A compressed air system can have superior efficiency on the supply side, but yet waste a large portion of what its compressors produce. Here are five common items of demand side improvement for any system: Fix leakage β Typical compressed air leakage levels are between 15% and 30% of average flow. Some outlier plants leak […]
Piab announces launch of the piSAFE program
While maintaining market leading vacuum performance thorough Piabβs patented COAX technology the flexible design and ease of maintenance makes it a perfect choice for challenging robotic applications and ergonomic handling devices where safety is a key concern. Whether you want a centralized or decentralized vacuum gripping system, interfaces towards common (industrial standard) EOAT systems or […]
VMAC sponsors four scholarships for engineering students
VMAC is pleased to provide four $1,000 scholarships for Vancouver Island University (VIU) students entering the second year of either the Engineering Transfer or Engineering Technologist program. VMAC has committed to the scholarships as part of a pledge to invest in the local community. VIU is a public university located in the city of Nanaimo, […]
How do you select compressed air hose sizes?
True story: a fiberglass parts plant was having air pressure problems in their plant, so much so that they had turned their air compressor up to 140 psi. This was the highest it could go, which made it consume 15% more power. But still, their most critical air tool was having performance problems. An air […]
Why measuring in compressed air systems is a must
A common complaint from those who troubleshoot compressed air problems is the lack of information.Β A machine will be going down, caused by low compressed air pressure, but nobody knows what went wrong, why or even when. The first thing a compressed air assessor will do in solving the problems is go look at measurement […]
Compressed air fail: Clog prevention blow
Rather than skill and experience, sometimes serendipity comes into play when optimizing a compressed air system. An auditor was just finishing up a system assessment and was ready to leave the site when he spotted a previously installed flow meter.Β He had located it on a previous audit a few years before.Β The device […]
Vacuum-based soft gripper handles delicate objects
Piab has introduced the new soft gripping tool piSOFTGRIP, developed especially with food industry automation in mind. The vacuum-based soft gripper will grip sensitive and lightweight objects of odd geometries and/or an unusual surface. Bin-picking of small irregularly shaped objects, such as toys, is another potential application. piSOFTGRIP has three gripping fingers and a vacuum […]
