Design World editors Paul Heney, Leslie Langnau, Miles Budimir and Natasha Townsend talk about the latest news in their respective industries: fluid power, 3D printing/additive manufacturing, motion control and electrical engineering. What’s hot in fluid power ? Heney discusses the recently released HNBR vacuum cups from PIAB in the video.
The 7 biggest mistakes engineers make in designing compressed air systems
1. Choosing line sizes that are too small for the desired air flow. This includes the interconnecting piping from compressor discharge to the header and the distribution lines conveying air to production areas and within the equipment found there. Undersized piping restricts the flow and reduces the discharge pressure, thereby robbing the user of expensive […]
New certification for hazardous location valves
PeterPaul announced it has expanded its breadth of CSA certification for the company’s valve products. CSA marks mean a product has been tested and meets applicable standards for safety and/or performance, including the applicable standards written or administered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), National Sanitation Foundation […]
Manufacturer insight: Humphrey Products
Founded more than 100 years ago in Kalamazoo, Mich., Humphrey Products has a long history of innovations, dating back to the commercialization of gaslight products in 1901. Several products came from the innovative inventions of the Humphrey family, including Radiantfire gas heaters, gas fired rotisseries and gas water heaters. By the 1930s, Humphrey expanded into […]
High-speed cylinder customized for beverage application
For more than six decades, Nason has provided pneumatic and hydraulicΒ pressure devices to a variety of industries. More than a decade ago, Nason tookΒ the knowledge gained from designing and manufacturing custom devicesΒ for quality, long life products and applied it to pneumatic and hydraulicΒ automation products. Nasonβs expertise and customization capabilities areΒ what drew a North American provider […]
The death of logic
Being an engineer, I value logic a great deal. Give me a free body diagram any day over needless emotional drama. But in watching the continuous political debate unfolds on TV, Iβve grown increasingly concerned over the past few years with what seems to be a movement away from facts, logic and science. In years […]
What are vacuum components?
In the simplest sense, vacuum is pressure that is lower than atmospheric. At sea level, atmospheric pressure is usually 14.7 psia. Therefore, any pressure lower than that constitutes a vacuum. In a vacuum system, the difference between atmospheric and vacuum pressure creates the ability to lift, hold, move and generally perform work. The essence of […]
What is pneumatics?
ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟs is the technology of compressed air, but in some circles, it is more fashionable to refer to it as a type of automation control. Pressurized gasβgenerally air that may be either of the dry or lubricated typeβis used to actuate an end effector and do work. End effectors can range from the common cylinder […]
What are air compressors?
Compressors supply the air flow for all equipment in a system. Air compressors work in twoΒ phases: the compression operation and the release operation. There are two types of compressors, positive displacement and dynamic (also called centrifugal). The rate at which a compressor can deliver a volume of air is noted in cubic feet per minute […]
What is miniature pneumatics?
Miniature pneumatics, sometimes called precision pneumatics, encompasses a range of pneumatic components that have been miniaturized for intended use in light- and medium-duty applications and for low-medium pressure ranges. In these systems, size and weight constraints apply or, more commonly, the need for precision is high. System pressures of 20 psi are not unheard of […]
