A food processing plant was running out of compressed air capacity and decided to bring in an auditor to assess the size of the new compressor. The auditor hooked up his instruments to measure compressor pressure, power consumption and flow. Very soon, the auditor began to notice that things didnβt quite add up. When in […]
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Saving air with a pulsating flow
We’ve written quite a bit lately about Parker Hannifin’s air saver unit (ASU), which decreases compressed air waste and can increase productivity. Through manual adjustment, ASUs can save energy by interrupting compressed air flow. These series of impulses are said to be mechanically more advantageous because the ASU can recover during the βoffβ period of […]
Making technical education more local
Talk to many component manufacturers and youβll hear the phrase βlocal for local,β meaning that theyβre strategically placing facilities near their customers. So, instead of one manufacturing plant in China, they may have one in China, one in the U.S., one in Brazil and one in the Czech Republic. Now, the University of Florida is […]
Day 3 of IFPE: Talking about manufacturing service options
I had the chance to talk with Bob Mosey of Moseys, a precision manufacturer that specializes in providingΒ manufacturing services for a lot of different OEMs, including those in the hydraulic and pneumatic industries. “We can take a partΒ from concept through final production and into final packaging if the customer wishes, so it’s a pretty wide […]
Hyperloop is coming to Conexpo/IFPE
Much of the mobile equipment on display at Conexpo/IFPE, and their underlying fluid-power systems, revolve around building and maintaining things like housing, roads and bridges. But an unusualβsome call it outlandishβ infrastructure project thatβs under development is Hyperloop. This novel passenger transportation system will be the focus of several Tech Talks at the Tech Experience […]
Big things in store at 2017 Hannover Messe
Hannover Fair is now less than 10 weeks away. The show, which is the worldβs largest industrial trade fair, will be held from April 24-28 in this northern German city of a half million people. But even in this IFPE year, Hannover will still be an important showβthe Fairs held in odd-numbered years have a […]
Compressed Air Fail: Poor control coordination
A manufacturer of automotive products had a two compressor system that was designed for 100% redundancyβhowever, this system had never been fully implemented. Two air dryers, two large receivers, and two sets of filters were installed, but only two of the planned four compressors had been purchased. An auditor did a plant walk through and […]
Smart pneumatics relies on sensor-driven data to eliminate wires, predict system status
Taking the guesswork out of condition monitoring, operation and maintenance tasks can be done with Aventics Smart ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟs Monitor, which offers data acquisition and control of critical components within a pneumatics system. Using a valve bank that communicates via an I/O Link with sensors on the cylinder, pressure sensors, pressure regulators and other sensors, users […]
The creative power of big data
Big Data, for all of itβs being touted across the manufacturing industry, remains somewhat of an esoteric topic. Thatβs understandable, as the concept of every bearing and every cylinder and every machine part having sensors seems far off or downright bizarre to some design engineers. Sure, sensors are becoming small and cheap and ubiquitous, but […]
ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟs powers soft hands
Conventional robotic grippers with rigid βfingersβ tend to be expensive, have limited capabilities and arenβt particularly suited for safely handling delicate objects. To overcome such hurdles, researchers at the Robotics and Biology Laboratory (RBO Lab) at the Technical University Berlin are developing soft robotic grippers that are adaptive, simple and inexpensive. The ultimate goal is […]
