By Ron Marshall A sawmill installed a VSD compressor in their compressed air system to save energy and provide better pressure control. The site had two 50-hp fixed speed compressors and a new 75-hp VSD controlled compressor. The system was supposed to be set up so that the VSD compressor would provide the variable flow […]
Registration opens for NFPA Annual Conference
Industry leaders from across the fluid power supply chain will convene at the Four Seasons Resort – Orlando at Disney World on February 20-22 for the National Fluid Power Association’s 2018 Annual Conference. This year’s conference features an expanded general session for more diverse topics and solid takeaways: • Best-selling author Chris McChesney will present […]
PHD releases Series PNC pneumatic identification stamping clamps
PHD is proud to announce the release of the Series PNC Pneumatic Identification Stamping Clamps, also known as the Number Cruncher Clamp, featuring a high clamp force to stamp characters in draw quality steel. Available in three sizes, the largest produces up to 48,330 lb (215 kN) of clamp force with 87 psi (6 bar) […]
Building up a distributor network from scratch
When you think of distributor networks, what may come to mind is a network that has been in place for decades. But in the case of Koganei USA, their North American distributor partners are relatively new relationships. Koganei’s parent company has been around for more than 80 years, and had previously used a single domestic […]
Smart pneumatics monitor provides gateway for IoT solutions
The Aventics Smart Pneumatic Monitor (SPM) module provides the user with reliable information on the state of wear of actuators, valves and other devices as well as the energy efficiency of pneumatic systems – without the need to involve machine control. Predictive maintenance minimizes the risk of unplanned machine downtimes and significantly lowers operating costs. […]
Compressed Air Fail: Tale of two plants
By Ron Marshall A protein products processor has two plants, separated by a one hour drive, doing about the same thing. The first plant has a standard 60 hp fixed speed, load/unload compressor with dew point controlled heated air dryer, and a 600-gal receiver. A compressed air assessment was done and the baseline for this […]
Updated friction cups poster available
Piab offers an updated Duraflex Friction Cups poster, suitable for wall hanging. The poster shows all available suction cups with part numbers for 10 different types of fittings to suit your machine’s connection. There is also a table of lifting forces and measurements to help guide your suction cup selection. This line of suction cups […]
Compressed air fail: Saving money on compressor purchase
By Ron Marshall A mine located in northern Canada has a compressed air system used to generate 150 psi compressed air for diesel engine starting duty. Due to the failure of the original compressor, a new compressor was purchased as a replacement. The previous compressor operated in load/unload mode with timed shutdown. This ensured the […]
New M35 Series modular double valves ensure safety
Ross Controls has introduced its new M35 Series safety exhaust (dump) valve for Category-4, PL e machine guarding applications. The safety function of the M35 Series valve is to shut off supply of pneumatic energy and to exhaust any pneumatic energy from downstream of the valve. The Ross M35 Series double valve includes the 3/2 normally closed […]
Festo showcases VTEM Motion Terminal at PackExpo
The key to understanding the power of the revolutionary Festo VTEM Motion Terminal, introduced in North America at Pack Expo, Las Vegas, Sept. 25-27, is the platform’s first-of-its-kind digital valves. Valve functionality is controlled by downloadable apps so that one valve can potentially replace up to 50 different components, depending on the app or combinations […]