A facilities manager at a building products plant attended a compressed air efficiency seminar sponsored by his local utility. He learned about optimizing air compressors, filters, dryers, and piping. He discovered how to arrange to have a baseline taken of his compressed air system to assess its efficiency. He discovered the excellent savings he could […]
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Innovative grippers raise food-processing efficiency, sustainability
Vacuum technology is essential for safely handling food products without damage or waste. Justin Katz • Manager, Vacuum Automation Components Group • Schmalz Inc. • Raleigh, N.C. The world wastes about 1.4 billion tons of food every year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The United States alone annually discards nearly 40 […]
How do you mount/install a compact pneumatic cylinder?
By Vicki Burt, Contributor One of the benefits in choosing a compact cylinder is getting effective motion in a small footprint. These short-stroke, low-profile, air cylinders are designed to fit into tight spaces and are available in a variety of mounting options. Pancake cylinders are a trademarked line of compact air cylinders from Fabco-Air Inc. […]
Achieve a greener packaging line with pneumatics technologies
By integrating pneumatics technologies, consumer packaged goods companies can reduce their carbon — and equipment — footprint. Contributed by Mark Densley, Director Business Development Factory Automation, Emerson Customer demand, as well as a sense of environmental responsibility, is driving consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to drastically reduce their carbon footprint. While many companies seek ways to make […]
How to improve compressed air systems
Here are some tips to reduce losses, right-size components and streamline circuits, all of which can lead to sizable cost savings. Phil McElroy, Product Sales Manager and IFPS-Certified Fluid Power Pneumatic Specialist, Norgren Most industrial facilities depend on compressed air for a range of operations, performed by everything from simple air tools to far-more-complicated pneumatic […]
Smart pneumatics: Gateway to higher efficiency, productivity
Open and flexible IIoT systems can pinpoint leaks and faults, reduce downtime, increase throughput and, ultimately, improve the bottom line. Contributed by Nils Beckmann, Product Marketing Manager IIoT Integration • Emerson From food and beverage processing to packaged goods and factory automation, manufacturing facilities are turning to smart pneumatics for improved energy efficiency. In compressed air […]
Rectangular gripping technology ensures safe six-pack handling
After various discussions with customers from plant engineering and the beverage industry, it was clear to Piab’s experts that a gripper for the simple automatic handling of six-packs with cardboard packaging was needed. This is how beer and beer-based mixed drinks are offered and must be packaged and palletized accordingly by the beverage industry. The […]
Pneumatic valves sort diamonds quickly and gently
Diamond cutting is a task for human beings. The cutting must be carried out by a perfectly trained specialist, because — no matter how flawless the gemstones may be — an incorrectly placed cut will ruin everything. Even with perfect color and purity, the wrong cut can significantly reduce the value, which is why good […]
Regenerative dryer reduces costs, increases performance of dust collector system
Dust collector systems play a critical role in maintaining compressed air cleanliness for manufacturers. Plant operators are always looking for any incremental advantage to improve pulse jet cleaning in bag (sock) or reverse flow cartridge systems. This is because even the slightest improvement in dust cake contaminate removal can create a cost-improving ripple effect throughout […]
Turn off the air before the lights
An aerospace plant has an 8 hour per day shift, but the rest of the time the plant is empty. The facility has a compressor monitoring system where the pressure, power and flow is recorded over time. Recently, the flow meter output has been showing a regular timed pattern during overnights and weekends. The maintenance […]