Every manufacturer using compressed air shares the challenge of keeping compressed air systems running efficiently and reliably. Depending on the industry, the compressed air system accounts for 10-50% of a plant’s energy usage and is as essential to uptime as electricity. But compressors are inherently inefficient. Leakage, irregular maintenance, pressure settings, and controls contribute to […]
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Compressed air fail: Bearing cooling
A wood products company hired a compressed air auditor to check out its system and try to discover why it now needed to run three compressors rather than the normal two units that previously satisfied the plant demand. The auditor placed instruments on their system to measure pressure, power, temperature, and flow — and quickly […]
Understanding air flow and FRLs
By Josh Cosford, Contributing Editor Pneumatic systems are widely used within industrial environments to power machinery and equipment, providing reliable and efficient performance. The Filter-Regulator-Lubricator (FRL) is vital in maintaining optimal air quality and pressure within these systems. However, when selecting an FRL, one must not overlook the significance of understanding FRL air flow characteristics, […]
Lightweight, basic air preparation service units available from Festo
Festo launches MS-Basic, a family of pneumatic service units in polymer housings that offer attractively priced components covering most application needs. MS-Basic air preparation components have the functionality to perform the most important technical tasks necessary for proper compressed air preparation and consist of pressure regulators, filter regulators, electric on/off and soft start valves, as […]
Rid your packaging lines of UKTs (Unnecessary Knob Twisters)
Follow these five steps to prevent tampering and ensure effective and correct process adjustments for pneumatic components. Steve Bain, Industry Segment Manager – Food and Beverage, Festo North America In modern automation systems, the need for frequent process adjustments poses the risk of unwanted device tampering, often referred to in exasperation by plant managers as Unnecessary […]
Metal Work Syntesi air prep components available from AutomationDirect
AutomationDirect has added new Metal Work Syntesi air prep components to their pneumatic components category. This value-packed addition offers a full selection of combination pre-assembled air prep systems including manual shut-off, filter/regulator, and lubricator assemblies; filter/regulator and lubricator assemblies; filter and lubricator assemblies; and filter and coalescing filter assemblies. Also available are individual components including […]
Compact, efficient and intelligent multi-stage ejector
piCompact 10X Smart is a compact, efficient, and intelligent ejector that enables you to take the next step in production control and ease of use. Based on COAX technology and integrated IO-Link technology, piCompact 10X Smart offers enhanced flexibility, quicker installation, and improved customization to fit your needs. Building on the air-driven, multistage ejector piCompact […]
Festo’s Automation Platform integrates electric and pneumatic motion solutions
With the recent introduction of its distributed I/O solution CPX-AP-A, along with its established CPX-AP-I decentralized I/O, Festo now offers a range of electric and pneumatic automation solutions that is unmatched in North America in terms of performance, flexibility, cost savings, and engineering productivity. AP stands for Automation Platform, and this backplane-based remote I/O system […]
What type of miniature pneumatics technologies are available?
In the realm of fluid power engineering and manufacturing, innovation knows no bounds. The advent of miniature pneumatics has ushered in a new era of precision and efficiency, enabling a wide range of industries to benefit from compact and surprisingly powerful pneumatic systems. These miniaturized marvels have found their way into various sectors, using low […]
Closed-loop feedback opens up possibilities
Manufacturers across all industries seek ways to electrify, digitize, and automate their systems to decrease costs and increase efficiency. Electro-pneumatic pressure regulators and valves enable such efforts while improving pressure and flow rate accuracy. Back in the day, there were only manual pressure regulators that relied on the skill and precision of the human hand. […]