Features
MTV for the Shop Floor
As the market for qualified job candidates continues to tighten, Canadian power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) companies are turning to new tools to turn on potential employees.Along with their U…
Focus on Motors : Curbing repeat failures
Over the past year, Norfolk Southern Railway Company’s Mechanical Department has changed the way it looks at its three-ton, 750-hp motors that keep its locomotives in motion. With a fleet of more than…
Focus on Motors: How to install a drive system successfully; AC to DC to AC
Installing a drive properly can be a straightforward procedure. This can reduce startup time and ultimately save money. Everything from nuisance tripping to blown fuses can usually be traced to back t…
Focus on Motors: Repair or Replace?
The best way to avoid making hurried decisions when a motor fails is to plan ahead. Analyze the economics of repair and replacement for the motors in your facility and develop a comprehensive motor re…
Laser system aligns pulleys
The new Pulley Partner laser pulley alignment system magnetically attaches to the inside or outside face of any pulley or sprocket and uses reflected beam technology for maximum angular resolution. It…
Improving efficiency throughout your plant
Problem: What’s the best place to start to improve efficiency in a manufacturing operation?Solution: There are many resources, and one we like that’s full of energy-saving and efficiency boosting tips…
Focus on Harsh Environments: Valve Values
Five years ago, the management at Vulcan Chemicals, a business group of Vulcan Materials Company, commissioned a study to identify components representing high annual maintenance costs. The outcome: i…
IDI hosts successful Supplier Mart for members
The Independent Distributors Inc. buying group hosted a Supplier Mart for its distributor members from across Canada in January. The Mart was part of IDI’s annual four-day meeting that included semina…
Small drill stabilizer
Problem: Small DIN drills wobble easily when drilling on centre. Is there a way to stabilize them?Solution: For repetitive centre drilling of small holes, instead of drilling and rechucking the drill …
Trade shows and conferences
Apr. 27-29, 2000, Ontario Electrical Industry Conference, at the Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville, Ont. Hosted by the Vacationland Chapter of the Ontario Electrical League, the Millennium Conference has b…
Focus on Alignment: Why alignment checks must be repeatable
When it comes to machinery alignment, all measurement should be repeatable and reproducible, as well as to a tolerance. The importance of tolerances, what they are and why we use them are well known. …
Focus on Alignment: balancing act
Taming a 100-ton jaw crusher doing the jitterbug on 12-ft high legs was not an average house call. “When they started up the crusher, the whole thing was jumping around four inches off the floor,” rec…
Future at risk without constant skills training
Canada’s standard of living and its values as a nation are at risk without a more entrepreneurial culture and a determination to create many more opportunities for Canadians to put their skills to wor…
Understanding electrical solenoids
The most common use for electric solenoids is to provide lineal actuation for valves and relays in control systems. Although solenoids appear to be relatively simple devices, there are a number of ope…
Maintenance excellence awards include Toronto company
Computational Systems Inc. has announced the winners of the annual Reliability-Based Maintenance Excellence Awards for 1999. The RBM Excellence Award, which began as the Predictive Maintenance Program…
News and views about companies, staff, product lines and more (April 01, 2000)
NTN Bearing Corporation, the ‘official bearing of CASCAR,’ is sponsoring Mark Dilley of Barrie, Ont. Dilley will pilot the NTN CASCAR entry in the national series. He will be a teammate of the Ford Quality Care Car driven by Dave Whitlock of…
Cover Feature: EfficencyPallet jacks and sore backs
Programmable logic controllers, warehouse management software, automated guided vehicles and a new, raised conveyor system are all part of an efficiency-improving retrofit at a plant that produces ink…
Cover Feature: EfficencyPowering up efficiency
You spent a lot of money replacing those standard-efficiency electric motors with energy efficient models, and now one has failed. Do you rewind it or replace it? Sure, the rewind will save money, but…
Focus on Alignment: Eliminating human error in shaft alignment
Today’s laser alignment systems can perform many alignment tasks, from the classic shaft alignment to more difficult jobs such as universal joint drives, cooling tower drives with the wall between the…
Successful EXFOR show sets stage for recovery in pulp and paper industry
The annual EXFOR show in Montreal attracted a record number of visitors as the pulp and paper industry shakes off slow times. Machinery & Equipment MRO’s 2000 Trend Report shows the pulp and paper ind…
Gear reducer has more meshing teeth
A double enveloping worm gear speed reducer, the model HP from Cone Drive, is said to provide the maximum mechanical horsepower and output torque ratings in the industry. Available in single, double a…
U.S. company buys western Canadian distribution businesses
Applied Industrial Technologies, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and Dynavest Corporation of Saskatoon, Sask., have signed a letter of intent for Applied to acquire certain distribution businesses o…
Maintenance faces boom
The pressure is always on to save money on MRO expenses. Did you know that unplanned buying accounts for 40-45% of a typical organization’s overall purchases? Or that maintenance and repair purchases …
News and views about companies on the move, new staff, product line changes, and more
The Montreal-based Industrial Research Team (IRT) reports that testing is under way on air cylinders, plug-in relays, bearings, V-belts and air valves. The results will be published in upcoming issu…
Torque tips to control fasteners
Simple math solves gas/oil mixture dilemmaProblem: I usually have four different gas/oil mix containers to use in various applications, including 50:1, 32:1, 16:1 and unmixed gas. One day I needed som…
Software takes over role of print catalogue for motor selection
The U.S. Patent Office recently awarded Rockwell Automation’s Reliance Electric a patent for the RPM AC Motor Wizard, variable speed AC motor application and selection software. This software is des…
Practical presentations
Mar. 6, 2000, monthly meeting of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, Alberta Section. The meeting will be held at the Ogden Legion Hall, 2625-78 Ave., S.E., Calgary, Alta. Ian Diven…
Focus on Energy Efficiency: Harmonic Discord
Harmonics generated by variable speed drives are a form of pollution of the electrical plant that can cause severe problems. From flickering lights to exploding capacitors, the range of symptoms is di…
Maintenance Management: big savings at big steel
When, in the late 1980s, Dofasco Inc. realized that its maintenance costs were rising, despite the introduction of PM and CMMS systems in the ’70s and ’80s, it scoured the industry and its own mainten…
Focus on Casters & Wheels:Eliminating Caster Cast-offs
Casters are pretty simple at first glance–a wheel mounted in a frame, basically. But closer inspection reveals many individual components that must work together for safe, effective operation of the …
