This PMN pressure switch is the original and still the best with many thousands in use by OEM's worldwide. Prices start at just 
The new belt tension tester from Econobelt uses sound waves instead of force deflection to accurately measure tension. The portable, lightweight and easy-to-use meter produces repeatable results for any operator. It can be used in almost any environment and produce fast results, calculated in seconds. The unit, identified as the 507C runs on four AAA batteries.
The COMBI 75 combines dry ice pellet production and dry ice blasting
I have received many calls asking, "How can you tell if an organization is a world class reliability and maintenance organization or not?"
How well the systems and practices discussed in this column are being used indicate to me how far a plant has to go to become "world-class
Bionic Fuels are small / medium size commercial biodiesel producer based in East Sussex, UK. The company has been involved in testing and assisting in the development of a biodiesel specific field test kit designed to give key data throughout the production cycle.
Biodiesel production, despite being a fairly simple chemical reaction, encompasses many variables that can affect finished product quality. There is a recognised European standard (EN14214), however, the full suite of tests can be costly and the regularity with which these tests may be required can prove cost negative for the smaller producer. That said, sub standard fuel producers have in the past caused the fledgling industry to attract a bad name in some areas.
Most commercial producers now realise that in order to compete in the important fleet sector,quality is not only a key buying motivator but a prerequisite to opening discussions. The problem then, is to identify and manage the variables in batches between regular laboratory tests.
Trader Media Print division is part of the Guardian Media Group and produce well-known magazine publications such asAutoTrader. These publications are dated and therefore must be on the shelves at an exact time or the business loses revenue. Managing Director, Alan Turner came to EMS recognising that they were lagging behind in manufacturing practice.
Calibration is an essential element of any instrumentation maintenance program. However, calibration operations can be long and time-consuming. By using the Beamex
Article written by Christer Idhammar President, IDCON, Inc., a maintenance management consulting and training company.Further information is available by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Most maintenance organizations are overstaffed, not necessarily with own staff, but they use more total maintenance hours than necessary. Total maintenance hours include your own internal hours, overtime hours and contractor hours. As an example a newsprint mill making 500,000 tons recycled paper per year is very good at less than 0.3 total maintenance hours per ton while most operations we have been working with are using over 0.5 total maintenance hours per ton.
If you work in a highly reactive maintenance organization you will be trapped in a circle of despair and you are wasting too much time on doing the wrong things. A circle of despair is when you have to react to a problem on a short notice. You then have to correct the problem as fast as possible; the quality of the correction will then be less than perfect. This leads to that it soon has to be repaired again and this circle of despair will continue and absorb all time you could have used to do the right things.
By Frank Mowka
Applications Engineer
FAG Bearings Corp., Danbury, CT
Automatic lubricators can be installed on most applications that require greasing maintenance. Here, a worker adjusts the lubricator on a honing machine for bearing manufacture.
Nearly 90% of all bearings are lubricated with grease and 80% of all bearing failures are lubrication-related. Therefore, a crucial aspect of preventive maintenance is ensuring that bearings are maintained at proper lubrication levels, with adequate grease to help keep out water, dust and other contaminants. But it's as important to understand how much and how often a lubricant should be delivered as it is to know the type.
Unfortunately, in many applications proper lubrication is not a high priority. This is often due to bearing inaccessibility or because bearings cannot be lubricated until the equipment stops operating. At the same time, grease amounts - both over-greasing and under-greasing - are also potential causes of bearing failures.
Philip Heine from T Cards Direct explains why many companies go for a simple approach to coordinating Engineering Staff and Health & Safety
