News

Hosokawa Micron Ltd are now able to offer HEPA Filter Integrity Tests either as a specific task or as part of a planned maintenance programme.

Industry recommends that HEPA filters be checked at 14 month intervals or less or immediately after filter change. This is because where high efficiency filters are fitted, it is important that the filter housing/sealing device does not allow particulate material to pass and therefore compromise the classification of the controlled environment installation that is being served.
The Filter Integrity Test is commonly referred to as a DOP test  because the original smoke used in the test was generated using Di-Octyl Phthalate. This chemical was found to have carcinogenic properties and was subsequently substituted by a mineral oil, Shell Ondina EL. The smoke generated from this has identical characteristics and the term DOP testing remains, although it is now understood to mean

Introduction
The traditional approach to maintaining mobile equipment - based on fixed interval component replacements and overhauls - is rapidly dying. In its place is a new framework for maintaining this equipment using Condition Based Maintenance approaches, and which focuses strongly on the consequences of failure.
At the heart of this new approach lies a strategic tool for determining the most appropriate Maintenance strategy for key items of Mobile Equipment, and their major components - Reliability Centred Maintenance.

What is Reliability Centred Maintenance?
Reliability Centred Maintenance originated in the Airline industry in the 1960's. By the late 1950's, the cost of Maintenance activities in this industry had become high enough to warrant a special investigation into the effectiveness of those activities. At the same time, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) in the US was becoming increasingly frustrated by its experiences showing that it was not possible to control the failure rate of certain types of engines by changing either the frequency or content of scheduled fixed-interval overhauls.

What's the best way to transform a good product into something that is truly best in class? Listen to your customers, of course!

Using as our benchmark the legendary vb3000T instrument, our most popular portable vibration analysis instrument, we engineered the all-new vb7 instrument's electronics from the ground up using state-of-the-art,
lightweight components; we then sculpted the vb7 instrument into a superbly comfortable tool designed both by and for predictive maintenance professionals.

Delivering unmatched customer value is the core philosophy driving Commtest' s innovation efforts. We understand that what you value most is the ability to complete your work as quickly and comfortably as possible, confident that you are getting high quality data first time, every time. With customer
feedback directly guiding our product development, the all-new vb7 instrument offers usability enhancements that are sure to make your working relationship a pleasant one.

It's no mystery to Maintenance professionals that clean oil promotes enhanced equipment performance and reliability. There is, however, something that many of them do not know. Today's most commonly used particle counting tests for determining oil cleanliness

Compressed-air users know the problem: the legal regulations applying to the processing of unavoidably accumulating condensate are becoming ever more strict and comprehensive. Simultaneously, the costs need to remain within economically justifiable limits. Decentralised processing of condensates directly at the point of origin has therefore established itself as the most suitable and above all, the most-effective solution. This is exactly what the new Owamat oil-water separator generation made by Beko does better than ever before.

The completely new Owamat devices meet the legal requirements on the introduction of purified water into the municipal wastewater system. This has been confirmed by the national approval of the

Eurobond Adhesives Ltd have launched a new addition to their electrically conductive range of adhesives. Elecolit 3653 is a single component silver filled, highly flexible and solvent free electrically conductive epoxy adhesive. This unique flexibility makes it ideal for applications that are subject to vibration or rapid temperature changes and thermal shock. Elecolit 3653 can be thermally cured in five minutes at 150

Forming part of a revolutionary, complete system solution from Draeger Safety, the new Draeger PSS 7000 Breathing Apparatus (BA) has been specifically designed with the needs of firefighters in mind.  Developed by professionals for use in even the most hostile of environments, this innovative set boasts advanced technology as well as a modular design.  Enabling the set to be easily and quickly configured to suit different operational requirements, it also provides seamless integration with facemasks, head protection and communications equipment.

Easily upgraded to meet future needs, the Draeger PSS 7000 is the latest development in Draeger

A condition-monitoring program based on ultrasonics can catch problems before they turn into catastrophes, and can find leaks that could be costing you money.

An effective condition-monitoring program provides many benefits, ranging from improved asset availability to reduced energy consumption. One primary focus of condition monitoring is the status of bearings, whose health (or lack of it) can mean the difference between meeting production goals and causing chaos. Should even a single bearing fail, the consequences can be damaged equipment and product, a production run stopped, parts that must be ordered for repairs, and considerable man-hours wasted.

A program for monitoring bearing condition need not be extremely complicated, nor does it necessarily require a large investment of capital to get it going. One technology that is both cost-effective and relatively easy to incorporate in such a program is air-borne/structure-borne ultrasound.

PRÜFTECHNIK, the vibration analysis specialists have introduced a new FFT analyzer and data collector to their range of condition monitoring systems.

According to the company this new addition uses the latest microchip technology to make the system one of the fastest FFT analyzers on the market.

Other innovations such as an automatic light sensitive keyboard and high resolution backlit screen for easy viewing in any light conditions, long battery life, 102,400 lines of resolution and massive on board memory capability which is upgradeable to 1 gigabyte ensures that the VIBXPERT will be a major addition to the condition monitoring market.

The system measures and records all forms of machine vibrations, bearing condition, as well as process and inspection data. For the diagnosis of complex vibration conditions VIBXPERT provides comprehensive analysis functions such as order spectrum, cepstrum, orbit, phase, cross phase analysis and coast down measurement.

PRÜFTECHNIK Condition Monitoring presents the VIBROWEB; a new, automated monitoring and diagnosis system for production-critical machines and systems.

VIBROWEB is completely autonomous, running without PC connection which makes it particularly suitable for applications in distributed and out-of-the-way machine parks (pump stations, pipelines,...).

The modular and flexible system configuration keeps investment and installation costs low and also enables the economic integration of VIBROWEB into existing monitoring infrastructures. VIBROWEB is designed to allow the logical connection of almost every type of sensor (ICP, DMS, LineDrive,...).

The signal conditioning for each channel is carried out with the aid of special plug-in cards that are simple to replace as and when required. Of the 32 analog measurement channels, two can be measured simultaneous, with other channels available for rpm measurements (8x) and for digital inputs and outputs (each 4x).