Changing Scene
Rittal launches its Summer Cooling Promo
Just in time for summer, Rittal has launched its popular Summer Cooling Promo on its best-selling CSA-approved enclosure air conditioners and fans! From May 1- Aug 31, 2019, companies across Canada can take advantage of the special promo prices to stock up on the enclosure cooling systems that help decrease enclosure energy costs while enhancing efficiency.
“Heat can damage equipment inside an enclosure and lead to system failure. This is why installing a cooling solution from an industry leading supplier is a critical factor in extending a system’s life. It’s imperative that engineers design the system to take into account temperature build-up and the presence of water,” said Tim Rourke, President, Rittal Systems Ltd. Read more
Parker Hannafin: Why Right Sizing Matters
Innovative machine design is integral to the success of any machine builder. Smart machine design serves innovators with the reward of optimized space on the plant floor, considerable savings on components and installation, inherent safety by design and oh yes, it must meet the functional needs of the ever changing application. One machine will have multiple different speed and load requirements. A sound understanding of the components used in machine design is fundamental, knowledge of current machinery safety standards as well as an understanding in the desired outcome of the machines function. Read More
Peers & Profiles
Discussing AGVs with JMP Solutions' Rob Frappier
JMP Solutions is a leader in industrial automation and technology, headquartered in London, Ontario. They have 15 business units across Canada and the United States providing engineering and turnkey solutions in process automation, control system integration, information and MES, automation and robotic systems, material handling, networking and security, and automated guided vehicles.
With respect to the latter, Drives & Control Solutions was able to table a few questions with Rob Frappier, Director of Automated Guided Vehicles and Branch Manager of JMP Solutions Control Systems Office in Cambridge, Ontario. Frappier was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to provide some insight into the industry and his work with JMP Solutions. Frappier received his diploma in Robotics and Automation in 2000, returning to school in 2008 to earn his Bachelor of Science. He began his career in mechanical design for Automation Tooling Systems.
Yaskawa: VFD Panels and Short Circuit Current
If you ignore the short circuit current rating (SCCR) of an industrial panel it might just go away anyway. By go away I mean that the panel might just self-destruct.
If the available current or energy that reaches the panel in the event of a short circuit in the panel exceeds the levels that the panel can safely interrupt or contain, that energy has to go somewhere.
It is the unpredictability of what will happen first that makes an insufficient SCCR so dangerous. Maybe the circuit breaker will explode while trying to open or maybe not open at all because the internals have welded shut? What happens then?Latest Articles
Stay Resilient Against Resonance with AC Drives Adaptive Tuning
By: Brian Fast, Senior Project Manager, Rockwell Automation
It can be a scary moment on the plant floor: A machine starts shrieking and shaking so violently, you think it might break.
This incident can result from mechanical resonances caused by a load attached to a motor. Many design factors attribute to the resonances such as physical size, material selection, and instillation procedures. And while workers can usually make a control adjustment to resume production, resonance issues have lasting consequences on your machines and your business.
Turbines or Electric Drive Systems for Pipeline Compressors: The Long-Term Gain
In this article the consideration of electrical drive systems and their benefits over turbines for use in Oil& Gas operations is examined. For this consideration we review an article first published in 2016 by Gunther Schwarz and Hans Keller, members of Siemens AG.
Schwarz and Keller note that turbines have traditionally been used to drive processing machines, but here we focus primarily on the concerns regarding turbine use for driving centrifugal compressors for pipeline compressions. In Canada pipeline discussion is a common topic among the industry and the public, and a common concern is often the low efficiency levels and high emissions that are associated with this operation. In 2016 Canada had 73,000km’s of pipeline and thus ensuring efficient compression over such distances is critical to maintaining a cost-effective operation and ensuring environmental concerns are accounted for.
Yaskawa: Matrix Drives Reduce Energy Costs for Asphalt Transport System
A material handling application is generating about $1,500 per year in electrical savings rather than dissipating the regenerative energy as heat. Additional equipment life cycle savings are also anticipated as a result of the simplified electrical and mechanical designs. These benefits are realized because of the application of the U1000 Industrial Matrix Drive.
In spring 2016, Maxam Inc. of Kansas City, MO and Yaskawa America Inc. developed an asphalt transporter system for Gallagher Asphalt in Thornton, IL. The Maxam Transporter™ asphalt mass transfer system is a fully integrated asphalt distribution product that is designed to fill and evenly distribute asphalt into individual load-out silos. The Gallagher Asphalt system’s motor-driven transporter features an 8-ton high-speed material transfer vessel and recharging storage vessel.
Conveyor systems and their inefficient motors were removed and eliminated from the original transporter system. The old drag slat system was a steel floor conveyor that used chains and required additional power due to conveyor plate heating. The existing 200-ton asphalt storage silos were retrofitted with the asphalt transport system. The new transporter replaced a complex system of asphalt material conveyors.
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