May 09

Some Advice For Buying Used Industrial Woodworking Machinery

Industrial Mechanical Articles 2 Comments »

If you are at the point where you need to upgrade from your manual woodworking machinery to industrial woodworking machinery to meet customer demand, be prepared to experience sticker shock. Although you probably know how much the machinery that you need will cost, actually paying that cost is sure to give you butterflies in your stomach. In order to cut costs on woodworking machinery, some woodworkers buy machines that represent an upgrade but that still don’t meet their increased demand, means that they don’t produce enough products and overwork their less than capable machinery in the process. A better alternative for saving money on industrial woodworking machinery is to buy used woodworking machines, which can be just as effective as new machinery if you observe the following tips before making your decision.

Background Research

By background research, we’re taking about finding out exactly what kind of machines you need by observing other woodworking operations. In many cases, growing woodworking businesses overpay for machinery simply because they don’t determine what level of machinery meets their current needs while leaving a little room growth. For example, while you may need to upgrade from hand held routers to a CNC router, that doesn’t automatically mean that you need to put down $50,000 for a used warehouse capacity router. While you’d still be saving money by purchasing the router used, paying the above price for a used CNC router when a lower capacity $20,000 used router would suit your needs amounts to over-paying, not cost cutting.

Searching for Brand Names

While a brand name doesn’t equate with superior quality in each and every case; in the world of industrial machinery, venerable brand names are venerable for a very objective reason: they offer durability and quality results. Unlike industries where “superior” products use cheaper materials to achieve the same look or popular appeal, industrial woodworking machinery is literally the sum of its parts. If a certain brand stops offering the durability and efficiency that it once did, it can’t rely of the power of its status symbol, because it was never status symbols in the first place. If you know that a brand has an excellent reputation, chances are that that reputation will come through even when a machine is used.

Confirming a Maintenance Record

Although a brand name can serve as an indication of quality, no brand can still deliver quality when a machine hasn’t been properly maintained. Therefore, before you buy any type of used industrial woodworking machinery, always ask for an official copy of its logged service record. If an industrial machine has a history of proper maintenance, you can expect it to fulfill its lifespan and then some. But without proper maintenance history, a used woodworking machine will likely hamper your production instead of increasing it.

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May 08

Four Benefits of Using an Electric Wood Splitter

Industrial Mechanical Articles 1 Comment »

Although many people have made the switch to hydraulic or gas powered log splitters, there are still many benefits that can be had from an electric wood splitter. Or those who do not need to travel outside of their work area and for those who have a small workload, electric splitters can be the best choice. Below, you will find four advantages that electric log splitters have over the others available on the market today.

1. Cost Less than Other Models

One of the main benefits that an electric wood splitter can provide over other products is a lower cost. Electric models can often be purchased beginning at only $600 and generally do not command the high price of the gas powered portable models. This can be a huge benefit for home or small business owners who are looking for something that can save them time, but do not have the larger budget of big businesses.

2. More Efficient

There is no doubt that using an electric wood splitter is much more efficient than cutting your logs by hand. This handy piece of equipment can turn your winter wood workload into a piece of cake. Instead of taking days, weeks, or even months to chop the wood you will need, you can finish your stockpiling within a couple of hours or days at most.

Electric splitters may even more efficient than gas powered models, because there is never the need to stop and refuel. This will save you time, and in the world of business sometimes even a few extra minutes can mean big bucks.

3. Save You from Injury

Electric wood splitters save you from injuring yourself as well. Older homeowners can especially take advantage of these machines. As they grow older, it is harder to cut wood the way they used to and without the help of a machine they may risk injuring themselves at any time.

Companies can benefit as well with less workman’s comp claims. The log splitting machine will handle all of the hard work, and your employees will simply need to operate the machine effectively without risk of injury occurring.

4. Allow You to Get More Done

When you do not have to cut wood by hand or watch over your employees to ensure that they are working as efficiently as possible, you will have more time to get other things done. In this way, an electric log splitter allows you to work on tasks that otherwise would have gone unfinished.

An electric wood splitter has a wide variety of benefits that make it an ideal choice for any home owner or small business person to invest in. From saving you time and money to doing away with the risk of injury to yourself or others, these machines can be worth their weight in gold.

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May 08

Solve Wood Dust Problems With An Industrial Dust Collector

Industrial Mechanical Articles 1 Comment »

Wood dust or sawdust is a potential problem in virtually all woodworking applications. In any type of woodworking environment, wood dust and wood shavings can lea to serious health and fire hazards. Wood dust is actually classified as a particulate airborne contaminant. A valuable tool used to control wood dust is a duct collection system. Industrial dust collectors are specifically designed to remove particulate airborne contaminants at the source.

Wood dust has been identified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as both a potential safety and health hazard. Constant exposure to wood dust can cause long-term health problems and can be an irritant to the sinuses, skin and lungs in the short-term. Woodshop owners would be wise to refer to the OSHA standards for wood dust exposure for employees.

There are many good reasons other than health for using a dust collector in woodshops. Wood burns and the dust that is created from cutting it is a serious potential fire hazard. If fine, powdery wood dust is heavily concentrated in the air and exposed to a spark, it can cause an explosion, similar to what can happen in a grain silo. If you are trying to apply smooth finishes with wood dust hanging in the air, the dust will create imperfections on the finished product. Wood dust can also have a negative effect on power tools and machinery, shortening their lifespan.

There are three primary factors to consider when designing a dust collection system for your woodshop. First, you must determine how many CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air movement is needed in your collection system to handle your shops wood dust output. Secondly, it is vital to lay-out a system that insures your shop tools, collector, and ductwork provide maximum efficiency for you requirements. The third factor is to determine whether to use a single or double stage collection system.

A single stage dust collector pulls the wood debris through an impeller and deposits it in a collection bag or bin. A double or dual stage collection system deposits the larger wood pieces and shavings in a bin before they reach the impeller. The fine wood dust passes the impeller and is collected in a storage container. This stops metal objects like nails and screws from hitting the impeller and causing a spark. Dust collection creates a static electrical charge, so all collector systems must be grounded with copper wire to prevent combustion.

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May 08

Find Out the Basic Facts About the Gate Automation Kits

Industrial Mechanical Articles 2 Comments »

If you want to get the gate automation kits, you should have the proper knowledge and instruction from before regarding the selection of the proper kits. With the help of the gate kits, you would be able to control the automatic gates from a distance with the help of a remote and a switch.

While you are selecting the automation kits for your automatic gates, you should try to look into few following factors. There are few things which must necessarily be a part of the kits. If the kits do not contain these things, you must be careful. In this article, we will try to give you a list of the things that should necessarily be included in the gate kits.

* The gate automation kits first of all must have a pair of motors. With the help of these motors, your automatic gates would be powered.

* The gate controls are the next important thing that must be part of your automation kits that you would select. Under these gate controls, you would get two handsets, a pair of safety photo cells and many more.

While you purchase the gate automation kits, you should know about the basic features of these kits. The powerful motor that would come with the gate kits would really make the automatic gates elegant after installation.

For instance, if you take the case of the nice metro kit, you would find that this kit has internal welding as well as galvanizing on the foundation box. The kit is supplied with mechanical stops so that opening and closing positions become easier.

The gear motor that is available with the kit is made of aluminum in order to provide ultimate protection for the mechanism. There are two metro gate motors available with this kit and they can be fixed under ground with a pair of foundation box. This facilitates a reliable opening of the automatic gates.

The range of the gate automation kits vary from the above ground gate kits, underground kits, sliding kits and many more. Each of these kits serves different purposes and functions. In fact the gate kits for the automatic gates really serve a great purpose of security.

Many of these kits come with the remote control facility. The availability of the remote control kits allows easy and convenient usage of the automatic gates.

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May 07

Structural Design and Analysis Services Using Revit Structure

Industrial Mechanical Articles 4 Comments »

Revit Structure software enhances the way structural drafters, engineers and building contractors execute construction project. It reduces repetitive design and drawing tasks along with the human errors due to manual coordination between architects, engineers and other stake-holders. It also reduces time spent in generating final shop and construction drawings and improves the accuracy of documentation, enhancing overall project delivery for clients.

Seamless Coordination:

Since Revit Structure uses building information modeling (BIM) technique, every view, drawing and schedule contains the same project database. As members of architectural, architectural and Mechanical work on the same project, making critical and necessary modifications in the building structure, parametric change technique in Revit Structure automatically coordinates changes across all other representations of the project-model views, drawing sheets, schedules, sections, plans, and details. In this way the design and documentation remain coordinated, comprehensive, uniform and complete.

Bidirectional Associativity:

3D building model and all of its renderings are part of the central information database. This means changes to any section of the structure need to be made only once, maintaining consistency across the construction documentation set. Just for an example, if the scale of the sheet is changed, the software automatically resizes graphics and drawings. If design of a structural member changes, all views are coordinated and updated automatically.

Collaboration with Architects:

Revit Structure comes with a workflow support where structural design commences with an architectural design done in AutoCAD Architecture. Contractors can use individual plan views from AutoCAD Architecture when they commence their structural layout work. For enhanced collaboration, structural engineers can also export 3D Revit Structure models to AutoCAD Architecture. Generation of the structural model is speedier with integrated Revit platform tools. This interference checking feature allows engineers to quickly detect coordination problems before sending drawings to the construction site.

Coordination with Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) divisions:

Engineers working with mechanical, electrical, or plumbing departments using AutoCAD MEP software can enhance design collaboration. Revit Structure users can export their structural model into AutoCAD MEP, where the MEP engineer can perform interference checking between pipes and structural members. Additionally, structural engineers who are working with MEP engineers using AutoCAD Revit MEP software can take full advantage of building information modeling techniques to improve overall project delivery.

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May 07

What Can Be Protected in an Industrial Enclosure?

Industrial Mechanical Articles 1 Comment »

Industrial enclosures protect electronic equipment from the rigours and hazards of industrial and shop floor environments. They also allow the safe use of standard equipment in hostile areas and the type of equipment that can be protected is quite extensive. All industrial cabinets are designed to offer dustproof and waterproof protection for computers, printers and monitors.

PC Cabinets

Computers in industrial areas are commonly housed in an industrial computer enclosure. These are no just merely protective metal cabinets but they house thermostatically controlled heating and cooling systems to ensure the optimum operating temperature within the enclosure. Most industrial PC enclosures are designed to operate with dusty and wet areas, some IP65 rated industrial computer enclosure can even be safely hosed down in wash down areas.

Printers

Printers are another common product protected cabinets are used for. Printers are often used in industrial areas for despatch and goods in purposes. Often printers need to be used in extremely hazardous areas such as freezers where the cold temperatures will freeze conventional print heads and printer systems. A heated printer enclosure allows the safe and continual use of a printer in temperatures as low as -30 degrees.

Monitors

Monitor cabinets and LCD enclosures allow the safe use of displays, monitors and flatscreen TVs in hazardous areas. Features of an LCD enclosure usually include shatterproof screens allowing their safe use in food production areas where broken glass can cause shut down.

Servers and Hardware Safes

Other hardware such as servers, routers and auxiliary hard drives can be kept in enclosures too. Rackmount enclosures are available as are PC safes to protect vital equipment from theft.

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May 07

Troubleshooting Level Switch Problems

Industrial Mechanical Articles 2 Comments »

A level switch seems pretty simple in principle. As liquid rises or falls past a certain point, the switch activates. However despite their simple operation, there are a few ways they can go wrong. Since level switches are often part of safety networks, for example preventing tanks filled with flammable liquids from overflowing, it is important to be able to quickly trace the source of problems.

Frequent On/Off Activation

When the liquid in a tank is near the point of activation for a level switch, operators may find the switch rapidly cycles on and off. If the switch is hooked to a simple indicator such as a warning light on a control panel, this could be nothing more than an annoyance. However if the switch operates a pump, the frequent cycling will put unnecessary wear on the pump and lead to early failure.

This is typically a sign of turbulence inside the tank. If the tank is mounted on a moving base, say on the back of a truck, normal motion will cause waves inside the liquid that will cause the switch to turn on and off. The switch might also have been placed too near the entry port, where incoming fluid causes turbulence.

Putting the level switch behind a slosh shield or inside a tube that opens well below the surface of the liquid will minimize the wave effects. If this doesn’t solve the problem, a delay in the control software will ensure any device activated by the switch won’t engage until the reading has been steady for long enough to rule out turbulence.

Erratic Operation

Sometimes a level switch doesn’t consistently respond to changing liquid level. There might be a delay of several minutes before the switch reacts to a low fluid level, or the switch might not trigger as liquid level passes the activation point. These are often caused by the nature of the liquid being measured.

Sticky or viscous liquids may remain on the switch; either fooling it into thinking there is liquid present or physically obstructing the switch’s operation. After the liquid slowly drips off, the switch activates. It may be necessary to look for a switch specially designed to work with these liquids.

In other cases, solids could precipitate out of saturated liquids and clog the level switch. Even simple water can do this if it contains a high concentration of minerals. Regular maintenance to clean deposits off level switches will be necessary to ensure accurate readings.

Although most level switches are designed to be chemically inert, they may still react with certain chemical compounds. Extended exposure can cause parts of the switch to corrode and fail. These switches can either be put on a schedule so they are replaced before failure, or level switches can be found that are made of materials that will better resist the reactive liquids.

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May 07

How Oxygen Meters Are Used in Industrial Environments

Industrial Mechanical Articles 1 Comment »

In many environmental and chemistry testing facilities, the oxygen meter plays a vital role. In environmental situations, dissolved oxygen meters hold a special place for the determination of oxidation of contaminants or the environment for beneficial bacterial metabolism. Dissolved oxygen in liquids can be discerned by the use of oxygen meters that are manufactured for this purpose.

The simplicity of the oxygen meter is in the construction of the probe that is used, and the detector, which displays the quantitative measurements. There are two types of probes used in dissolved oxygen sensor equipment: The Galvanic and the Polarographic.

The Galvanic probe is the cheapest form of oxygen sensor probe. It uses electrodes consisting of an anode and cathode, usually constructed of different metals such as silver and lead. The electrodes are resting in an electrolyte bath, and are both neutralized in polarity before the probe is placed in a liquid, such as a water source. A semi-permeable membrane that only allows oxygen molecules (O2) to pass through is placed between the analyte and the electrodes.

When the probe is dipped into the water source, the pressure from the water source may cause oxygen molecules to pass through the membrane, causing an electrochemical reaction in the electrolyte, thus bridging the electrodes resulting in a brief connection in millivolts. This current is then passed through a thermistor, which changes the resistance according to ambient temperature. Without the thermistor, there would be wild fluctuations in the readings, or inconsistencies with different temperatures during sensing.

The Galvanic probe does not need much maintenance, as the membrane and electrodes can last for a long duration and through many sensing readings. Replacement of the membrane and/or electrodes is dependent of heaviness of use, and can be indicated for replacement when readings become erratic. The sensitivity of this style of probe is very good, with readings at very low amounts per Liter of fluid. The resulting readings are a measurement of the dissolved oxygen present. There should be allowances for temperature and altitude, as they can have adverse affects on the flow of oxygen atoms through the membrane.

Polarographic probes are built nearly in the same fashion, except that they require a charging of the electrodes prior to sampling. This is accomplished using batteries in the handheld version, and usually takes about one-half hour or more. After charging, the probe is very sensitive to oxygen atoms passing through the membrane into the electrolyte solution. The electrolyte used for this purpose is usually 4% Potassium Chloride in deionized water.

The electrolyte causes the electrodes, an anode of silver chloride and a cathode of gold, to keep a constant charge. When oxygen is introduced into the electrolyte bath via semi-permeable membrane, the charge is interrupted, causing a change in voltage, usually in millivolts, thus giving a display after calculations are made by the microchip in the unit. Polarographic probes must be kept charged between uses, as they lose their charge if at rest for long periods. If the probe is used in less than an hour between readings, it usually takes only about five minutes to recharge for the next reading. The difference between the two types of probes is their function, and they both suit any type of dissolved oxygen sensing needs.

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May 06

The Illustrious Pre-Upright Microscope – History of Microscopes

Industrial Mechanical Articles 1 Comment »

You have heard of the upright microscope, as well as the inverted microscope. You may have even heard of biological microscopes and industrial microscopes. But really, do you know how, where, and even when the idea of the microscope was conceived? Truly, how well do you know microscopes?

Microscopes, A History

You probably know that the ‘father of microscopy’ is a man known as Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. But to assume that he earned such a moniker because he invented the microscope is nothing short of idiotic. In fact, nothing could be farther than the truth.

The true inventors of the earliest microscope were two rather obscure eyeglass makers from Middelburg, Netherlands named Zacharias Janssen and Hans Lippershey. (The latter also invented the first telescope, not Galileo Galilei as what is more commonly assumed, but that’s another story.) This was back in 1590.

Since then, there has been numerous historical accounts wherein the earliest forms of the microscope (and again, this was well before the idea of the upright microscope, industrial microscope, inverted microscope, etc. were even conceived) was used in a biological sense. Sometime in 1644, the internal workings of living tissue was documented for the very first time through a microscope in L’ochio della mosca (which translates to The Fly’s Eye), published by the Italian, Giambattista Odierna.

Next to go literally under the microscope were the lungs sometime between 1660 and 1670 in Marcelo Malpighi’s quest for a better understanding of biological structures. And then there was Robert Hooke who illustrated – and rather impressively, too – his findings in the then-bestseller, Micrographia.

So considering how widely used the microscope was back in this age of discovery, why was Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, of all people, awarded the illustrious – albeit dubious – honor or being the undisputed ‘father of microscopy’? Well, this is largely due to the fact that it was he who discovered micro-organisms. That is to say, it was he who unearthed an entire, minuscule, functioning universe beneath the lenses of the microscope.

Truly, it does pay to look where no one would think of looking because if it wasn’t for Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the full potential of the microscope would not have been realized and maximized with the advent of the upright microscope and other varieties.

Microscopes, Today

Today, the microscope has come a long way from the simpler and more straightforward device of old. In fact, if investors Zacharias Janssen and Hans Lippershey and even Antoni van Leeuwenhoek saw any one of the newer and more powerful microscopes today (like the upright microscope, for example), they probably would not even recognize it for what it once was!

Predominantly used in biology, today’s microscopes are now classified within four main types, namely, compound, dissection, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The first two, compound and dissection, are both illuminated by light, while the latter two are illuminated by electrons.

There are also many different kinds of microscopes divided amongst these four main types – subtypes, if you will. Each one has a specific and unique specialty that suits specific branches of biology.

So whether you go for an upright microscope or an inverted one, it definitely pays to know its history to help you appreciate your equipment better.

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May 06

The Introduction – Engineering

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Engineering is a process of constant updating of the basic laws and functions of ancient science. It’s a method used to make life easy to life with simple process.

“Engineering” it’s the word playing the world. Hear your heartbeat, it sounds the technology; Touch your nerves to feel the heat of today! Yes there is almost none in this world disagree that engineering rules the world. Yeah! We do breath the techno now but when we look back where is begun.. It says the concept of wheel, pulley, lever and stuff! But now it sounds unprofessional to discuss this even. But its true that “THIS IS THE BIRTH OF SCIENCE”.

According to my study about the history, I can assure you that mathematics is the father of engineering. The first exhibition of these skills was in the form of buildings. From this the ideas grew. The second things are Mechanical principles concepts which struck up the mind of our ancestors. This reflected to the development of the hydro and thermo machines. This was followed by the great ELECTRICITY. Then followed by electronics, chemical, aero, moto, etc.

Even though there are many classifications in engineering like

-Aerospace

-Agricultural

-Architectural

-Audio

-Automotive

-Biological

-Biochemical

-Biomedical

-Broadcast

-Building officials

-Ceramic

-Chemical

-Civil

-Computer

-Construction

-Cryogenic

-Electrical

-Electronic

-Environmental

-Food

-Industrial

-Materials

-Mechanical

-Metallurgical

-Mining

-Naval

-Network

-Nuclear

-Optical

-Petroleum

-Radio Frequency

-Software

-Structural Systems

-Technician

-Textile

-Tissue

-Transport

My chips classify the subjects basically into

o Civil engineering

o Mechanical engineering

o Electrical engineering

o Electronics engineering

o Chemical engineering

o Software engineering

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