Machine Alignment: Alignment Pitfalls – How to Identify and Eliminate Them

The article is intended to provide a few tips for blower maintenance to plant maintenance professionals in reducing the downtime and increasing the reliability of blowers. Generally the apparent reasons for blower failure are: Failure of Bearings and High Vibrations

Gear pumps are the most common type of positive displacement pump, ideal for transferring high viscosity fluids such as automotive oils, plastics, paint, adhesives, and soaps. As with any pump, proper operation and regular maintenance are vital to reducing costly pump repairs and maximizing pump efficiency. Below are helpful tips for operating your gear pump and ensuring it achieves a long operating life through regular maintenance. As with any pump, proper operation and regular maintenance are vital to reducing costly pump repairs and maximizing pump efficiency.

Nowadays most everyone has a powerful computer in their pocket, their phone.  Many of us are using them in maintaining our plants. Whether you are neutral or a devotee of the iPhone or Android devices, I think it’s safe to say we have only just scratched the surface of possibilities for using our smartphones to maintain our plants. Just think about how good it is to always have a great camera in your pocket with pictures viewable instantly. Does anybody remember the hassle of film? Waiting days to find out if an image was captured and how well it looked.

The majority of the failure mechanisms that significantly reduce the reliability and life of a centrifugal pump are caused by operation away from the pump best efficiency point (BEP). To achieve best-in-class life, it is essential to either operate close to the pump BEP (which is always the preferred method) or to provide provisions that anticipate the various effects of off-BEP operation and attempt to mitigate these consequences.

You may get the impression that implementing these steps will be costly and very difficult to achieve. The thing you need to bear in mind is: “You are already spending the money.” The only question is: “Are you getting the result from your pumping systems that you are looking for?” If you can create an environment that allows your entire team to become engaged in implementing these concepts, it will be the best investment you ever made.

Last time, we pretty much ignored ladder diagrams. This time I'm giving you lots of them. We'll look at the ins and outs of turning those pretty pictures into powerful text. You'll gain insight into the block commands and the various structures that can be built using List. You'll leave with full knowledge of the perils and pitfalls.