Zirconium, niobium, hafnium, tantalum!  A magical spell?  No, just a list of exotic alloys used in the steel industry that are only a smidgen away from being “unobtainium”.  They are still fun to say even after having spent almost 20 years in the wonderful world of welding.

Speaking of unobtainium, magic spells, and the steel industry, did you know that as of September 10, 2011 domestic raw steel production is actually up 6.4% from the same time last year?  Pretty significant considering the amount of steel produced in the U.S. and the role steel plays in almost every facet of our lives.

Hurricane Irene has been no friend to the East Coast …and certainly no friend to your industrial electronics.  Some good news…our facilities are up and running at ACS.  Even though some of our staff’s homes still do not have power, everyone is pulling to keep ACS busy solving your repair needs.

If you’ve got water or storm damaged industrial electronics, not all is lost.  Many items may still be repairable.  Following Hurricane Katrina the ACS team was able to provide repair services to many companies affected.  Our techs were able to repair many pieces of industrial electronics including a large quantity of circuit boards coated in Louisiana mud.  It was messy, but we did it!

ACS Industrial Services, Inc. is proud to announce that it has been selected as a Five Star Employer by the Department of Defense’s Employer Support Group of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for its outstanding support of military families. 

“Everyone at ACS was so supportive right from the first day,” said ACS’ Jenny Burner who nominated ACS for the Five Star designation as soon as her husband Sgt. Carl Burner, US Army Reserve returned from his year-long deployment to Iraq with the US Army Reserve’s 298^th SMC.  “We’re just so grateful to everyone here at ACS for being so supportive knowing I was the only one here responsible for the kids while Carl was away,” said Jen.

Punxsutawney Phil, he of the infamous shadow, announced today that he saw no shadow upon emerging from his rodent abode, so spring will be here soon.  Not a moment too soon for most of the country which has seen quite enough snow, ice and finger-numbing temperatures.  Probably quite enough for Phil too, since his cozy burrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania was completely iced last night by a major storm. 

In case you missed it, Swiss-based ABB will acquire Baldor Electric Company  beginning December 2010 in an all-cash deal.  The $4.2 billion deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.

Why?  For ABB, this transaction fills in a gap in ABB’s automation offerings by folding in Baldor’s successful NEMA motor line and will better position the company as a major player in the industrial motor market, including high-efficiency motors.  It will also bump up ABB’s mechanical power transmission business and will significantly broaden ABB’s access to North American industrial customers.

Not surprisingly, reliability ranked the most important criteria in purchasing industrial electronics according to a recent survey by Plant Engineering & Maintenance. 

Reliability was followed, in descending order, by quality, safety, maintenance, service, price, throughput, technology, noise, speed, and “green”.

Maintenance ranked 4th out of 11 so we know it’s pretty high on your list.  Nobody wants equipment that is difficult or excessively expensive to maintain.  Downtime is lost time and lost time is lost money.  

Save money in the long run by purchasing quality industrial electronic equipment with a good warranty.  And when that warranty runs out, or the OEM does not provide responsive service, send your repairs to a reliable expert. 

There are a million and one iPhone apps out there but this one by Baldor Electric Company, www.baldor.com  is way cool.  Those smart cookies at Baldor have converted their BE$T desktop program for calculating and comparing motor efficiencies to an Apple iphone app. 

By calculating a motor’s annual electricity usage based on its nominal efficiency and comparing it to the annual electricity usage of Baldor’s Standard-E and Super-E premium efficiency motors, it can then recommend, by catalog number, the appropriate Baldor motor for the application as well as information on the payback period for replacing the existing motor. 

Just saw an ad for a book titled “How You Can Test Electronic Equipment Like a Pro”.  I just have to ask – why would you want to when I’m guessing you are darn busy already.   I know I am mighty busy here at ACS Industrial evaluating, testing, and repairing your electronic equipment because that’s my expertise and I’m good at it.  Send us more!

You know, I could probably get a car repair for dummies book and learn to do all my own car repairs too…but why would I want to when “Joe” at my favorite auto repair shop here in Hunt Valley, Maryland is already an expert.  He can repair my car a lot faster and better than I can.  Plus, he’s already got all the equipment and parts handy.

Top 5 Electronic Repair Problems in 2009

I was just reading a friend’s notes and he made a great case for providing detailed information to your repair service provider.  Here at ACS, we request our customers describe the problem with their item when they send them in for evaluation. You probably could not begin to guess what our Top 5 repair descriptions were for 2009, so I will share them with you:

Top 5 Electronic Repair Descriptions for 2009

1. Does Not Work
2. Blank (as in nothing at all in the problem description box)
3. Dead

Cali-i-brate [kal-uh-breyt]

- verb 1.  to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of any instrument giving quantitative measurements.

Due to popular demand, ACS Industrial Services has recently added full calibration services.  You requested it and now we are offering fast, reliable, NIST traceable calibration services for your electronic equipment.

Our team of experts has experience with hundreds of types of meters, counters, gauges, power sources and more. In fact, we have even calibrated the test equipment for other calibration houses.

Call our customer service team at 800-605-6419 for more about how we can help you get your electronic equipment calibrated and back into compliance quickly.