New gadgets are always cool and fun and I love letting you know about new stuff.  If you are looking for more dynamic responsiveness, smoother operation, and lower vibration levels, then Siemens may have just the new spindle motor for your applications. 

The family of Siemens 1PH8 high performance induction motor drives and servo motors are now available in a wide power range from 2.8kW to 1340kW.  With a combination of induction and high-powered servo technologies they give a much greater degree of efficiency and precision.

Got gold?  Seems like everyone from entertainer or enlightener Glenn Beck (you choose which)  to hedge fund legends George Soros and John Paulson have been touting buying gold these days. 

Maybe investing in gold is right for you, or maybe not, but either way I’ve got a pot of gold for you!  That will be the money you save repairing your industrial electronics versus trashing them and buying new.   This month you can save even more at ACS when you get your industrial electronics repaired.  

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.

 Does it seem like your maintenance staff is constantly putting out “fires?” Or that your production equipment is always running to failure requiring industrial electronics repair and causing unplanned work stoppages? 

Lean manufacturing may be the answer.  Lean manufacturing concepts aren’t new but they are gaining momentum…and for good reason. 

By implementing some lean manufacturing strategies, you can track equipment breakdowns, schedule preventive maintenance, and anticipate needs for maintenance parts.   Benefits include:

• Waste elimination
• Defect reduction
• Productivity maximization
• Engaging  your work force as a team

Looking to save energy?  Trying to gain speed and torque control?  Wishing you could control your starting current?  Variable speed or frequency drives can do just that and more.  Drive prices keep coming down and their reliability keeps  improving. 

Unless you run your motors at full speed all the time, variable speed drives (VSD) may be something you should look into purchasing.

Other benefits of a VSD include:

• Reduces power line disturbances which eliminates voltage sags
• Controls stops which reduces mechanical wear and breakage
• Adjusts operating speed which can optimize the process

Considering wireless?   There are lots of reasons to consider wireless remote I/O systems and we’re hearing more about it every day – you probably are too.  You might be considering adding a remote I/O to an older PLC, PLC repair or upgrade, or installing an entirely new system.  Our customers say they want control solutions that are easy to implement, reliable, and cost effective. 

As of the moment, there are five wireless solutions to consider:

Bluetooth – good for short distances up to 100 meters and small numbers of devices (up to 8).

WiFi - standard for fixed short distances up to 160 meters.

Ah, our little green friends…the printed circuit board. Taken for granted until they fail, circuit boards are key to the operation of virtually everything these days. So if you are suspicious, or even absolutely certain, that your circuit board is the problem, you may need some advice as well as circuit board repair or replacement.

Always remember the Electronic Axis of Evil: Moisture, Heat, and Dirt. If you can avoid these, your circuit boards will last longer.

Four Top Reasons For Circuit Board Failure and Tips to Identify The Problems & Causes:

Do subjects like high peak load capability and high voltage safety testing keep you awake at night? 

Worried about the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) requirements for efficiency and no-load power consumption? Confounded about why two seemingly-same power supplies can possibly perform differently?

If power supply selection, power supply repair, or other power supply issues are concerning you, then you will want to obtain the new, third edition of the  Power Supply Technical Guide by XP Power.  The plan was to boil all this information down for you right here to make it easy, but having just read this new guide myself, I can tell you… it is so jam packed with useful information that I have thrown my hands up and am just giving you the link. 

Attention all Manufacturers:   ABB is now promoting FUN!  Fun? At work you say?  Under the interesting news category we hear that ABB has teamed with tracermedia interactive to create an electronic game that entertains AND educates manufacturing plant professionals. 

Players have fun while experiencing how their reliability decisions will impact performance down the line and the overall business. Since this a virtual situation, your team can enjoy the challenge without worrying  about disastrous results.

It works like this:  players are members of a failing company.  Then, the game takes them through a series of real-life problems that require  reliability solutions to win the ABB Reliability Challenge.  The virtual manufacturing world gives players a sample of what companies may face in the real world. 

Could smudge marks on your touch screen monitors leave you vulnerable to a security breach?  According to a University of Pennsylvania study it’s true!  Researchers took photos of the smudge trails left on various touchscreens, digitally increased the contrast and found they could unlock secure touchscreens 92% of the time! 

I just checked out my new, totally cool android phone and sure enough, there are my paw prints leaving a “smudge trail” where I unlock the unit.  My phone is no big security breach, but this could affect touchscreen interfaces such as bank machines, voting machines, or any other public or industrial touchscreen requiring a graphical pattern password.