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.

My country, ’tis of Thee,
Sweet Land of Liberty
Of thee I sing;
Land  where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountain  side
Let Freedom ring.

Long Live the Spirit of Freedom everywhere!!

Remember that blog I wrote just a short week ago following Hurricane Irene?  You know, the one where I said that our staff would be here come hell or high water to repair your damaged electronics?  Well, the high water has actually arrived and boy has it!  Tropical Storm Lee continues to dump away here on the East Coast and refuses to get the heck out of town.

While some of our staff lost power at home, and some of us were late getting to work this morning thanks to flooded roads, washed out bridges, and gridlocked traffic, we are in fact ALL here and servicing your repairs.

When is a blush not red and not the tell-tale sign of embarrassment?  When it’s a cosmetic blemish on a finished plastic part produced by injection mold equipment, that’s when.  You might recognize it as a whitish spot where the plastic is bent, deformed or stressed beyond the elasticity of the plastic material.  A blush is often seen at the point of injection on the finished part.

Of course, if you are one of our injection mold customers, you will already know this.  You will also know that it takes a lot of big equipment for injection or blow mold manufacturing.  It is also a really cool process to watch…at least it never fails to amaze me!

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!

Here on the east coast we are not only roasting from the heat, but simmering like a pot roast in the humidity.  And there’s no end in sight.  Which, in my sweaty misery, reminds me of the nasty effects of heat on your industrial electronics.

• Use cabinet fans for forced air cooling; these can be installed on existing equipment

And I’m proud to be an American

where at least I know I’m free.

And I won’t forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

–Lee Greenwood

“The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American.” — Thomas Jefferson

Don’t forget to fly your American flag this weekend and give thanks for the freedoms we all enjoy as Americans.

No power light on board.  No LCD on logic board.  CNC not working.  Work halted.  These are words no manufacturer of any size wants to see or hear.  It is the sound of work stopping – a mighty bad sound.

Such was the case recently for a precision turned parts company in Auckland, New Zealand.  Getting their Fuji servo amp repaired locally did not work out so they turned to ACS.   Now mind you, we are in the United States, not exactly around the corner for our New Zealand friends so you know they were anxious.  That CNC needed to be “earning its keep” and quickly.