Machine Building

When to integrate or separate safety and standard control?

Adam Hallinan, Customer Support manager at Pilz Australia, and David Collier, Business Development Manager at Pilz UK, discuss when it might be best to integrate safety and standard machine control functions and when it might be better to keep them separate.

20th November 2014

Shop around for Standards

CE Marking of Machinery has been a requirement since January 1993. Before applying the CE marking, machinery manufacturers should compile a Technical File that addresses the Essential Health and Safety Requirements of the Directive 2006/42/EC. Derek Coulson, Technical Advisor with Safe Machine Ltd has been assisting companies with CE marking of machinery since 1995, and provides some insight here.

20th November 2014

How to select the best material for an electrical enclosure

At first glance electrical enclosures are simple boxes, but choosing the best material of construction from the many available requires some consideration. Chris Lloyd, Managing Director for Spelsberg els UK, offers some advice.

20th November 2014

Why you should understand permanent magnet motor technology

Every sector of industry strives for improving efficiency and reliability in their equipment, so that they can better serve their customers. One technology set to redefine expectations is the permanent magnet AC motor, which is an increasingly attractive alternative to the currently ubiquitous induction or squirrel cage motor. Rick Munz of Regal assesses its advantages.

18th November 2014

Keeping their cool - marine clutches and brakes

The marine environment is very harsh, and delivering equipment capable of performing reliably and efficiently requires expert design engineers combined with advanced materials technology. Neil Wright, Managing Director of Wichita Clutch, assesses the requirements of modern marine clutches and brakes, which play such a crucial role in a variety of applications.

14th November 2014

Gas detection from past to present

Testing for gasses has come a long way since the days when Victorian miners would take a canary down a mineshaft as an early warning indicator of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, methane or carbon dioxide. This article outlines some of the options available today for gas leakage testing, and Intrinsically Safe instruments for other testing applications.

12th November 2014

TÜV SÜD warns manufacturers to be wary of wireless modules

TÜV SÜD Product Service is warning machine builders who integrate wireless modules into their products that they may be selling non-compliant equipment.

12th November 2014

Lack of stores and stockroom investment can reduce productivity

Lack of effective store and stockroom processes and procedures is having a major effect on businesses efficiency, productivity and profitability. The warning has been issued from ERIKS due to increasing concerns that small, daily inefficiencies are continually reducing business operations, profits and tying up capital.

11th November 2014

Removing contaminants from compressed air

Unlike other utilities, the quality and cost of compressed air are the user's responsibility, meaning the user must understand potential issues affecting air quality, the major one being contaminants.

5th November 2014

Protecting drive chain systems - what are the options?

Drive chain systems are used in a vast array of applications, from the largest machines built by man - such as open mine bucket excavators - to the humble printer; and they all need some form of protection device to prevent overloading of the drive chains. However, there are a large number of options with various mechanical and electronic devices available. Greg Sharpe, Engineering Manager for Tsubaki Europe, provides some insight.

31st October 2014