MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT
Protecting bearings from electrical current X-ray setup sees through walls Top 5 tips for linear bearing reliability Getting hands-on (covertly) to deal with training
Vol. 30, No. 5
NOVEMBER 2014
Bruce Power gets lessons from Fukushima
MOTORS:
How hot is too
Mail Agreement #40069240
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BEARINGS
TEST & MEASUREMENT
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Machinery & Equipment MRO
Sleeve’s non-chrome finish prevents development of surface micro-cracks
SKF Speedi-Sleeves used with radial shaft seals in rotating machinery enable users to replace worn sealing surfaces without requiring machine disassembly and subsequent shaft regrinding. These cost-saving, long-life sleeves install quickly and easily on shafts without using special equipment. They combine a stainless steel base material with a high-quality, non-chrome surface finish, which eliminates the potential for development of micro-cracks common in chrome-plated versions. Applications include industrial gearboxes, fans, pumps, electric motors, offhighway and construction equipment, and mining and mineral processing machinery. Standard sleeve sizes can be
supplied for shaft diameters from 11.99 mm (0.472 in.) to 203.33 mm (8 in.). For abrasive environments and applications integrating PTFE-filled seals, a Gold version incorporating an enhanced surface coating is available. SKF Canada Online Reader Inquiry No. 500
Low-profile screwdriver accesses hard-to-reach screws with ease
The ultra-low-profile screwdriver from Snap-on Industrial allows users the ability to turn screws in extremely limited access areas. Available in both flat- and Phillips-head sizes, these screwdrivers are suitable for use in the aviation, aerospace, automotive and assembly industries. Features include 10-mm alloy steel screwdriver bits, a heated-treated contoured handle for comfort and ease of use, and a lanyard hole for a tethering option to help prevent drops. Measuring 108 mm (4-1/2 in.) in length and tapering
from 16 mm (5/8 in.) at the base to 11 mm (7/16 in.) at the head, the tool is available in Low Profile Flat Tip (SSF1), Low Profile Phillips No. 1 (SSFP1) and Low Profile Phillips No. 2 (SSFP2). Snap-on Industrial Online Reader Inquiry No. 501
Coupling easy to install and remove in tough applications
Baldor Electric has introduced the Dodge QD bushed Para-Flex coupling. The QD flange design complements the company’s Taper-Lock and bored-to-size style flanges. The flanges, which accommodate Baldor-Dodge Para-Flex elements, are available in sizes PX50 through PX200,
The Industrial Choice
November 2014
with torque ratings through 82,500 in.-lb. and offer greater bore capacity, allowing customers to save money by downsizing their coupling selections. Like the TaperLock bushing, the QD bushing allows for easy installation and removal with minimal shaft damage, reducing overall replacement costs. When used with the Para-Flex element, the complete Para-Flex couplings perform in difficult applications, providing good misalignment capabilities. The flexible design is crucial in preventing damage to connected equipment. Baldor Electric Online Reader Inquiry No. 502
Sanding disc offers high material removal rate, ensures cool cutting
Walter Surface Technologies has announced updates to its Coolcut XX sanding discs. The 4-1/2-in., 5-in. and 7-in. general-purpose products incorporate Cyclone self-sharpening grains technology, as well as bonding and cooling agents, for fast material removal. Featuring a flexible cross-centre design on all 115-mm (4-1/2-in.) and 125-mm (5-in.) models for mounting ease, the sanding discs are suit-able for heat-sensitive metals such as stainless steel, sanding and finishing of stainless and alloys, weld removal, grinding and more. All 7-in. sanding discs are preformed to fit precisely on the company’s Turbo backing pads without warping, allowing maximum contact with the work piece. Additionally, ribbed backing provides added heat dissipation. These sanding discs deliver 90% more stock removal than previous versions, according to the company, and are designed to provide a consistent surface finish. Walter Surface Technologies Online Reader Inquiry No. 503
Additional products expand mini linear motion component family
When it comes to industrial electric motors, power transmission products and drives, no other manufacturer offers more than Baldor...that is why Baldor is The Industrial Choice! Whether your application requires a fractional or 100,000 Hp motor, a variable frequency drive, mounted bearings or gearing, a pulley or sheave, Baldor is the choice most preferred by industry.
• Superior Reliability
When your next project demands the most reliable and energy efficient products available, look to Baldor as your one source for more industrial solutions.
• Local Sales and Support
baldor.com
• Quickest Delivery Available
479-646-4711
©2013 Baldor Electric Company
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• Unmatched Quality
Thomson Industries has added several products to its range of high-performance, miniaturized components. The long-life, precision TSI rolled ball screws offer high load capacity, smoothness and quiet operation. They are available in diameter sizes from 6 mm to 14 mm, with flexible ball nut mounting configurations and precision rolled screws to T7 accuracy class. The lightweight Thomson Miniature Metric Ball Bushing bearings offer smooth and rapid operation in a light, durable and compact package. Double-lip integral wipers help secure lubrication while keeping dirt out, which increases life expectancy. Thomson Super bearing plates provide smooth operation and long life. An optional corrosion resistant version is available for use in harsh environments. Requiring no external guides, the compact, easy-to-install, onepart Glide Screw is a screw and a nut which can handle axial, radial and moment loads. Its self-lubricating design makes it effectively maintenance free. Applications include in areas such as medical diagnostics, test and measurement, rapid prototyping and mechatronics. Thomson Industries Online Reader Inquiry No. 505
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C O N T E N T S
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in this issue BEARINGS
CONDITION MONITORING
departments
Global demand for bearings to jump / 7
Seeing through the walls / 19
Editor’s Notebook / 6
New survey projects markets for ball, roller and plain bearings will increase 7.3% annually through to 2018.
It took a collaborative effort with several suppliers to create a super-fast non-destructive testing (NDT) system to X-ray a power-generation boiler.
Top 5 tips for linear bearing reliability / 12
Industry Newswatch / 7 Business Briefs / 10 Mr. O, The Practical Problem
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Why a $100 investment can prevent tens of thousands of dollars worth of unplanned maintenance.
Solver / 11 Maintenance 101 / 21 Product News
Shock treatment / 14
How electrically insulated rolling bearings protect against bearing damage caused by the passage of electrical current.
Product Spotlight / 2 Focus on Bearings / 22 Focus on Test &
POWER PLANTS
Measurement / 23
Learning from Fukushima / 16
Focus on Motors & Drives / 24
How Ontario’s Bruce Power applied lessons from Japan’s 2011 nuclear disaster.
Literature Reviews / 26
MOTORS & DRIVES How hot is too hot? / 17
How motor temperatures that are too high affect machine performance and life.
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columns Mr. O, the Practical Problem Solver / 11
How the shaft can help predict a linear bearing failure. Getting hands-on (covertly) / 21
Maintenance 101: Dealing with the need for maintenance training leads to the development of priorities to improve equipment reliability.
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editor’s selections ‘The cost of unplanned downtime is so much higher than the cost of replacing a bearing that it makes sense in most cases to replace bearings well before their L-10 life.’ Alison Ng / 12 ‘Electrically insulated bearings are less expensive than applying insulation to housings or shafts.’ Klaus Grissenberger / 14
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‘It is unsafe to place your hand on a motor to see if it is too hot; get a thermometer instead.’ Jim Bryan / 17 ‘It can’t be overstated just how successful this project was.’ Gary Haynes / 19
Cover Photo: Clearphoto ©iStockphoto/Thinkstock
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‘One truly eye-opening realization was just how badly the equipment was performing.’ Peter Phillips / 21
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Machinery & Equipment MRO
November 2014
Training critical for the skills shortage problem
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t seems to me to be pretty clear that government grants and programs, foreign workers and our own unemployed are not going to solve industry’s skilled worker shortage. It’s time for companies to stop waiting for a handout or a government-backed solution to the problem and tackle it themselves. It’s time for on-the-job training. You may think you have an effective training program in place, but maybe you don’t. There’s a good example in this issue’s Maintenance 101 column, where Peter Phillips goes undercover to pretend he’s a new employee at an Ontario food processing plant, so he can MRO_Mag_Full-Page_Movie-Ad_April_2013.pdf 1 4/4/13 learn about its training effectiveness.
Guess what – he got zero training. “Just do what you do,” he was told. Seriously? It’s time to get real about doing your own training. Don’t wait for a government-funded program to help you. Don’t expect the local college to turn out grads with the skills you need. Sure, hire those great kids, but then train them up with the specific skills you need. You’ve got to do it yourself! Peter’s column will be dealing with this concern in future issues, so I recommend you read it in this issue (see page 21), and follow along in future editions. He’s going to be offering solutions that will help to fix the training dilem4:08 PM ma.
Maybe you think – like some – that the skills shortage isn’t real. Sure, the employment rate in Canada has been looking better of late, yet many employers still complain they can’t find the skilled workers they need. While the latest Stats Can surveys show unemployment at around 7% or about 1.3 million Canadians, another study shows there are more than six job seekers for every available job. Even so, according to a CIBC survey done last December, 30% of employers across Canada say they face a skilled labour shortage. It’s the high-skilled jobs – the kind of jobs that the majority of our readers do – that are going unfilled. One part of the problem is that a lot of skilled experts – millwrights and such – are reaching or have already reached the age of retirement. When these kinds of professional skills walk out the door for the last time, they leave a knowledge gap that’s almost impossible to fill.
And the problem is going to get worse, not only as more maintenance and engineering pros contemplate retirement, but because there will be more and more jobs to fill. So predicts The Canadian Occupational Projection System, which says Canada will create 6.5 million new jobs but only 6.3 million new job seekers — including recent graduates and immigrants — between 2011 and 2020. And nowhere is it predicted those new job seekers will have the right skills for those new jobs. So the best solution is to use the skilled employees you have now and train up some newbies right there on the shop floor. Yes, it can be costly, but it will certainly be less than the cost of production shutdowns when there’s nobody around who can fix your broken machinery. MRO Bill Roebuck, Editor & Associate Publisher
MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT
MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND OPERATIONS
NOVEMBER 2014 Volume 30, No. 5 Established 1985 www.mromagazine.com www.twitter.com/mromagazine EDITORIAL Bill Roebuck, Editor & Associate Publisher 416-510-6749 broebuck@mromagazine.com Hwee Kuan Choo, Art Director Contributing Editors Simon Fridlyand, Steve Gahbauer, Carroll McCormick, Peter Phillips, Robert Robertson, Angela Webb BUSINESS Jim Petsis, Publisher 416-510-6842 jpetsis@mromagazine.com Jay Armstrong, Sales Manager 416-510-6803 jarmstrong@mromagazine.com Kimberly Collins, Advertising Production 416-510-6779 Melinda Marasigan, Subscription Enquiries 416-442-5600 x3548 Machinery & Equipment MRO is published six times a year to help improve the effectiveness, productivity and practical knowledge of maintenance professionals in Canada’s manufacturing, utilities and resource industries. AWARD-WINNING MAGAZINE
Editorial & sales office: 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9; tel: 416-442-5600, 1-800-268-7742; fax: 416-510-5140. Subscription rates. Canada: 1 year $58.95, 2 years $94.95. United States: 1 year $85.95. Elsewhere: 1 year $87.95. Single copies $10 (Canada), $16.50 (U.S.), $21.50 (other). Add applicable taxes to all rates. On occasion, our subscription list is made available to organizations whose products or services may be of interest to our readers. If you would prefer not to receive such information, please contact us via one of the following methods – phone: 1-800-668-2374, e-mail: privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca, fax: 416-442-2191, mail to Privacy Officer-Business Information Group, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9. ©2014. Contents of this publication are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without written consent of the publisher. The publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of claims in items reported or advertised. Machinery & Equipment MRO is published by BIG Magazines LP, a div. of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. Bruce Creighton, President, BIG; Alex Papanou, Vice-President, BIG; Tim Dimopoulos, Executive Publisher, BIG. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240. Return postage guaranteed. ISSN 0831-8603 (print). ISSN 1923-3698 (digital). Return undeliverable Canadian addresses and change of address notices to: MRO Circulation Dept., 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9. MRO, USPS 012-846 is published six times per year by Business Information Group. US office of publication: 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0357. Periodicals Postage Paid at Niagara Falls, NY. US postmater: Send address changes to Machinery and Equipment MRO, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls NY 14304.
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N E W S W A T C H
Machinery & Equipment MRO
Global demand for bearings to jump 7.3% annually to 2018 Cleveland, OH – Global demand for ball, roller, and plain bearings is projected to rise 7.3% annually to $104.5 billion in 2018. Product sales will be fuelled by healthy gross fixed investment and durable goods output growth as world economic conditions improve. Also contributing to value gains will be a shift in the product mix toward more expensive, better-performing units, supported by increasingly complex designs in bearing-using products and by high energy prices that make highly efficient bearings a more attractive investment. These and other trends are presented in World Bearings, a new study from The
nomic growth in neighbouring Western Europe, which represents a major export market for many East European manufacturers. World Bearings (published 09/2014, 454 pages) is available for US$6,400 from The Freedonia Group. For details, visit freedoniagroup.com.
NEW EQUIPMENT ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN ONTARIO
Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based market research firm. “China will post the strongest gains of any national market in dollar terms,” states analyst Ken Long. “In fact, almost half of all additional product demand through 2018 will be accounted for by China,” he says. Market advances in China will be supported by GDP growth well above the global average, ongoing increases in fixed investment spending, strong gains in manufacturing output, and healthy levels of motor vehicle output and sales. However, India – a considerably smaller but still large bearing market – is expected to register larger annual increases in percentage terms. A number of smaller markets – including Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, and Malaysia – will also record healthy sales advances. US bearing demand is projected to climb at a 5.9% annual pace through 2018, representing one of the strongest market performances of any developed nation, driven by an acceleration in economic growth and durables goods output. Product sales in Western Europe and Japan will rebound from recent declines, but market gains in these areas will be well below the world average. Advances will be limited by generally sluggish increases in durable goods output and, in the case of Japan, further decreases in motor vehicle production. Market increases in Eastern Europe will be stronger than those posted during the 2008-2013 period but not as robust as those in other developing areas because fixed investment spending, automotive output, and other durable goods production will not rise as rapidly as in the Asia/Pacific region, Africa/Mideast region, and Central and South America. This will be due in part to subpar eco-
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Toronto – The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) has made updates to the saveONenergy Retrofit Program that provide additional financial incentives for Ontario businesses to reduce energy used by lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, refrigeration systems and building plug loads. Retrofitting outdated equipment provides cost savings and improves the efficiency of operational procedures and processes, according to the OPA. Eligible companies can receive financial incentives worth up to 50% of project costs towards modernizing current systems with high-efficiency equipment. The saveONenergy For Business programs were developed collaboratively by Ontario’s local electric utility companies and the OPA to provide businesses with substantial financial incentives to encourage the replacement of existing equipment with energy-efficient equipment and new control systems. “These financial incentives strengthen the business case for companies to upgrade or replace equipment with more energy efficient options,” said Andrew Pride, OPA vice-president of conservation. “We expanded the program to help move energy efficiency projects higher on the list of priorities for Ontario businesses.” Key updates and new incentives released under the Retrofit Program include: - New Prescriptive Lighting Measures. Receive incentives worth up to $638 per LED exterior area light qualifying for DLC Category 1 & 2, $59 per LED troffers light, $12 per LED A-shaped lamp and $20 per wet-location-rated LED PAR. Lights must be Energy Star quali-
BC SCHOOL TURNING OUT SKILLED WORKERS FOR 50 YEARS
Photo: Gudella/Thinkstock
Photo: lagereek/Thinkstock
US bearing demand is projected to climb at a 5.9% annual pace through 2018, representing one of the strongest market performances of any developed nation.
fixed-capacity air compressors with new variable-frequency drive or variable-displacement air compressors and receive up to $7,500 per compressor and $100 for each zero-loss drain installed. - New Engineered Worksheets for Compressed Air Systems. Incentives are provided at $800 per kilowatt or $0.10 per kilowatt-hour of energy savings from reducing system pressure, fixing leaks, and installing refrigerated air dryers and zero-loss drains. - New Prescriptive Incentives for Commercial HVAC System Upgrades. Upgrade to ECM motors on HVAC fans and receive up to $0.10 per CFM of rated fan capacity. - New Prescriptive Incentives for Commercial Refrigeration Systems. Upgrade motors in refrigerator and freezer evaporator fans to ECM motors and receive up to $1,130 per motor. Upgrade to high-efficiency refrigeration compressors and receive up $82 per compressor. - Increased Agribusiness Incentives. Incentives have been increased for most agricultural focused incentives. Examples of the program updates include increased incentives of up to $2,000 to install high-volume, low-speed fans and up to $187 per high-efficiency exhaust fan installed. For additional information including terms and conditions on the saveONenergy Retrofit Program or specific incentives, visit saveonenergy.ca/business or contact a local electric utility in Ontario.
Burnaby, BC – It has been 50 years since the former premier of British Columbia, W.A.C. Bennett, officially opened the doors of the BC Institute of Technology in Burnaby, and that milestone is being celebrated at the school that now has five campuses. The polytechnic institute held a ‘Fab 50’ event on Oct. 4, 2014, featuring all things 1964 — from vintage cars to an X-ray machine and broadcasting equipment used at the school half a century ago. Gary Hanney, who attended BCIT’s first broadcast class and worked mostly as a camera operator before retiring in 2008, said he remembers wearing a shirt, tie and sport jacket to school. BCIT spokesman Dave Pinton said anniversary events will also be held throughout the school year at the other four campuses of BCIT – in North Vancouver, Richmond, Vancouver and Delta. The school began with 647 students and in 2014 has nearly 48,000 people enrolled in programs, including engineering, business, shipbuilding and health, said Pinton, who wore a 1960’s skinny tie and horn-rimmed glasses to the birthday bash. Since 1964, about 155,000 students have graduated from BCIT, which provides the majority of apprenticeship training in the province. The Canadian Press
BELTING ASSOCIATION BECOMES ICP ALLIANCE PARTNER Up to $7,500 per compressor is available in Ontario for the replacement of old fixed-capacity air compressors with new variable-frequency drive or variabledisplacement air compressors.
fied and fixtures must be certified by the DesignLights Consortium (DLC). - New Prescriptive Incentives for Variable-Frequency Drive and Variable-Displacement Air Compressors. Replace old
Chicago, IL – A fifth Alliance Partner, NIBA-The Belting Association (NIBA), has joined the Industrial Careers Pathway (ICP) initiative. ICP is a multifaceted North American workforce initiative supported by an alliance of industry associations. ICP links students and job seekers to career paths in industrial distribution and manufacturing through partnerships with local educators and employers.
NIBA joins the American Supply Association (ASA), the Industrial Supply Association (ISA) Educational Foundation; NAHAD, the Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution; and the Power Transmission Distributors Association Photo: Fenner Drives
November 2014
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This belt installation uses a belt tensioner to reduce energy use.
(PTDA) Foundation as a supporter of ICP and its endeavours. NIBA is a global organization serving fabricators, distributors and manufacturers of belting and related products. NIBA’s board of directors voted to join ICP at its June 2014 board meeting. “NIBA’s Programs and Services Committee thoroughly vetted ICP before recommending joining as an Alliance Partner,” said NIBA president Tom Wujek. “We believe in the direction ICP is taking, focusing its efforts on creating awareness of the field of industrial distribution among 18- to 34-year-olds who currently are not aware of the great career opportunities within industrial distribution. We feel that by joining together with other distribution associations, we can use our partnership with ICP as a way to help our industry connect with our future workforce.” ICP Alliance Partners are industrial distribution associations who have recognized the need to take coordinated action to secure a skilled industrial distribution, manufacturing sales and customer service workforce. Alliance Partners’ support of ICP helps fund a host of outreach efforts and provide a wealth of resources to industrial distributors, job seekers, educators and parents. Alliance Partners’ member companies also enjoy discounts on job listings on ICP’s Job Board, the only job board specifically for the field of industrial distribution, and on ICP educational materials, including the Elements of Industrial Distribution course available online and in print. Through the collective support of Alliance Partners and their member companies, ICP is devoted to building awareness among the elusive 18- to 34-year-old audience about the rewarding careers available in industrial distribution. Recent endeavours in support of this mission include having Alliance Partner member companies attend local career fairs to familiarize students and educators with the field, producing an online series of videos providing advice on finding a job in industrial distribution, establishing an industry-specific ICP Job Board and building a website designed to attract the target 18- to 34-year-old audience loaded with solid information on careers in the field of industrial distribution. For more information, visit the website at industrialcareerspathway.org. continued on page 9
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HALF A MILLION APPRENTICESHIP GRANTS ISSUED SINCE 2007 Toronto – The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, has announced that the Government of Canada has provided a total of 500,000 apprenticeship grants to Canadians since 2007 to help them pursue careers in the skilled trades. Kenney spoke with apprentices at a recent event hosted by George Brown College to celebrate this milestone and handed out apprenticeship grants to those who have recently completed their training.
The federal government hopes to dispel negative stereotypes that exist towards the skilled trades.
nearly $700 million in apprenticeship grants. Kenney also highlighted other government measures to create opportunities for apprentices, such as the introduction of the Canada Apprentice Loan, support for training programs and tax credits such as the Tool Tax Deduction for apprentices and tradesmen, and the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit for employers. Kenney also addressed the need for a parity of esteem that will put the skilled trades on an equal footing with a university education. He expressed concern about negative stereotypes that exist towards the skilled trades and the false perception that a university education is more valuable than an apprenticeship. “The apprenticeship grants are an important way of recognizing the hard work apprentices dedicate to learning their trade,” said Serge Buy, executive director, National Association of Career Colleges. “By rewarding both progress and completion, the grants motivate and encourage apprentices on the path to certification.”
BC PLANT WORKERS INJURED IN EXPLOSION DURING MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN OF MACHINE
The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and Apprenticeship Completion Grant are cash grants that encourage Canadians to pursue and complete apprenticeship training in Red Seal trades. Through these grants, apprentices receive up to $4,000, which can be used to pay for tuition, tools or other expenses. To date, the government has provided
Burns Lake, BC – Three mill workers were injured Oct. 9, 2014, in a fire and explosion at a northern British Columbia wood pellet plant, which was the site of a less serious explosion two years ago and was recently fined for “repeated” safety violations. Leroy Reitsma, the president of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc., said the
incident happened at about 8 a.m. at a facility operated by the company near Burns Lake. One worker suffered serious injuries and two workers received minor injuries, said Reitsma, though he declined to offer more details about their injuries. The RCMP described all three workers’ injuries as serious but not life threatening. Reitsma said the fire and explosion originated inside a drying machine during a maintenance shutdown, though he said it was far too early to speculate about the cause. The company is investigating and WorkSafe BC had dispatched prevention officers to the scene. The wood mill industry has been under increased scrutiny since two fatal explosions in 2012 at facilities in Burns Lake and Prince George. Both explosions were linked to the presence of combustible wood dust. Reitsma said the company still did not know what caused the fire and explosion, but he said the fact that it occurred inside a piece of equipment appeared to set it apart from issues related to controlling the build-up of wood dust. “I’m not ruling anything out at this point, but as the event occurred inside of equipment, there is some differentiation from the issue that’s been focused on in terms of housekeeping,” he said. The plant was the site of another explosion in 2012, Reitsma said. No one was injured in that incident, which occurred in a different area of the plant. The company has been cited several times in the past year for dust build-up at several facilities, including the Burns Lake plant.
The WorkSafe BC website indicates two fines were handed out to the company in May 2014, both for about $49,000. The fines each related to potentially explosive dust. “The firm’s failure to control and remove hazardous accumulations of combustible dust that could cause a fire or explosion was a repeated and high-risk violation,” said a summary of one of the fines. The company also received fines for dust levels at facilities in Quesnel and Strathnaver, both south of Prince George. Reitsma declined to comment about the fines. He said the Burns Lake plant is currently in compliance with provincial regulations. WorkSafe BC was unable to provide any more details about the facility’s inspection history. A cloud has been hanging over the province’s mill industry since the 2012 explosions in Burns Lake and Prince George, which were just months apart and each of which killed two workers. Subsequent investigations determined the explosions were fuelled by dust from dry, pine beetle-infested wood. The explosions led to tougher regulations designed to keep dust under control, as well as increased inspections at wood mills. The companies that owned the mills were both fined, but Crown prosecutors declined to approve charges, in part due to problems with how WorkSafe BC conducted its investigations and collected evidence. The Canadian Press MRO Visit mromagazine.com for the latest news and longer, more detailed versions of the items here.
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1.877.994.6675 www.ca.nsk.com BALL BEARINGS
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Machinery & Equipment MRO
November 2014
News and views about companies, people, product lines and more.
Photos: Lafert NA
• Mississauga, ON – Lafert North America, a supplier of premium efficient metric motors and gearboxes, has appointed Michael Tough as director of
Michael Tough
Matthew Temple
sales. He has 17 years of sales experience in the motor industry, as well as extensive knowledge of products for power transmission, industrial and HVAC applications. Tough was previously national sales manager for Regal Beloit Canada (formerly Leeson Canada) in Mississauga, ON. Also, Matthew Temple, B. Sc. Eng., has joined Lafert’s outside sales force, where he will focus on motor and gearing solutions for wind turbines.. He has almost 10 years of industry experience with servo motors and drives, and industrial automation and controls. • St-Laurent, QC – Predictive Maintenance Corp. has appointed Robert G. Webb as its new Ontario-based sales agent. Webb is president of RGW Sales Canada of Hamilton, ON. Webb is representing Tribologik’s expert oil and lubricant analysis services. Predictive
Maintenance Corp. is an ISO 17025: 2005 certified oil analysis laboratory. In September 2014, the company moved its headquarters to a larger location in StLaurent, QC, because it needed more space. • Welland, ON – Bosch Rexroth has released its GoTo Products app version 4.0, a mobile app for customers to access Rexroth’s GoTo Focused Delivery Program. The app is available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices, and includes specific pricing and sales contact information. Links to download the new version from the App store and Google Play can be found at boschrexroth.ca/ goto. The GoTo Focused Delivery Program is celebrating its fifth year of providing fast deliveries of Rexroth’s most popular drive and control products. To mark this milestone, Rexroth has recently added nearly 300 additional products to the program and shortened lead times. • Saskatoon, SK – SKF Canada of Toronto reports that GMR Electric Motors Ltd. in Saskatoon, SK, has achieved certification as a rebuilder for electric motors. GMR’s staff of electrical/mechanical, field service and machinists have successfully completed the SKF certification process. • North York, ON – 30 years ago, on April 2, 1984, PTM Industries was incorporated. A vision of Don Knowles
oversee its newly expanded North American sales network. The previous threeregion organization has been replaced by four regions and the dedicated national account structure is being strengthened. Skyjack is a Canadian manufacturer of aerial work platforms that sells its products worldwide. The regional vice-presidents – Pat Quint, Matt Lyons, David Lillquist and vice-president national accounts Mark A. Estock – will be responsible for aligning regional sales activity with Skyjack’s strategic plan and implementing programs to further increase sales in their territories. • Tilsonburg, ON – J/E Bearing and Machine Ltd. has launched a new website at je-bearing.com. J/E is a machining company located in southwestern Ontario that serves customers with CNC production, general machining, repair, and bearing and power transmission products. • Waterdown, ON – TechniCAL has launched the first phase of its new and improved website at technical-sys.com. Designed with a fresh and easy-to-navigate interface, customers can use it to find product and/or service information. TechniCAL was established in Hamilton, ON, in 2000 as a distributor Skyjack’s made-in-Canada aerial work platforms of test and measureare sold worldwide. ment instruments to tion’s Skyjack Division has appointed serve power and process industries, four new regional vice-presidents to help including electrical utilities, electrical Photo: Linamar Corp.
Business Briefs
and Gary Cotton, PTM sought to fill a void in the Canadian industrial PT marketplace by offering international manufacturers a full-service representation firm that would not only provide sales coverage but also warehousing, logistics, assembly and order desk functions. The company is now headed by Gary’s son, Daniel Cotton. PTM is an exclusive distributor for a group of international suppliers, with distribution centres in eastern and western Canada. • Lyon, France – The ACOEM Group, France, has acquired Elos Fixturlaser AB, a developer and manufacturer of laser-based alignment systems. As a result, on September 15, 2014, Elos Fixturlaser AB changed its company name to ACOEM AB. This is only a name change. The company’s corporate identification number and addresses, as well as all company contact information, remain unchanged. • Guelph, ON – Linamar Corpora-
Absolut zuverlässig! (Absolutely dependable!) 1 . 8 0 0 . 6 6 8 . 4 3 7 8 • w w w. n o r d . c o m
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Machinery & Equipment MRO Photo: KSB Pumps Inc.
November 2014
Mr.0 The Practical Problem Solver
How the shaft can predict a linear bearing failure Photo: Thomson
manufacturers and contractors, and petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food processing, automotive, aerospace and defence industries. TechniCAL Systems 2002 Inc. was federally incorporated in 2002 and offers additional product lines and services. • Chicago – W.W. Grainger, a broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products serving businesses and institutions, has named Dean Johnson as president of its Canadian business, Acklands-Grainger. Johnson assumes this role from Eric Nowlin, who elected to return to California with his family at the end of his expat assignment. Johnson joins Acklands-Grainger from Sodexo Canada, Burlington, ON, where he served as president and CEO. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, as well as a business management certificate from the University of Calgary. • Toronto – SKF Canada Ltd. and Hofmann Engineering of Perth, Australia, together with other minority owners, have entered into agreement that SKF acquire Hofmann Engineering North America, based in Cambridge, ON. Hofmann Engineering North America is a high-precision machining operation with 16 employees. It is currently servicing mainly OEM customers handling large components. Its main offerings include large pinion and gear solutions, precision grinding and custom engineering projects. • Mississauga, ON – KSB Pumps Inc. has entered into a new sales and distribution partnership with Canadian Bearings, a Mississauga-based distributor of industrial systems and products.
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Michael Blundell, president of KSB Pumps (left), shakes hands with Farrokh Khalili, chairman and CEO of Canadian Bearings.
Canadian Bearings will be an additional sales channel for KSB products, especially the Movitec, Eta and Amarex N series pumps, in addition to KSB’s pump service capabilities. • Gothenburg, Sweden – Tom Johnstone has decided to step down as president and CEO of the SKF Group on January 1, 2015. He will be succeeded by Alrik Danielson, who has been president and CEO of Höganäs AB since 2005. Danielson worked at SKF between 1987 and 2005 and held a number of executive positions there, including that of president of the SKF Group’s Industrial Division, and he was a member of the SKF Group’s Executive Committee. “To retire from SKF after almost 38 years with the company will not be easy,” the Glasgow-born Johnstone said. “However, the time is right and the decision to step down has been made easier by the Board choosing Alrik Danielson as my successor. Danielson, 52, is a Swedish citizen and holds a B.Sc in Business Administration and International Economics from the University of Gothenburg MRO
Problem: I’m seeing grooving on the shaft on a linear bearing. Does that mean big trouble? Solution: The shaft can serve as a probe into the health of a linear bearing. Check the shaft for signs of wear, such as spalling and grooving. Grooving is not necessarily a sign of failure, but may indicate that either clearances have increased or vibration is If you see spalling or occurring. Shaft grooving may sometimes be acceptgrooving, watch for able during the initial run-in if it is what is known metal fragments. as shakedown phenomena and scratches are typically only cosmetic. But replacement of both the bearing and shafting may be required if metal fragments appear. Shaft failure is common in short-stroke applications where the stroke is less than 1.5 times the bearing length. Also, soft metal bearing housings, such as aluminum, can easily become indented at the bearing plate contacts. Indenting can interfere with bearing plate loading and self-aligning features so it may require the replacement of the housing. For this tip, Mr. O thanks Al Ng, director, engineering, Thomson Linear Bearings and Guides. Do you have a solution for a maintenance problem? Send it in and if it’s published, we’ll send you a Mr. O Problem Solver T-shirt. Include your name, company, address, and telephone number or e-mail address. Provide complete details and, if possible, include a sketch to help explain your tip. Send your tips to Mr. O, c/o broebuck@mromagazine.com, or by post to: Machinery & Equipment MRO, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9.
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I n n o vat I o n b e y o n d t h e o r d I n a r y Online Reader Inquiry No. 121
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Top 5 tips Machinery & Equipment MRO
November 2014
How a $100 investment can prevent tens of thousands of dollars worth of unplanned downtime.
Top: It’s better to spend a few dollars to replace bearings when a machine is down for scheduled maintenance than to experience unscheduled downtime because of a failure. Left: With fast-moving production lines, bearing breakdowns can be missed until it’s too late.
BY ALISON NG
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ike all wear parts, linear bearings are not designed to last forever and they will fail at some point in their lives. Upcoming failures can be difficult and in many cases impossible to detect in advance. When bearings fail, the cost goes far beyond paying the operators that are forced to wait until the problem is fixed. Case in point, a food processing company uses linear guides to shuttle food product. The guides are located above open food product containers as they are filled. On one occasion, the company neglected to adequately lube the bearings. The result was that a bearing disintegrated during operation and most of the balls were lost from the housing. The failure was not discovered until some time later, after the shaft had been destroyed. More importantly, plant operations had to scrap thousand of dollars worth of packaged product that potentially had shrapnel in it. There are many other examples of unplanned downtime from inadequate linear bearing maintenance than can easily cost over $10,000 per hour. This article will explain how to avoid this type of expensive problem by maintaining and replacing linear bearings during planned downtime. Start today with a proper schedule for bearing maintenance and replacement. Now is the time to start avoiding expensive unplanned downtime by implementing a regular schedule for bearing lubrication and replacement. Proper lubrication is required for rolling element bearings to last, even under light loads. The dynamic load capacities listed in a linear bearing catalogue depend upon appropriate lubrication intervals. For low loads or higher speed, low-drag applications, machine oil may be sufficient. Oil flows more freely through the bearing, flushing out contaminants, but also requires more frequent relubrication. Grease should be used for moderateto high-load applications. The higher viscosity provides better adhesion and the channelling properties allow for less frequent lubrication. A typical minimum lubrication cycle is once a year or every 100 km of travel, whichever comes first. More frequent lubrication may be required based on application specifics, like the duty cycle, usage and environment. Excessive clearances, contaminants, heat and vibration are all factors that create the need for more frequent lubrication. Another option is lubrication-for-life accessories that provide continuous lubrication for the life of the bearing.
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Replacing linear bearings on schedule before failure is good business. The L-10 life of the bearing can serve as a rough guideline as to when bearing replacement is required. But keep in mind that, based on its definition, L-10 life means that 90% of bearings will last longer than their L-10 life, while 10% will fail before their L-10 life is up. The cost of unplanned downtime is so much higher than the cost of replacing a bearing that it makes sense in most cases to replace bearings well before their L-10 life. Of course, under difficult environmental conditions or higher than design loads, bearing life will be considerably reduced, so replacement schedules should be adjusted accordingly. Spend $100 now on a bearing replacement to save tens of thousands of dollars in unplanned downtime. If you find that you are behind in linear bearing maintenance, check your calendar for planned downtime and put this project on the schedule right now. The cost of unplanned downtime can be thousands of dollars per hour. The cost of a new bearing usually runs well under $100. There is a great ROI in preventive maintenance and it just makes sense to replace bearings when the machine is down for scheduled maintenance. Here’s another real-world example of a problem that could easily have been avoided with regular preventive maintenance: a US manufacturer operating a plasma cutting machine noticed that its bearings were starting to ride a bit rough, but they did not take the machine offline for a more thorough inspection. In time, the machine went down. The plant did not have spares on hand. The production line was down for two weeks with lost revenue estimated at $200,000 per day. Train your maintenance team and operators to proactively identify potential linear bearing failure. When bearings fail, it is usually at the least opportune moment, such as when there are no spare parts in stock, or no one who is qualified to do the replacement is in the plant. The result can often be thousands of dollars of expenses in lost production and direct and indirect labour costs. That’s why it’s so important to train your maintenance team and operators to spot the tell-tale signs listed in the next section. The right training makes it possible to predict an oncoming bearing failure so a bearing can be replaced at a much lower cost at a time of your choosing.
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Also, make sure that you have plenty of bearings in stock in your parts crib so they are available when you need to quickly deal with an urgent problem or preventive maintenance task. Inspect bearings carefully and avoid the shock of unplanned downtime. Because an unexpected bearing failure can easily result in lost production or downtime, it’s crucial to do everything you can to spot the problem ahead of time to correct it at a much lower cost. Bearings should be inspected on a regular basis. A simple check of the shaft and rail can be done by running your finger along them. You should feel a thin film of lubricant. Relubricate the bearing if it is dry. Check the bearing for corrosion or contaminants and also check the environment to see if it has become more challenging. Check the bearings, bearing outer race and shaft or rail for metal fragments, which are a particular concern. An increase in clearance is sometimes a sign that a bearing is about to fail. On a plain contact bearing you can often feel or see slop on the interior of the bearing. If the application does not require close tolerances, then the clearance may not have to be addressed immediately. However, if the application has accuracy requirements, then immediate attention is needed. Unusual noise or vibration are often indicators of a bearing problem. A worn bearing race can in certain cases be detected by an increase in noise and particulate matter, although there are often cases where bearings will sound perfectly normal until they fail. Reduce the risk of failure by ensuring that your bearings are designed properly into the application. Bearings will require less maintenance and operate with a long and predictable life and much lower risk of premature failure and downtime if they are selected and sized properly for the application. Talk to an application engineer with years of experience to make sure you have the right bearings for your application. Consider the advantages and dis-
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Photos: Thomson
for linear bearing reliability
advantages of plain contact sliding and recirculating rolling element linear bearings. For example, bronze bushings have high load capacity and low accuracy, while profile rail linear guides have high load capacity and medium accuracy. The loads acting on linear bearings and guides have a major effect on the life of the bearing. To determine the proper ball bushing bearing size, use a Load/Life chart to determine what is suitable for the application. Note that an increase in load can have a huge impact on bearing life. For example, increasing load from 50 to 100 foot-pounds reduces the expected life of an SSU-8-OPN bearing from 800 million inches of travel to 100 million. Conclusion: While the cost of linear bearings is low, their performance is essential to the accuracy, repeatability and throughput of a wide range of critical production machines. That’s why it’s so important to take positive steps to ensure that your linear bearings deliver the performance to which you are entitled. Start by implementing a reasonable maintenance schedule for bearing lubrication and replacement. Take advantage of planned downtime and replace bearings at minimal cost. Train your maintenance team and operators to identify the early signs of upcoming bearing failures. Inspect bearings on a regular basis to identify signs of premature failure and avoid unplanned downtime. Finally, ensure that the bearings used in your machinery have been properly selected and sized to match the application. This approach will help increase productivity and quality and reduce costs by ensuring high levels of bearing performance. MRO Al Ng, director, engineering, Thomson Linear Bearings and Guides, has been with Thomson for over 20 years. He is responsible for product development, design and engineering of linear bearings, and holds a dozen US patents and over 60 patents worldwide. He earned his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science. Online Reader Inquiry No. 601
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How electrically insulated rolling bearings protect against bearing damage caused by the passage of electrical current. BY KLAUS GRISSENBERGER
November 2014 Images: NKE Austria
Machinery & Equipment MRO
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lectrically insulated rolling bearings feature electrical insulation that is built into the bearing, providing reliable protection against current passage and electrical corrosion. Typical applications include electric
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motors, generators and other electrical machines. Under adverse operating conditions, bearings used in electrical machines can be damaged by the passage of electrical currents. Electrical discharges occur in the contact zone between the rolling elements and the inner or outer ring raceway. This causes localized melting of the surfaces, which in turn leads to cratering, transfer of material and localized damage to the microstructure as the material is exposed to thermal stress. At least a very thin layer of the eroded surface undergoes a second hardening process and becomes extremely hard and susceptible to cracking. This process is referred to as electro-corrosion. It also renders the lubricant unusable. The base oil and the additives contained in the lubricant are oxidized, resulting in a typical black discoloration of the lubricant. This premature aging permanently impairs the lubricant’s ability to keep the metal surfaces apart. The damage to the functional surfaces of the bearing and the loss of lubricating effect result in a rapid deterioration in the functional capability of the bearing. Causes of electrical current in bearings The main reasons for current discharge are known. Asymmetries in the magnetic flux of an electrical machine give rise to a low-frequency voltage between the shaft and the housing, which can result in a flow of current through the rolling bearings. Such a passage of current can also result from the use of unshielded asymmetrical electric cables if the earth connection of the machine is ineffective. Another cause may be the use of frequency converters: the operating principle of frequency converters is based on pulse width modulation (PWM) and generates high-frequency common-mode voltage, which can result in a passage of current through the rolling bearings. Lastly, electrostatic charging of the shaft and housing, followed by discharge through the rolling bearings, is also a possible cause. Damage symptoms and possible countermeasures Typical signs of electrical corrosion include grey, tarnished tracks in the raceways and on the rolling element surfaces. Melt craters (Figs. 1a and 1b) or fluting also are discernible, mainly on the raceway surfaces. Damage due to current discharge usually manifests itself in increased running noise. In order to prevent damage of this kind, it is advisable to insulate the bearing seat in the housing or on the shaft. However, this entails changes to the design of the surrounding parts. A simple, economical solution in this
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Figures 1a and 1b: Current passage has led to a formation of craters/flutes on the inner ring raceway (1a) and the lateral surface of the rolling elements (1b) of a cylindrical roller bearing. Figures 2a and 2b: In electrically insulated bearings from NKE, the insulating layer (in blue) is applied to the outer ring (2a) or the inner ring (2b) by plasma-spraying. Fig. 3: The NKE SQ77E deep-groove ball bearing has insulation on the inner ring.
case is to use electrically insulated rolling bearings, as they can replace the uninsulated types without changes to the overall design. Properties and application Electrically insulated bearings from NKE, designated with the suffix SQ77, are provided with an oxide ceramic insulation layer. These bearings offer exactly the same outer dimensions and technical characteristics as the corresponding uninsulated types. The most important advantage of these bearings is higher operating reliability, which is assured by optimal protection against electrical corrosion. Electrically insulated bearings are less expensive than applying insulation to housings or shafts. They are interchangeable with conventional bearings because they have the same key dimensions and technical characteristics. They also offer a reduced risk of damage and thus also longer operating life than conventional bearings when used in electrical machines. When electrically insulated bearings are handled properly, there is no risk of damage to the coating. The main range of electrically insulated bearings consists of cylindrical roller bearings and deep-groove ball bearings. Application areas include traction motors of railway vehicles, and electric motors and generators, particularly in conjunction with fast-switching frequency converters. Production process and effect For the electrically insulated bearings from NKE, the insulation coating is applied by plasma-spraying, either to the outer ring (Fig. 2a) or to the inner ring (Fig. 2b). In plasma-spraying, an electric arc is created between two electrodes with a suitable gas supply. The plasma jet serves as a carrier medium for applying the aluminium oxide powder, either to the outer or inner ring, at high velocity. In order to obtain optimum protection, the oxide layer also covers the side faces of the sprayed rings. In a following process step, the layer is then sealed to prevent any penetration by moisture. The physical effect of the insulation layer depends on the frequency of the voltage that causes the harmful currents in the bearings. In the case of DC voltage, the insulated bearing has Ohmic resistance. The higher this resistance is, the lower the electrical current. The resistance value of the insulated bearings is greater than 50 M W , thus limiting the electrical current to a level that cannot cause damage to the bearing. The capacitive nature of the insulated bearing is advantageous in the case of AC voltage. The bearing then behaves in approximately the same way as a parallel circuit consisting of a resistor and a
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capacitor with a frequencydependent resistance, called impedance. The impedance determines the magnitude of the alternating current that flows through the bearing for given values of voltage and frequency.
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Here too, the impedance should be as high as possible in order to reduce the current to a level that is incapable of damaging the bearing. In order to achieve high impedance values, the resistance of the insulating layer must be high and its capacitance must be low. This can be achieved by making the insulating layer as thick as possible and by reducing the overall insulation surface area.
When transferred to the bearings, this means that this layer should preferably be applied to the bore of the inner ring. However, the coating is usually applied to the outer diameter for reasons of cost and due to the constraints of the manufacturing process. In most cases, this still results in more than adequate protection against damage from electrical corrosion. Another important property of the coating is its dielectric strength. Bearings from NKE have a dielectric strength of 1,000 V as standard. MRO Klaus Grissenberger is an application engineer with NKE Austria GmbH in Germany. NKE bearings are represented in Canada by Global Bear Inc., Dorval, QC. Online Reader Inquiry No. 602
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Online Reader Inquiry No. 124
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he operator of Canada’s largest nuclear power plant has looked “very closely” at the March 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan and has simulated the effect of a tornado hitting the facility, a power plant official said at the National Insurance Conference of Canada (NICC), held in Ottawa in September 2014. “One of the areas where we hadn’t looked as strongly was external events on reactors and Fukushima focused our attention on that,” said Frank Saunders, vice-president of nuclear oversight and regulatory affairs at Bruce Power, which operates the Bruce nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Huron in Ontario. He made his remarks during an NICC session on nuclear risk in Canada. The Bruce power plant has a total capacity of 6,300 megawatts. Ontario’s other two stations, Pickering and Darlington, have 3,100 and 3,500 megawatts respectively, while NB Power’s plant in Point Lepreau produces less than 700 megawatts. Canada’s fifth nuclear power station (Hydro Quebec’s Gentilly plant) was shut down nearly two years ago. Saunders noted Bruce Power has simulated the effects of flooding, a large wave coming from the lake, as well as a tornado similar to the one that hit Goderich – about 50 kilometres south of the Bruce plant – in August 2011. “We have looked at Fukushima very closely,” Saunders said of the disaster caused when a tsunami hit the Japanese power plant after the March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake. “It was what you call a very low-probability event. Generally we
Learning from
Fukushima
How Ontario’s Bruce Power applied lessons from Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. BY GREG MECKBACH
talk about frequencies that are in the range of one in 100,000 years to one in 10 million years as being the range of likelihood of occurrence of these things.” The session Saunders spoke at was moderated by Colleen DeMerchant, general manager of the Nuclear Insurance Association of Canada (NIAC), non-profit association of insurers that form liability and property damage pools for nuclear installations. “What Fukushima showed us was that nuclear stations, even those built to 1960s earthquake standards, are robust enough to sustain a 9.0 quake,” DeMerchant said. “Had that been the only event, no one in this room would have ever heard the word or the name Fukushima. However, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and the capability of providing cooling to the reactors.” The “challenge” for Bruce Power officials “was to go look at our own events and decide whether there was something like that that could happen in Ontario that
might cause our systems to fail in a way that we didn’t expect,” Saunders said. Bruce Power aims to protect its plant against “highly unlikely events, which have a significant consequence to them,” Saunders added, describing one model they used. “We assumed two feet of rain in a sixhour period,” Saunders said. “We assumed that all the ditches and all the culverts and everything were plugged, and assumed a huge wash off the lake with something in the order of 10-metre waves coming in off Lake Huron, to do this analysis.” In Canada, the Nuclear Liability Act stipulates that nuclear operators, are “without proof of fault or negligence, absolutely liable” for breaches of duties imposed by the NLA. They are required to have basic liability insurance of at least $75 million for each nuclear installation. That amount will increase to $1 billion if Bill C-22, the Energy Safety and Security Act, is passed into law. Bill C-22
was tabled Sept. 15, 2014, for third reading in the House of Commons. It proposes to create a new law, called the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act, Dave McCauley, director of the uranium and radioactive waste division at Natural Resources Canada, said during NICC. Assuming Bill C-22 is passed by the Senate without amendments, the absolute liability for nuclear operators will increase to $650 million once it gets royal assent. After that, the limit will be increased over a period to three years, to $1 billion, McCauley noted. “The Minister (of Natural Resources) will be obligated to review that limit at least once every five years to determine whether it should be increased,” McCauley said. “That was a problem with the (current) legislation, where you have to open up the whole act to change the liability limit. With this legislation, the minister can change it by regulation.” In Canada, both the insurers and the insurance policies require approval by the Minister of Natural Resources, McCauley said. Under Bill C-22, “subject to the Minister’s approval, operators will also be given the flexibility of providing alternative forms of financial security to cover the risks that they are liable for,” McCauley added. NICC was produced by MSA Research of Toronto. MRO Greg Meckbach is associate editor of Canadian Underwriter, a sister publication to Machinery & Equipment MRO. This article first appeared online in Canadian Underwriter on Sept. 24, 2014.
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How hot is HOT? How motor temperatures that are too high affect machine performance and life.
BY JIM BRYAN
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t’s not uncommon for a maintenance technician to call a service centre about a repaired motor that’s now “running hot.” When asked how hot, the reply frequently is: “Well, I can’t hold my hand on it!” Think about that answer for a minute. The typical human can tolerate touching something that’s about 60-65°C (140-150°F), depending on calluses, threshold of pain or how many people are watching. Now keep those numbers in mind as you read the following discussion of typical motor operating temperatures. NEMA Stds. MG 1–2011, 12.43 defines temperature rise for motors in a maximum ambient of 40°C (Figure 1). Two points are noteworthy here. First, in keeping with the NEMA standard, temperature is given here in Celsius; Fahrenheit equivalents are provided only where appropriate. Second, ambient temperature (frequently
Quality Reliability Efficiency
motor’s winding insulation, depending on how the motor is configured. For example, if the motor that was reported to be running hot has a 1.15 service factor, its maximum temperature rise would be 115°C (Figure 1, Item A.2) plus the 40°C ambient. The winding embedded in the slot is almost always the hottest part, so the winding temperature for this motor could reach 155°C.
Motor construction The surface that our maintenance technician tried to touch will be somewhat cooler than the winding temperature, depending on the motor construction. On a large cast iron, totally enclosed, fan-cooled (IP 54) motor, for instance, CLASS OF INSULATION SYSTEMS the surface may be 20-25°C Time rating (shall be continuous or any short-time rating given in 10.36) cooler than the winding hot Temperature rise (based on a maximum ambient temperature of 40°C), degrees C spot, but only 10-15°C cooler A Windings, by resistance method A B F* H*† on a rolled steel frame 1 Motors with 1.0 service factor other than those given in Items motor, where the surface is A.3 and A.4 60 80 105 125 much closer to the winding. Temperature differentials 2 All motors with 1.15 or higher service factor 70 90 115 ... are often much greater – as 3 Totally-enclosed nonventilated motors with 1.0 service factor 65 85 110 130 much as 60°C – for open 4 Motors with encapsulated windings and with 1.0 service factor, drip-proof motors (IP 12) and all enclosures 65 85 110 ... Weather-Protected I (WP I) B The temperatures attained by cores, squirrel-cage windings, and miscellaneous parts (such as or Weather-Protected II (WP brushholders, brushes, pole tips, etc.) shall not injure the insulation or the machine in any respect II) enclosures. Differences in flat rolled steel and ribbed * Where a Class F or H insulation system is used, special consideration should be given to bearing temperatures, lubrication, etc. cast iron frame surfaces also † This column applies to polyphase motors only. affect the amount of heat our Figure 1: Maximum temperature rise for motors (ref.: NEMA Stds. MG 1-2011, 12.43). technician would feel. Of course, motors are not designed to run at the maximum alabbreviated ‘Amb.’ or ‘AMB’ on motor The Class F (155°C) temperature ratlowable temperature, because that nameplates) refers to the temperature ing is popular these days, so it’s a good would drastically decrease motor life. of surrounding air. Some people conone to discuss. With Class F insulation, In fact, every 10°C rise in operating the maximum allowable temperature fuse this with the expected temperacontinued on page 18 rise ranges from 105-115°C for the ture rise of the motor, which it is not.
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AVERAGE EXPECTED LIFE-HOURS
temperature reduces insulation life by half (Figure 2). Therefore the ultimate design is one that optimizes motor life and function, while keeping the cost of production, maintenance and efficient operation as low as possible. As an example, suppose that a motor with a 65°C rise (very conservative by most standards) is put in service on a hot summer day. If the ambient temperature is 35°C (95°F), the winding total temperature would be: 65+35=100°C. If motor is so constructed that its TOTAL WINDING TEMPERATURE – Degrees C 10°C HALF LIFE RULE surface is about 20°C cooler than the winding, Figure 2 : Insulation life vs. temperature the surface temperature
Winding Temperatures
Insulation System Class
Maximum Winding Temperature (°C)
A
140
B
165
F
190
H
21
Figure 3: Maximum temperatures for thermally protected motors (ref.: NEMA Stds. MG 1-2011, Table 12-8).
would be: 100-20=80°C (176°F) – i.e., much too hot to touch safely! Remember that this is a conservative design, so the surface temperatures of many motors will be much warmer. Thermally protected motors At first glance, the maximum motor temperature rise limits given in NEMA Stds. MG 1, 12.43 (Figure 1) appear to contradict those given for the same insulation classes in NEMA Stds. MG 1, 12.56 and Table 12-8
(Figure 3). Actually, the maximum temperatures shown in Figure 3 apply only to thermally protected motors. The words ‘thermally protected’ on a motor nameplate indicate that a thermal protection device is an integral part of the machine and, when properly applied, will protect it from dangerous overheating. In other words, thermally protected motors are an exception to the rule. If the motor has this added special layer of protection, the higher temperatures may be allowed. Based on our earlier example, you can see how these higher winding temperatures would affect the surface temperature of the motor. Thermal protection and the correspondingly higher temperature limits are generally reserved for smaller motors. Even then, however, motor manufacturers will not design a motor to run at the maximum temperature allowed unless application considerations make it necessary. Special cases Some applications require that a motor be housed in an enclosure for noise abatement or other reasons. In such cases, special care should be taken to control the ambient temperature inside the enclosure where the motor is located. Cooling is usually adequate if the auxiliary cooling supplies the same volume of air as the motor’s integral fan. If the driven equipment generates heat (e.g., a compressor) and is contained in the motor enclosure, it can contribute to the temperature rise of the motor. One example that comes to mind involved more than 100 compressors, each of which was housed in an enclosure with its drive motor and equipped with a radiator to cool the gas as it was compressed and liquified. Unfortunately, air for cooling was drawn through the radiator and then exhausted by a fan onto the drive motor. With this arrangement, ambient temperatures in the enclosures reached 70°C, thermally stressing the motor winding insulation to its limit. Overheated lubricant also evacuated bearing housings, causing numerous bearing failures. Conclusion Temperature control is an important factor in successful motor operation. Care must be taken in the design, application and maintenance of these machines to optimize their performance and life. Having said all that, it is unsafe to place your hand on a motor to see if it is too hot; get a thermometer instead. MRO Jim Bryan a technical support specialist at the Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA), St. Louis, MO. EASA is an international trade association of more than 1,900 firms in 59 countries that sell and service electrical, electronic and mechanical apparatus.
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November 2014
Seeing through the walls BY CARROLL MCCORMICK
G
iven just seven months last year to design and build a system that could rapidly X-ray a power generation boiler, Gary Haynes began scheming. With the close cooperation of key companies, Haynes was able to rapidly source subsystems, and assemble, test and deliver a computer-controlled machine that did the job. Haynes is a licensed radiographer. He works in the Edmonton office of Acuren, which specializes in non-destructive testing, inspection and engineering. He is the team lead-Advance RT Applications, Prairie Region. His client threw down a weighty gauntlet: X-ray 1,524 sq. ft. of boiler wall and integrated tubes in 52 hours flat. A radical solution was called for, since the traditional approach to the task would have taken much longer. Normally, Acuren workers would muscle a 60-lb. GE Eresco MF4 digital X-ray machine up and down scaffolding and precisely position it over 1,016 adjacent sections of the boiler, shooting three images per section. At the same time, other workers would have to position a GE Digital Detector Array (DDA), which captures the X-ray images, against the outside of the boiler, precisely opposite the MF4, 1,016 times. While pondering the shortcomings of an idea to have workers roll the MF4 and DDA along a track system, Haynes happened across a video of a computer-controlled Stepper motor shot by Stepper 3 LLC, a motion control company based in Willingboro, NJ. Haynes contacted Stepper 3 and learned that its gear could help solve his problem. Computer-controlled stepper motors would minimize worker time in the boiler, thus greatly speeding up the X-ray work. They would also keep the
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M O N I T O R I N G
It took a collaborative effort with several suppliers to create in a super-fast nondestructive testing (NDT) system to X-ray a power generation boiler.
The Digital Detector Array, which captures the X-ray image, must stay precisely opposite the X-ray machine on the other side of the boiler wall.
Photos: Acuren
C O N D I T I O N
Machinery & Equipment MRO
During the seven-month design and construction process, Haynes worked with the bearings, linear motion and power transmission wholesaler Ringball Corporation and the Edmonton branch of distributor Wajax Industrial Components. Ringball tracked down hardware for the various system tasks and Wajax supplied quotes and kept parts moving along the supply chain to Acuren. “Think of the partnership this way,” says Mark Bromley, who works in outside sales for Ringball. “Gary designed and built the car. Stepper 3 made the car go. We sourced the parts for the car, sold them to Wajax, and Wajax sold the parts to Gary. Wajax and Ringball worked together from day one. Because we had an existing relationship with Wajax, we worked together seamlessly.” As Haynes gradually built and tested the system, components sourcing kept Ringball and Wajax on their toes: “As we continued on page 20
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Above: The red steel frame keeps the X-ray exactly 32 inches from the boiler wall as it approaches the 55° bend to the vertical. The circles in the photograph across the image are caused by the steady rain of fly ash.
MF4 and DDA aligned. “The stepper motors put out a specific number of pulses per inch of travel. Computers would track the motor movement, and by extension, the movement and location of the MF4 and DDA. This would give me the control and precision to line up each shot and keep the DDA and MF4 in sync,” Haynes says.
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WHAT YOU NEED IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
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continued from page 19 worked along, the parts we needed evolved and changed, sometimes daily,” Bromley recalls. Paul Croxford, branch manager for the Wajax Edmonton branch, says, “Chaz Wescott, our senior technical sales representative who services the Acuren account, was Gary’s point of contact. Chaz made sure that the parts ordered were delivered to Acuren on time and that the quantities ordered were correct.” This is the solution that Haynes developed: First, the tube-shaped MF4 was hung inside two rings attached to either end of a box. A stepper motor bolted to the box spins a cog that turns a sprocket on one of the rings. As the ring turns, the MF4 rotates so its aperture faces the boiler wall from three angles: 0°, 45° left and 45° right. That takes care of the shooting angles. The box is attached to a 6-ft.-long carriage to which another stepper motor is
November 2014
Three degrees of motion: the orange X-ray tube rotates, slides side-to-side and moves up and down.
attached. It moves the MF4 and its box left and right along the carriage – the x-axis – just like the movement of a print cartridge in an ink-jet printer. To build the carriage, Bromley went to Pittsburg, CA-based Bishop-Wisecarver Corp. (BWC), which manufactures linear and rotary motion products. BWC supplied its LoPro linear motion system, in which a block moves along a track. The box holding the MF4 is bolted to the block. Four small metal wheels on the block grip the two, V-shaped edges of a track. A belt attached to the stepper motor moves the block and its cargo back and forth along the track. The LoPro system performs well in dirty environments – and the inside of the boiler was filthy with fly ash. “As the wheels travel along the track, their sharp V-shaped edges clean the dirt off,” Bromley explains. That takes care of the second plane of motion. For the third plane of motion – the vertical y-axis – Haynes built a ladderlike structure. Two more LoPro systems were bolted to the inboard faces of the ladder. Haynes bolted the carriage to the two LoPro blocks, at 90° to the long axis of the ladder, rather like a movable rung. A nylon strap and cable setup winches the carriage and MF4 up and down the track/ladder. The system now has three planes of motion. The base of the entire system is bolted to a track tack-welded to the bottom of the boiler. Much like a real ladder, the system leans up against the boiler wall, but is held away from the wall by a frame to keep the MF4 aperture exactly 32 in. from the wall. The boiler wall begins with a 21-ft. long slope, then it jogs 55° to the vertical. The blocks on the ladder tracks are trapezoid-shaped so the wheels will stay on the track as the carriage holding the MF4 rounds that 55° bend and up the remaining 5 ft. or so of the ladder. The automated system drives the MF4 over a swath about 6 ft. wide and 24 ft. long. Workers then shift the whole system 6 ft. over along that tack-welded track. Swath by swath, the inside of the boiler is X-rayed. A simpler system on the other side of the boiler wall uses two more LoPro linear motion systems to permit the DDA movement along the x- and y-axes. Stepper 3 wrote software and designed circuit boards to automate the system, which is operated by two laptops, one for the stepper motors and one for the DDA. Acuren built four complete systems, one for each side of the two cells in the boiler. A team of 12 people operated them, and radiographers in a command trailer immediately reviewed the 3,048 digital images as they came in. “It can’t be overstated just how successful this project was,” Haynes says. “Our customer was amazed how well it worked and how we were able to accommodate their very tight time frame.” MRO Montreal-based Carroll McCormick is MRO Magazine’s award-winning senior contributing editor. Companies referenced in this article
Online Reader Inquiry No. 130
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Acuren: #605 GE: #606 Stepper 3 LLC: #607 Ringball Corporation: #608 Wajax Industrial Components: #609 Bishop-Wisecarver: #610 Go to mromagazine.com/rsc to obtain more information.
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Machinery & Equipment MRO Photos: IPGGutenbergUKLtd/Thinkstock
November 2014
Getting hands-on
(covertly)
Working under cover as a ‘new employee’ in the plant was an eye-opener about how bad things really were, but it revealed needed training and led to the development of priorities to improve reliability. BY PETER PHILLIPS
This issue’s column continues an ongoing look at a project aimed at improving maintenance operations at an Ontario food plant. f you’ve been following this column, you may remember we just finished our monthly visit consulting at a food factory just outside Toronto. Our plan after last month was to address new employee orientation and training because we felt that this is a key factor for the success of the company and its employees. On the first morning of every visit, we review our plan with the plant department managers at the 10:00 a.m. meeting. The managers knew that our primary focus on this visit would be on new employee training and to begin an in-depth assessment of maintenance activities. To properly assess the existing training program for new employees, I needed to experience it first-hand. So on a Tuesday afternoon, I became a ‘new employee’ and started my first day on the job. Other new people also started on the same shift, so there were four of us in all. The other people had attended an employee orientation the day before and were introduced to company policies, general safety and good manufacturing practices (GMPs). I had already reviewed the orientation program and found it very structured and informative. This band of new employees – including me – were met by the shift supervisor at the employee entrance. She used
I
photographs of us that were taken during the orientation that helped her identify us in the crowd of regular employees, which was a great idea. We were greeted with a smile and warm welcome, given our entry swipe cards, and shown where to get uniforms and personal safety equipment. From there, we entered the plant and were introduced to our crew leaders. Again the supervisor was very welcoming and she made me feel comfortable as she introduced me to my trainer. Everything up to now was great, but from this point on it was evident there were no training plans or procedures for the trainer to follow. I wasn’t given any safety orientation on the equipment I would work on or its surroundings. I was basically told by the trainer to do what I do – and that was the extent of my training. My assigned ‘trainer’ was a wonderful person with lots of experience, but she had not been given any notice of being a trainer for that shift, nor did she have any training on how to train new people. I made it through the shift and this gave me a hands-on assessment of the training opportunities. We can now help the plant develop structured on-the-job training programs for all employees. One other truly eye-opening realization that I experienced was just how badly the equipment was performing. The production line that I was working on had several recently installed pieces of equipment, and to say the least, it was
running terribly. The frustration I experienced as the equipment continually produced poorly packaged product nearly overwhelmed me. I could just imagine how other employees felt. Being a tradesperson myself – and a previous maintenance manager – I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a maintenance tech analyzing the equipment to see why it was performing so poorly. In fact, I didn’t see a maintenance person at all during my shift. This lack of support did not sit well with me. By coincidence, the next day there were several serious breakdowns that caused many hours of lost production. One failure was on the very equipment I had operated the evening before. It had failed because of a torn conveyor belt that is an integral part of the machine. The belt had a small tear in it the night before that my trainer had shown me. As there was no maintenance person around, the maintenance team was not informed of the impending failure. So when it totally ripped apart, there was a scramble to find the one they had in stock and get it replaced quickly. This problem, plus some other recent serious maintenance issues, prompted the plant manager to call a meeting with the maintenance and production managers to discuss equipment reliability. During the meeting, the maintenance manager expressed his disappointment in his maintenance supervisors and technicians, and their recent performance. I am sure we all have had these moments in
our maintenance careers and I could sympathize with his concerns. It was an opportune time to work on reliability and it fit right into our plans for the assessment of maintenance activities. Now that all the stakeholders realize some improvements needed to be made, it is our turn to step into the process and help to improve their day-to-day activities to improve equipment performance. I spent the next two days talking with each of the shift maintenance crews to discuss issues around recent events, their work priorities and how they could improve reliability. We touched on the line start-ups and how we can set up the incoming shift for success. We talked about training on new equipment and how they needed to talk to operators about issues that may turn into breakdowns. The maintenance manager and I met to devise a plan that involved the maintenance supervisors and their crew to brainstorm and develop plans and solutions to ensure equipment and line reliability. My task was to create a set of criteria for them to develop their plans and solutions. Here is the list of key items for them to address - Critical equipment checks that should be done hourly, per shift or daily - Critical equipment components that need to be checked before start-up and after sanitation procedures and such - How to communicate with operators to identify impending equipment failures - Cross-over training between maintenance and set-up - How to improve the start-up of the lines - How to set up the next shift for success - How to plan maintenance opportunities with the maintenance planner - How and when to look for the root cause of equipment failures - How to improve PM tasks and frequency. - How to improve the stockroom. We are scheduled to be back in the plant again soon and I will be continuing my work with the maintenance team. Also, my colleague will be helping the team structure on-the-job training programs for new and existing production employees. This past visit was an eye-opener for the plant staff and ourselves. As we forge ahead with plans for improvements, the plant is looking forward to improved equipment reliability and happier employees. We hope to see a reduction in downtime and waste numbers in the weekly KPIs in the near future. MRO Peter Phillips of Trailwalk Holdings, a Nova Scotia-based CMMS consulting and training company, can be reached at 902-798-3601 or by e-mail at peter@ trailwalk.ca.
Online Reader Inquiry No. 131
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November 2014
What’s new in bearings Compact linear guide series features high load rating
NSK’s NH and NS series of linear guides features a ball groove design that helps optimize the contact surface pressure distribution, resulting in increases in load rating and operating life. In addition, the compact design allows the
downsizing of devices without compromising load or operating life. The series has interchangeable sliders and rails and can be combined with other linear products and, as the installation dimensions are the same as the company’s LH and LS series, can be incorporated without changing the device design. A selfaligning feature accommodates misalignment and minimizes internal loads. Options include the NSK K1 lubrication unit, which provides maintenance-free operation over long periods of time, and special materials and coatings for specialty applications. The guides can be used in a wide variety of production equipment. NSK Canada Online Reader Inquiry No. 470
Mounted bearings, shaft couplings built for washdown applications
Boston Gear has introduced a line of stainless steel mounted bearings and
synthetic rubber or polyurethane inserts. Units require no lubrication and are available with precision machined bores or solid hubs. Custom bore sizes also are available. Altra Industrial Motion/Boston Gear Online Reader Inquiry No. 471
High-capacity hydraulic bearing stands up to rigours of mining
Baldor’s Dodge Hydraulic ISAF bearing now is available with higher load ratings. The pillow block bearing system is available with higher capacity and 231 series spherical bearings, and is interchangeable with industry standard SDAF housing dimensions. The HISAF 231 is available in bore sizes of 9-7/16 in. through 14 in. and is suited for large bulk-handling conveyors typically found in the mining and other industries. This higher-capacity bearing complements the 222 and 230 series. All HISAF bearings incorporate a built-in hydraulic piston used on both the mount and dismount nut to facilitate tightening the bearing on the shaft during installation, and then aids in removal. Installation and removal do not require the use of feeler gauges or special tools. Factory assembled and lubricated, the bearing features a harsh-duty, two-part sealing system that protects it from contamination. Baldor Electric
Sealed-for-life bearing improves uptime
The Timken Sheave Pac sealed-for-life bearing assembly is designed to eliminate the need to re-grease the travelling block or crown block on oil rigs. As maintenance personnel have had to perform this re-lubrication hundreds of feet above the rig platform, this elimination helps increase their safety and reduces expensive downtime. The pre-greased, pre-set and unitized assembly is designed to run an entire operating cycle between rebuilds without the need for re-lubrication or additional maintenance. It easily interchanges with current industrystandard bearing assemblies and seals. Timken Canada Online Reader Inquiry No. 472
speeds, these rugged bearings are made from pure rolling bearing steel and have a long service life, while their inner and outer rings can be fitted separately, simplifying installation. The company's standard portfolio of industrial gearbox bearings also comprises spherical and tapered roller bearings, as well as angular contact and deep groove ball bearings. The special bearings for gearboxes are developed in close cooperation with the customer. Global Bear Online Reader Inquiry No. 476
Bearings for dry running withstand temperatures up to 6,000°F
Bearings for dry running in high-temperature applications are available from
Online Reader Inquiry No. 473
Versatile gearbox bearing suits wide range of applications
NKE Austria offers rolling bearings for industrial gearboxes that meet the requirements of a wide range of sectors, such as general machinery, mining, material handling systems and heavy machinery. The range of single-row
shaft couplings designed for high-pressure food processing and packaging washdown applications. The line includes pillow block and flanged mounted bearings featuring cast stainless steel housings, synthetic lip seals and NSF H1 food grade grease. SSFC series, insert (threejaw) type shaft couplings made of 316 stainless steel with passivated finish also are offered, with a choice of oilimpregnated Bost-Bronz, oil-resistant
cylindrical roller bearings includes over 3,000 different models. Suitable for high radial loads and moderate to high
Metallized Carbon. The Metcar carbongraphite bearings are designed for use at temperatures ranging from 350°F to 1,000°F in oxidizing atmospheres, and from 350°F to 6,000°F in non-oxidizing atmospheres. Dimensionally stable and not subject to melting, softening or deformation, these bearings are suitable for use in continuous dryers, high-temperature conveyors, kiln cars and hightemperature ventilation dampers, and also for continuous bakery ovens, screw conveyors, valves and paint dryers. Bearings can be provided to customer
prints or custom-designed for specific application dimensions and tolerances. Standard pillow blocks and flange blocks with bearing inserts are available with cast iron, stamped steel or stamped stainless steel housings. Hightemperature bearings also are available shrink-fitted into metal housings or metal retaining rings. Metallized Carbon Corp. Online Reader Inquiry No. 478
Tough hybrid ceramic ball bearings lubricated for life
Hybrid ceramic ball bearings for electrical machinery and general industry applications from C&U Americas feature precision steel ring construction and lightweight ceramic balls. In addition to delivering excellent electric insulation properties, they provide highspeed and high-temperature capability and long service life. The silicon nitride used in the bearings is much harder than steel, which improves overall stiffness and makes them resistant to damage from contamination. A variety of configurations is available with bores from 17 mm to 90 mm, ODs from 40 mm to 190 mm, and speed ratings as high as 21,600 rpm/min. Direct replacements for existing hybrid ceramic bearings, the bearings are lubricated for life with Mobil Polyrex EM grease and sealed with low-torque, non-contact seals. Handling and mounting are identical to steel bearings, so standard installation tools and methods can be used. C&U Americas Online Reader Inquiry No. 474
MRO
Online Reader Inquiry No. 132
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November 2014
Machinery & Equipment MRO
What’s new in test & measurement and condition monitoring Monitoring program for vibration helps protect rolling mill drives
a LAN interface and a dedicated RS-232 interface to control Fluke Calibration drywells or temperature baths for automated tests. Fluke Electronics Canada
Emerson Power Transmission Solutions has launched a torque-amplification analysis program for precisely measuring the true torque loads and vibration frequencies experienced by rolling mill drives, as part of a program to help mills process tougher alloys, increase output with thicker slabs or higher speeds, protect against cold-end slabs, or mitigate torsional vibration. Developed by the company's Kop-Flex business unit, the program combines computer modelling of complex drives with true torque measurements to determine the actual torque amplification factor on the drive, instead of inferring it from motor current readings. Kop-Flex then engineers solutions that reduce TAF and torsional
Online Reader Inquiry No. 493
Temperature measurement system for use where mobility is important
The PalmSense2 from Photon Control is a portable, handheld fibre-optic temperature measurement system for measure-
Durable housing protects digital tachometer from jobsite hazards
The model TAC-L portable digital tachometer from Dwyer Instruments measures rotational speed either by contacting a rotatable head to the shaft of the object, or using a photo sensor to detect the reflections from the laser. The laser target can record from a distance of up to 20 in. and is claimed to give a more accurate measurement than LED targeting. The instrument includes a large LCD with a backlight for use in dark areas and features a strong, lightweight ABS plastic housing designed to fit comfortably in the hand of the user. Supplied with this model are three contact rotational heads, a contact surface wheel and a protective carrying case. Applications include HVAC fan motors, powder and bulk conveyor belts and wood cutting saw blades. Dwyer Instruments Online Reader Inquiry No. 494
ment in high-temperature RF environments or EMI applications in labs and field service. It offers a wide temperature range of 0°C to 450°C, accuracy of +/- 0.05°C and resolution of +/- 0.01°C and can be paired with both contact and immersion temperature measurement probes. Features include a lightweight
design and a large 160-by-240-pixel LCD display. The device is suitable for research and life science applications, along with EMI, RF, X-ray, microwave, and harsh chemical and high-voltage environments. Photon Control Online Reader Inquiry No. 492
MRO
Speed + Strength LOCTITE® 4090™ Hybrid Adhesive
vibration using alterations of coupling stiffness, improved overload protection, resilient couplings and other strategies. Torque-monitoring hardware has been developed for high-speed turbomachinery drives, so it is mill-hardened, accurate and capable of high-rate data sampling. TAF data capture and analysis can be a temporary service or it can be integrated with a mill's CSI6500 condition monitoring system as an ongoing service. Emerson Industrial
This innovative adhesive combines the speed of an instant adhesive with the strength of a structural adhesive. LOCTITE® 4090™ delivers both performance & versatility to solve your design & assembly challenges.
• Strong – strength of a structural adhesive
For more information or find out how to get a sample, visit www.henkelna.com/4090 or call 1.855.436.5356.
• Fills gaps up to 0.2“
• Fast – speed of an instant adhesive • High impact and vibration resistance – 3x more than instant adhesives • Temperature resistance to 300°F • Suitable for a variety of substrates, including metals, most plastics and rubbers
All marks used are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Henkel and its affiliates in the U.S. and elsewhere. ® = registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. © 2014 Henkel Corporation. All rights reserved. 13040. AD-185-14.
MRO-MoviGearOct2014.pdf 1 10/20/2014 4:56:44 PM
Online Reader Inquiry No. 133
Online Reader Inquiry No. 490
Temperature scanner suits applications in various fields
Fluke Calibration has introduced the 1586A Super-DAQ precision temperature scanner. For use on the factory floor and in the calibration laboratory, the scanner is designed for applications such as thermal mapping, process sensor calibration, quality control testing, lifecycle testing, process monitoring and environmental testing in various industries, including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food processing, aerospace and automotive. It can measure thermocouples, platinum resistance thermometers, thermistors, DC current, DC voltage and resistance. Features include up to 40 analogue input channels and scan rates of 10 channels per second, a colour display with channel indicators that can chart up to four channels simultaneously, four modes of operation, 20 MB of on-board memory, a USB port,
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November 2014
What’s new in motors and drives Variable-frequency drive comes with broad range of operating features
▼
The full-featured WEG CFW500 variable-frequency drive is simple, efficient and flexible, and can be commissioned quickly and easily. It has 230VAC power ratings of 1/4-hp to 3-hp singlephase input, 1/4-hp to 15-hp three-phase input, as well as 1/4hp to 25-hp three-phase input at 460 VAC. Features include V/Hz and vector
Matched motor/drive combo package is cost-effective
control operating modes, a built-in PLC, integrated keypad with backlit display, and optional external flash memory and plug-and-play modules. Also available are an integral dynamic braking feature in B frame drives and larger and a factory-installed RFI filter for reduced electromagnetic interference. A remote keypad CFW500-HMIR connected through a USB cable can be
Siemens has announced the release of combination motor/drive packages. The combinations are power-matched for 480-V high-overload operation through a 20-hp range, with I2T protection from thermal damage provided as standard. Application macros are provided in the Sinamics G120C drive for easy installation and wiring, the terminals are pre-assigned at the factory and the parameters are automatically set. Severe-duty TEFC units that meet NEMA Premium efficiency, and the Simotics SD100 motors are rugged cast-iron with inverter duty ratings in a 4:1 speed range for constant torque and 20:1 speed range for variable torque. Communications selections include RS485 with USS and Modbus protocols. The customer chooses from a pre-determined list of motor/drive combinations, and the units are shipped and invoiced together. Siemens Canada Online Reader Inquiry No. 481
used in a local or remote location, and can be selected to serve as an external
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Advantages:
control device or locked to prevent unauthorized operation. The drive is compatible with the company’s Superdrive G2 programming control software, which is available as a free download from the website at weg.net. VJ Pamensky Online Reader Inquiry No. 483
Variable-frequency drive power and functionality are expanded
Parker Hannifin’s AC30 series of variable-frequency drives has been extended to cover the range from 1 hp to 100 hp and is available with a pulse encoder feedback option. These drives provide comprehensive and cost-effective control of either AC induction or permanent magnet AC motors. The optional pulse encoder feedback module allows users to run the drive in closed-loop control rather than open-loop in such applications as winding and cranes, where the speed or torque of the motor requires accurate control. Application macros are provided for situations requiring predefined functions such as PID control, pump control, fan control or preset speeds. Also, the flexible and modular construction enables a wide range of communications, such as Ethernet/IP, CANopen, Profinet, Profibus-DP and EtherCAT to be added easily as required, along with I/O and real-time clock modules. Parker Hannifin/ SSD Drives Division Online Reader Inquiry No. 482
Enclosed motor starter series features NEMA 4 enclosure
Carlo Gavazzi has introduced the CGP Series enclosed motor starters. Housed in a NEMA 4 metallic enclosure, the starter is available for single- and three-
•Higher operational reliability through optimum protection against electrical corrosion •More economic than insulation on housings or shafts •Interchangeable Global Bear is a stocking distribution specialist of precision bearings and power transmission products. We have built our reputation on: Superior quality products
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Available from Global Bear Inc., 2064 Chartier Ave., Dorval, QC H9P 1H2 Ph. 866 631-1110 1601 Matheson Blvd. Unit 10,Mississauga, ON L4W 1H9 Ph. 877-820-4865 www.globalbear.ca Online Reader Inquiry No. 137
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phase motors up to 600 VAC/200 hp and features a compact, space-saving design. Options include a broad range of control and pilot light layouts, integrated control
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P R O D U C T November 2014
transformer and both fused and nonfused disconnects. A wide range of coil voltages is offered, and the device is available with start/stop, hand/off/auto and custom configurations. It includes integrated class 10 overload, with class 20 available on request. NEMA 4X nonmetallic enclosures also are available upon request. Carlo Gavazzi Online Reader Inquiry No. 484
Brushless DC speed control is for the cost-conscious
A family of brushless DC motor controls for its BLDC motor and gearmotor line has been introduced by Groschopp. Designed to provide commutated power and variable-speed control, these closedloop controls can handle a wide range of loads. Features include closed-loop speed regulation, line and low-voltage options, chassis mount and NEMA 4X enclosures, and analogue and digital options. The controls are compact, economical and efficient and are suited for use where high torque, high speed and quiet operation are needed. Groschopp
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cient operation of the trawls and equipment relies on 27 advanced winch systems controlled by the company's AC drives. The winch control systems are based on its modular engineered common DC bus technology. Vacon Online Reader Inquiry No. 311
Backstop for C-face motors needs little maintenance
The CFB family of backstops from Formsprag Clutch is designed for use with C-face motors from 56C up to 365TC frames. The backstop input interfaces cleanly with standard C-face mounting and the output provides the same pilot diameter, bolt circle and shaft configuration as a C-face motor in the same size. Backstopping torque exceeds
more than 250% overload for motors in its frame size. Providing load-holding and back-drive prevention for applications using C-Face motors, the backstop features a centrifugal throw-out design which enables the sprags to lift at speeds exceeding 665 rpm, eliminating wear and heat at high speeds. It automatically engages and holds the load at zero speed in the selected rotation, and requires no external power, no adjustment, no control, no internal bearing and very limited maintenance. Eight models are offered with torque ratings from 915 Nm (673 lb ft) to 2,358 Nm (1,734 lb ft). All units are designed for horizontal or vertical mounting. Altra Industrial Motion/Formsprag Online Reader Inquiry No. 487
Hygienic design gearbox line offers different levels of protection
Wittenstein’s Alpha brand has introduced a line of gear reducers for wash-
down and corrosion-resistant applications. These multi-level protection solutions are designed to meet technical requirements in different industries, different machines and axis at different price levels. Designed to meet 3-A, FDA and EHEDG standards, the 316L series stainless steel IP69K-rated hygienic design gearbox offers the highest corrosion protection. For medium corrosion protection for regular cleaning, the stainless steel and nickel plated inline and right-angle portfolio, with 300 series stainless steel output configurations, protect the gearbox from corrosion while ensuring reliable performance. With similar corrosion resistance characteristics to 400 series stainless steel, these food-grade lubricated gearboxes can be washed down and can be located close to, or above, open food. Wittenstein North America Online Reader Inquiry No. 528
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Online Reader Inquiry No. 485
Decentralized AC drive can be used outdoors in adverse conditions
The Vacon 100 X decentralized AC drive
supports both induction and permanent magnet motors up to 37 kW (50 hp), in a wide range of applications. Its UL Type 4X (IP 66) enclosure means it can be used in all outdoor installations and also provides protection from heat, dirt and vibration. This rugged and durable sealed drive is rated for 0% to 100% relative humidity, 3-g vibration resistance, 25-g shock for 6 ms, and operating temperatures from 10°C to 40°C (up to 60°C with current derating). It can be placed close to the motor, making it suitable for such applications as retrofit, rooftop and washdown. Standard RS485 and industrial Ethernet communication are included, and input line voltage is 208 VAC to 240 VAC or 380 VAC to 480 VAC. Vacon Online Reader Inquiry No. 486
AC drives are for advanced winches onboard trawlers
Vacon has delivered 81 AC drives for three fishing trawlers owned by Aker Seafoods, headquartered in Norway. The new fishing vessels were built at the STX shipyard in Braila, Romania. They were further outfitted and commissioned at STX Brattvaag, Norway. The design of the 70-metre-long STX FV01 trawlers replaces that of the older vessels, improving fuel efficiency and capacity. The effi-
Big on quality. Big on value. C&U Americas is your source for high performance bearings with best-in-industry value. As one of the world’s top 10 bearing manufacturers and China’s largest, C&U produces over 2.8 million high-quality bearings a day and can easily meet all of your bearing needs from original equipment to aftermarket. We offer a broad portfolio of over 30,000 bearing styles and sizes from 1.5 mm inner diameter to 4000 mm outer diameter. C&U offers world-class manufacturing capabilities with 9 bearing manufacturing centers, 34 bearing plants, and 22 vertically integrated component plants. From our North American headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan, we’re able to offer exceptional value along with complete application engineering and customer service support. C&U Americas, LLC | Plymouth, MI (734) 656-0260 | www.cubearing.com | contact@cubearing.com Online Reader Inquiry No. 138
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OUR GOAL: PREVENTING DROPPED TOOLS
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For more information call - (800)446-7404 Email - industrialbrands@snapon.com snapon.com/industrialbrands
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Modular drive addresses wide range of application requirements
Designed for builders of simple, stand-alone machines, the AllenBradley PowerFlex 520-Series of compact, modular AC drives, including the economical PowerFlex 523 AC drive, balances user needs for ‘just enough’ control with a design that lowers the total cost to design, develop and deliver machines. Features include a standard USB connection for uploading and downloading drive-configuration files, a built-in human interface module, which displays data on the drive’s LCD with scrolling QuickView text and detailed explanations of parameters and other codes, software that helps speed up drive configuration and further reduces development time with online and offline configuration, AppView and CustomView groups and startup wizards, and an optional dualport EtherNet/IP adapter. The drive has a power range of
November 2014
0.2 kW (0.25 hp) to 11 kW (15 hp) and motor-control options including volts per hertz, sensorless vector control and Economizer mode in sensorless vector control. Rockwell/Allen Bradley Online Reader Inquiry No. 558
Linear speed control option can set different speed in each direction
A linear speed control option for Model RG rolling ring linear drives has been introduced by Amacoil/Uhing. Normally, the drive moves on a driven shaft with linear speed being adjustable via a
Online Reader Inquiry No.139
pitch control lever located on the drive unit. The option lets users fix a specific linear travel speed in one or both directions of travel. The fixed travel speed is achieved using set screws which Amacoil inserts into the drive housing. No adjustments to motor speed or controls are necessary. Based on application needs, the company will work with customers to determine custom settings for the set screw speed control option. The option is inexpensive and is easily retrofitted to existing Uhing linear drive set-ups. Amacoil Online Reader Inquiry No. 302
Intelligent control panel wiring links remote components
The SmartWire-DT panel wiring system from Eaton is engineered to reduce panel wiring complexity and assembly labour time, accelerate the start-up commissioning processes, and provide extensive run-time diagnostics. It links standard motor control components within the panel and separate distribution panels or remote control stations, and creates communi-
Online Reader Inquiry No.140
cations-enabled devices. Additionally, the flat cable connections safeguard the control panel from unauthorized wiring changes, helping to protect the craftsmanship and integrity of the control panel. An eight-conductor, flat cable located in the control cabinet connects motor starters, pushbutton actuators and indicator lights. The gateway establishes the connection to standard PLC fieldbuses, including Profibus-DP and CANopen. Eaton Canada Online Reader Inquiry No. 586
MRO
Obtain free additional information about any of these items by using our online reader reply card at mromagazine. com/rsc.
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Whether you work on top of the world or deep in it‌
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Online Reader Inquiry No.141
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Need more details? Please contact us at ads.ind@schaeffler.com www.schaeffler.ca Š2014
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Online Reader Inquiry No.142
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