Manufacturing Category - Page 7 of 17

Motors and Drives: Typical Repairs

Close up image of a repair in process. Motors and drives sometime need repairs. — Sometimes repairs are needed. We can help.

At AX Control we do a lot of repairs on motors and drives. Not only do we offer repair services for our customers, but we also examine every reconditioned part leaving our warehouse for defects and optimize its performance before it gets boxed up for transit. Our people get plenty of hands-on time with all sorts of drives and motors.

Skilled technicians take care of all our repair work. We back up that work with a 2-year warranty for AC/DC and Servo Drives, and a one-year warranty for Motors.

But do you know what may lead to your components needing repair? We get there’s a lot to know about industrial automation equipment. We thought we would offer up a list of the most common causes we’ve noticed, partitioned by type of drive or motor.

AC Drives

There have been many technological advances in the field of AC Drives that have brought more features to these drives even as they’ve decreased in size and cost.

AC Drive from Reliance Electric — The 15V4150 Reliance GV3000 15 HP AC Drive is one AC drive in our stock.

The primary driver of repairs in AC Drives, without a doubt, is heat. This may come from various sources, but when you get to the root of the problem heat is the cause of the damage.

Here are a few of the most common ways heat strikes:

A dusty environment. When fans aren’t cleaned on a regular basis, the drive can’t pull air through, and heat builds up. Protection is easy: maintain a regular maintenance schedule and keep fans and other heat dissipating equipment clean. Try to cut down on the amount of dust in your environment through mitigation.
Power spikes. These can come from other machines, from lightning strikes, or from your main power line. You can often limit these problems by adding a line reactor in front of your drive system to protect from transients and power surges.
Too much power draw. If a drive is attached to a poorly-maintained motor, such as one with ungreased bearings, too much bearing wear, or shaft imbalance, this can cause a mechanical overload that increases the motor’s demand on the drive. Connected systems have to be maintained together or they will die together.

Buying Industrial Equipment: Things to Consider

Image of women working on an industrial machine. When upgrading manufacturing industrial equipment there's more to consider than the cost of the machines. — Industrial equipment is a big investment that will be with you for a long time.

Industrial equipment is expensive. It’s also big, designed to last, and often complex. When you add all those factors together you begin to realize just how much is at stake when it comes to upgrading your facility. It’s too easy to overlook some important aspects of the decision that can lead to regret for years to come.

The list below is designed to help you think about any upcoming purchases in a mindful way to reduce the chance of buyer’s remorse and increase the likelihood of a successful upgrade. It’s by no means a complete list, but it should help you get on your way.

Will the new industrial equipment fit?

While it’s always a good idea to make sure you have the physical space for any new equipment, there’s more to ensuring a good fit than measuring W x H x D. Consider other questions like

Are my current utilities sufficient to run this equipment?
Will I need to upgrade security?
What are the safety requirements to keep my staff protected?
Have I chosen the most efficient location for this equipment?

Impact of IoT Retrofit on the Manufacturing Supply Chain

man wearing orange hard hat — Photo by Kateryna Babaieva on Pexels.com

According to Hubspot’s Annual Manufacturing Report, 80% of manufacturers feel smart technologies and a move toward Industry 4.0 adoption will benefit their supply chain by increasing visibility, accelerating innovation, and enabling staff to work more efficiently. Over 90% of those polled feel the same technologies will lead to increased productivity.

This begs the question: if smart technologies are essential to efficient manufacturing, why aren’t all factories smart?

It’s not that simple.

Upgrades come with significant costs and productivity ramifications. It doesn’t make sense to pull out legacy equipment in good working order simply because it wasn’t built in the age of connectivity. Many systems continue in good working order for decades; that’s why we use the term “industrial-strength” to define something that safeguards against failure.