Compressed air preparation is not exactly a hot topic for plant operators. As a result, carelessly maintained compressed air systems waste energy and result in premature wearing of high-quality pneumatic valves and drives. Festo is now launching a push for greater compressed air efficiency.

From their fully-automated production plant in Silverdale, Dad’s Pies caters for pie lovers nationally and internationally. Editor Stefan Richter took a tour of the high-tech facility.

Decades of experience and knowledge have combined with closely scrutinised customer feedback to deliver Apex, three new hose pumps from Bredel, part of the Watson-Marlow Pumps Group. Designed to suit all dosing, metering and transfer applications from 2.8 to 1200 litre/hour across a broad range of applications, the new Apex pumps are now, according to the manufacturer, the first choice for processing plants worldwide.

There is a distinct difference between condition monitoring and vibration analysis. The former is aimed at detecting a change in the monitored machine whereas the latter seeks to determine what has changed and the severity of that change. For the analyst there is a fine line between ‘too soon’ and ‘too late’. Too soon and the damage will be hard to see, too late and the machine will take itself out. In either case you will be remembered for the wrong reasons.