Archives for 2018

Tech Tip: Why use proper oil viscosity?

Oil forms a film that physically separates the rolling elements of a bearing from the raceways. If the oil viscosity is too low, this separation will not be sufficient; the rolling elements will strike the bearing races and cause damage. The expected life of the bearing will be reduced.

If the oil viscosity is too high, the churning action of the bearing turning will cause the molecules of the oil to be agitated. This is called Fluid shear. When this happens, the friction of the molecules rubbing will increase the temperature of the oil causing it to oxidize and reducing its lubricating ability. Once again, the bearing life will be shortened.

Employee Spotlight: Ken Norris – Quality Supervisor

Ken has been with Decatur Industrial for 15 years!

You will always find Ken working hard to get the job done. He works in whatever area that needs help and offers technical assistance on the hundreds of questions that come up each day. He thoroughly enjoys the variety of work he gets to participate in.

Outside of work, Ken spends time attending to his fruit and vegetables he enjoys growing. He and his family also spend time enjoying local festivals and all they have to offer.

Arc Flash Solutions

Mitigation of an arc-flash incident is like an insurance policy. Addressing the hazard protects assets, money and lives. If ignored, an arc flash becomes a recipe for disaster. Siemens arc-flash experts have the understanding and depth of experience needed for flexible, effective, and cost efficient arc-flash low- and medium voltage solutions across all voltage levels.

Protection

Siemens has designed and engineered numerous arc-resistant safety features into its electrical equipment. These innovations have helped reduce dangerous situations by isolating the arc flash and preventing accidental contact.

Incident Energy Reduction

Siemens proven technologies help lower released arc-flash energy. Reduced arc flash incident energy helps customers simultaneously achieve electrical equipment reliability, flexibility and worker safety.

Remote Operation

Maintaining separation between workers and energized electrical equipment is an important safety precaution. Siemens technologies enable workers to work outside the arc-flash hazard boundary when monitoring, configuring and controlling electrical equipment.

Containment

Siemens is a leader in arc-flash containment technologies that help provide the highest levels of worker protection.

For more information click here to the Siemens Arc Flash page.

How Identifying the Root Cause of Motor Failure can Save you Money and Downtime

Electric motors are often kept in a place or used in an application that makes them susceptible to contamination from the environment it is operating in and because of that, motor failures are accepted. However, as this customer discovered, sometimes it can be a different reason altogether.

A Decatur Industrial Electric customer was experiencing frequent and rapid failure of their DC electric motors. The DC motors were used in a steel mill and were suffering up to four failures a month at a $6,000- $12,000 cost per failure – not including downtime and emergency maintenance costs.

Jeff Meyer, Director of Industrial Solutions, along with our team of technicians performed root cause failure analysis on several failed motors. Then, our team went to the steel mill to evaluate the motors and application in operation. During his evaluation, we discovered the customer was supplying the incorrect brushes for the load and application. By having the wrong brushes installed, it was contributing to the contamination of the motor. After the correct brushes were installed, the failures stopped. The next step? D.I.E. technicians will be inspecting and performing routine DC motor maintenance at the plant during normal shutdowns to extend the motor lifecycle.

Are you experiencing repeated equipment failures in your facility? Let Decatur Industrial partner with you to provide longer motor life.

Employee Spotlight: Meet Samantha Schoen

Sam has been with D.I.E. for almost ten months – and she has wasted no time learning various areas of our business. Sam started as a forklift driver in the Warehouse & Logistics Department and has recently moved over to the Shop where she is currently learning various aspects of disassembly.

Sam appreciates the work environment at Decatur Industrial. “It feels relaxed and allows me to really focus on the job.”

Outside of work, Sam enjoys going to concerts. She most recently saw Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special. She is also finishing a kitchen remodel with her father.