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AICC Region 1 Ski Meeting
Resort at Squaw Creek
Lake Tahoe, CA
Feb. 26-March 2
http://www.aiccbox.org
AICC Region 11/12 Meeting
Mississauga Center
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
March 9
http://www.aiccbox.org
AICC Region 9 & 10 East Coast Ski Trip
Stratton Mountain Resort
Stratton, VT
March 12-13
http://www.aiccbox.org
AICC 2010 Spring Meeting
The Hotel Del Coronado
San Diego
April 14-16
http://www.aiccbox.org |
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Proper techniques for timing belt tensioning
Having a timing belt at the correct tension will improve the life and performance of the associated machinery, no matter the application. Belts that are too loose may allow excessive motion between the driving and driven components, make servo-driven systems impossible to tune and make the belts more likely to skip teeth under loads. Belts that are too tight can be noisy and typically don’t last as long. In addition, they can make pulley bearings wear faster and cause shaft ends to fail prematurely because of excessive overhung loads.
The “feel” method of tightening fasteners and tensioning timing belts is inaccurate and unreliable. Just as a torque wrench will tighten fasteners more accurately, mechanics will find that the following tools and techniques for timing belts are not difficult or expensive. Both involve some information from the belt manufacturer: 
The first technique, the force-deflection method, has been the industry standard for years. Most timing belt manufacturers have a section in their catalogs to describe this procedure in detail. Force is applied to the center belt span and the deflection is measured. For a given belt type and a known distance between pulleys, the force should deflect the belt a certain amount if the tension is correct. 
Sonic tensioning is a newer, more accurate approach. It involves plucking the belt like a guitar string and measuring the frequency at which it vibrates. This frequency is a function of three factors: The span between the pulleys, the mass constant of the belt and the tension in the belt. The meter accepts inputs for the mass constant and the span and reads frequency (or tension) when the belt is plucked. Simply adjust the belt tension so that the meter reads the frequency specified by the manufacturer.
See the “forward to a friend” link at the bottom of this newsletter to share this and other SUN tips with co-workers. | |
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Watch the Sun Automation Parts Distribution Center video here.
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Quotable Quotes
“People don’t care what you do, unless what you do helps them. Know what problems you can solve, not a bunch of boring stuff about what you do.” — Jeffrey Gitomer | |
Avoid the hidden costs of accidents with safety upgrades
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Box manufacturers face many challenges every day — from raw material delivery and machinery performance to personnel challenges and regulatory compliance. Each of these can affect the operation in a dramatic way and possibly for an extended period. One of an organization’s greatest assets is its people. A box plant population can vary in size from 50 employees to several hundred, depending on the market it serves. |
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Box plant employees face safety hazards, and how they respond depends on several factors. Safety training is a critical component of every plant’s safety program; unfortunately, even with training, there are risks and exposures. Safety features on 20-year-old equipment complied with regulations at the time, but are now antiquated. Safety standards are much more stringent today and dated equipment might fall short.
SUN Automation provides solutions for converting equipment that minimize workplace hazards. Components that can help employees avoid serious injury include flexo folder barriers, molded guarding on exposed register dials and Kevlar covers for cast aluminum fan housings. SUN will continue to address aged OEM equipment safety hazards and provide solutions that will lead to a safer work environment for all.
Call SUN for more information on safety upgrades at 1-800-253-7278. Run ‘till it breaks!
Have you taken that approach with your production machinery to save on maintenance costs in these tough economic times? Instead, maybe you should apply that practice to your car.
After all, if your car breaks down, what are the consequences? You have to call AAA to get it towed. You get a loaner from the dealer. The warrantee will cover the repair. So what’s the big deal?
It’s a different story when one of your key production machines has a maintenance problem. Often, while the machine is limping along, your operators have to run it slower or take longer to set it up. Or maybe it just affects quality.
You have deliveries to meet, but you have options. Maybe you can run some of the work on another machine; however, since the crew won’t be familiar with the job, set-up is long, scrap goes up and quality likely suffers. Maybe you can sub it out and introduce a competitor to your customer. Or maybe you just have to call the customer and tell him that his just-in-time delivery will be a few days late.
Neglected maintenance on your car may make you late for dinner but, try it on your critical equipment and you may:
- Ship inferior products
- Increase operating costs
- Generate more scrap
- LOSE AN ACCOUNT
Maintaining your equipment in good running order costs money, but taking the chance of losing an account in this business environment is playing Russian roulette.
If you neglect a maintenance issue, you will save a bit now, but an emergency repair typically costs several times what you saved. For one thing, when a part breaks, it often takes perfectly good adjacent parts with it and, on top of the added cost of the repair, there is the lost production and costs to mollify disappointed customers...if you can. On high-speed equipment, things often go from bad to worse much faster than you think they would.
To minimize the cost of keeping your machinery running efficiently, make sure that your crews and maintenance people are alert to any sign of deteriorating performance. If a repair is necessary, schedule it during routine maintenance or some other time when the machine is scheduled to be down. Get the parts on hand and, if the work needed is more than your people can handle, call in a service tech.
Have maintenance talk to your parts supplier. Good parts suppliers know the machinery they service very well and can suggest a kit of parts to have on hand, so that you are prepared if the damage is worse than you anticipated. This avoids the situation of putting the machine back together only half fixed or waiting for additional parts. The better suppliers will accept unused parts for credit when the job is done. In some cases, your supplier may also be able to suggest upgraded parts or assemblies that will last longer or reduce the time it takes to do the work for little extra cost. Some of these upgrades can even improve the productivity of the machine.
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In many plants, Langston® Saturn Flexos are the workhorses and process a large percentage of the plants’ output. Sun is the OEM supplier for Langston equipment and our Parts & Service Coordinators are experts in getting your Saturn up and running quickly, and they are available 24/7 to help in an emergency. Our $10 million inventory ensures that more than 80 percent of orders are filled from stock and can be shipped the same day. |
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Do yourself a favor. Call us before it breaks. You will save a lot of cost and grief.
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With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays just around the corner, now is the time to purchase maintenance parts. SUN provides 24-hour tech support and more than 200,000 parts for Langston, Ward, Staley, Greenwood and Deritend equipment. SUN will send field service techs to your site and will provide emergency parts and service 24/7 if and when you need it. Call 800-253-7278. |
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