The escalating importance of reliability, availability and efficiency is driving operators in the cement industry to seek new developments that will help improve productivity. In fact, there are few industries where the pressure to achieve maximum operating efficiency is so intense. One approach that offers a real opportunity to meet this challenge is the implementation of advanced condition monitoring.

The ABB Ability Digital Powertrain concept has now been extended to cover Dodge gear reducers fitted with the smart sensor for mechanical products. The Digital Powertrain enables real-time health monitoring of all the critical elements in industrial processes, such as drives, motors, pumps, bearings and gearing. Immediate access to this key data enables operators to maintain optimal conditions for maximum productivity and safety.

Jesse Henson, Head of ABB’s Industrial Motor Business in the U.S., talks with Smart Industry about our focus on products, employees and technology as we continue to “build a better motor.”

Based in Schaumburg, Illinois, Go Fan Yourself® (GFY) was founded in 2014 with a passion to redefine and reinvent the performance of high-volume, low-speed (HVLS) industrial ceiling fans by solving the inherent deficiencies found in current conventional HVLS fan designs.

Customers can increase their energy efficiency, improve sustainability and enhance reliability by upgrading to ABB IE5 ultra-premium SynRM motors that offer up to 50 percent lower energy losses compared to IE2 motors.

Motor standards have been in place for decades, yet there is a growing demand to achieve greater efficiencies as regulations continue to tighten on the total system for fans, pumps and compressors. Equipment manufacturers are turning to new motor technologies to achieve the highest system efficiency possible from wire to air while using sustainable materials.

The escalating importance of reliability, availability and efficiency is driving operators in the cement industry to seek new developments that will help improve productivity. In fact, there are few industries where the pressure to achieve maximum operating efficiency is so intense. One approach that offers a real opportunity to meet this challenge is the implementation of advanced condition monitoring.

The ABB Ability Digital Powertrain concept has now been extended to cover Dodge gear reducers fitted with the smart sensor for mechanical products. The Digital Powertrain enables real-time health monitoring of all the critical elements in industrial processes, such as drives, motors, pumps, bearings and gearing. Immediate access to this key data enables operators to maintain optimal conditions for maximum productivity and safety.

Jesse Henson, Head of ABB’s Industrial Motor Business in the U.S., talks with Smart Industry about our focus on products, employees and technology as we continue to “build a better motor.”

Based in Schaumburg, Illinois, Go Fan Yourself® (GFY) was founded in 2014 with a passion to redefine and reinvent the performance of high-volume, low-speed (HVLS) industrial ceiling fans by solving the inherent deficiencies found in current conventional HVLS fan designs.

Keeping a university’s buildings up and running during regular times is no small feat, much less during an unforeseen campus shutdown. When the Covid19 pandemic closed the University of Virginia in spring 2020, a maintenance team responsible for the McCormick zone of campus relied on over sixty-five ABB AbilityTM Smart Sensors for mechanical products to keep their critical lab environments stable and equipment performing. The ability to know when there was a problem - without physically being there - also allowed the University maintenance team to operate safely during this unprecedented time.

“The COVID-19 pandemic impacted our first quarter results, lowering revenues and operating margins in all our businesses, although order growth held up well. We are doing our utmost to ensure the health and safety of our employees while maintaining business continuity, serving our customers and continuing to invest in R&D for the long-term,” said Björn Rosengren, CEO of ABB.

There are several aspects in conveyor drive component designs that must be considered, including power matched components, harsh duty features sets, maintenance requirements and specific site conditions.

Threaded fasteners are one of the most common components in machine design. Such fasteners come in a great variety of shapes, sizes, and materials that serve a wide variety of applications across virtually every industry in the world. In all cases, the performance of bolted joints depends heavily on the torque applied during installation. Below, the basic design and function of bolted joints is explained, best practices for tightening threaded fasteners are provided, and the importance of designing around and applying the proper torque spec to any bolt or screw is emphasized.

A food safety recall can cost a company an average £8 million in direct costs alone, according to the 2017 study by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) in the US. A key factor in avoiding recalls is to maintain rigorous hygiene standards. That makes it critical for equipment in food plants to be washed frequently to keep it clean and avoid contamination.

A municipality will use various applications throughout the wastewater treatment process—from headworks, to primary and secondary treatment, to sludge processing and general pumping. In order to operate, each process requires a power source. How users choose to connect those applications can vary based on preference and operating conditions. Selecting the right coupling type for an application can increase equipment performance and reliability, reduce maintenance costs and minimize downtime.

Bearing currents have been around in one form or another since Tesla’s invention of the induction motor in 1887. A recent search of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore database revealed more than 4,200 papers written and archived discussing this subject. Of these, roughly half were authored in the last 10 years, indicating that the understanding of these currents continues to grow through experimentation and analysis. Understanding the mechanism by which bearing currents are generated provides insight into best practices for remediation.

Proper lubrication is the factor that has the largest impact on bearing life. It is commonly believed in the industry that at least 80% of bearing failures are related to lubrication and contamination issues. Lubricants minimize wear, prevent corrosion and reduce heat. Lubricants are made up of several components and can be mineral or synthetic.

The AXR 5000 and 5800 Large AC NEMA motors deliver an average of 15 percent more power over conventional designs. They also meet American Petroleum Institute 541 and 547 standards for motors operating in the oil and gas industry. ABB’s AXR 5000 and 5800 motors offer more HP (horse power) per pound than conventional TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled) motors but with a smaller frame size in some power ratings. This helps save space, up to 8 inches in overall length in some cases, which enables more compact installations on oil platforms and in refineries.

Customers can increase their energy efficiency, improve sustainability and enhance reliability by upgrading to ABB IE5 ultra-premium SynRM motors that offer up to 50 percent lower energy losses compared to IE2 motors.

Motor standards have been in place for decades, yet there is a growing demand to achieve greater efficiencies as regulations continue to tighten on the total system for fans, pumps and compressors. Equipment manufacturers are turning to new motor technologies to achieve the highest system efficiency possible from wire to air while using sustainable materials.

Hardy Pro-Air Systems & Service, a manufacturing company serving the wastewater aeration and pneumatic conveying markets out of Antioch, Illinois had worked to transition from a belted motor/blower connection to a direct drive solution before. However, initial efforts in the metal to metal direct drive options did not last long on equipment that runs 24 hours a day. As they began to look for solutions again, the local ABB sales engineer suggested that Hardy Pro-Air consider the Dodge® Raptor elastomeric coupling.

ABB has launched a full range of IEC Food Safe motors designed for applications in the food and beverage industry that need frequent sanitation. The new IEC Food Safe motors are part of ABB’s Food Safe family that includes stainless steel NEMA motors, mounted ball bearings and gearing. IEC Food Safe motor feature smooth stainless steel enclosures that are easy to clean and sanitize so customers can meet increasingly stringent hygiene standards. The motors’ have achieved the IP69 water protection rating and encapsulated winding enable the motors to last much longer than general purpose products in tough washdown conditions.

ABB has launched Dodge® Food Safe mounted ball bearings, which are designed to withstand caustic, high-pressure cleaning and sanitation processes. The new bearings are the first industrial bearings to achieve the IP69 water protection rating without the use of an end cover, making them ideal for use in the food and beverage industry, where equipment must be aggressively cleaned. They are the only bearings to carry a warranty against failure due to water ingress.

We’re proud to announce that Dodge Food Safe ball bearings have earned the gold award in the Electric Motors & Drives category in Plant Engineering magazine’s 2019 Product of the Year program.

In the 2019 Control Design Magazine readers choice awards, industry trends and innovations have crept into the rankings. However, many engineers and voters remain grounded and stick with what works for them. For the 17th year in a row, has chosen ABB has the preferred motor supplier in the industrial electrical motor category.

Readers of Control Magazine have named ABB as the top supplier to deliver the “best technology” in the category of electric motors for 2019. This marks the 7th year in a row that ABB has topped the charts in this survey. In this year’s edition, Control Magazine recognized the full integration of Baldor Electric into ABB which strengthened our top spot.

The Manufacturing Institute has announced the 2019 STEP Ahead Award Honorees and Emerging Leaders. These women have accomplished success within their companies and have proven to be leaders in the industry as a whole. This year, the Institute has also chosen to recognize a select few for the Emerging Leaders category – representing young women who are the future of the industry and have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments at just the beginning of their careers.

Azima, Inc. offered corporate leaders and plant managers a rare glimpse into its proprietary machine-reliability databases, by publishing definitive reliability scores for the industrial motors most commonly deployed around the world today. Azima has ranked not just the world's leading industrial motor brands, but specific models as well. Azima's Reliability Ratings Report (Industrial Motors) is the first installment in a series of forthcoming performance ratings for various classes of industrial rotating machinery. Azima is a fast-growing high-tech company that maximizes industrial productivity. Azima provides technology-powered, data-driven Predictive Maintenance services to hundreds of leading companies in twelve different industries, all over the world.

ABB, a motor and generator manufacturer, developed an impressive recycling program over the past year. Recycling included more than 2,727 tons of scrap metal, wood, used oil, batteries, electronics, lamps, paper, cardboard and plastic. Other non-recyclable waste was turned into energy through their recent Zero Landfill Initiative. The facility worked with their largest supplier to establish a returnable packaging agreement. In 2017, ABB earned more than $265,000 from the sale of its recyclables. When meals were catered to the facility, excess food was donated to the local fire department. To encourage recycling and zero waste, every employee was trained and these initiatives were incorporated into new employee orientation. ABB also participated in the Upstate Lean Alliance, sharing ideas with and mentoring other businesses.