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Automation

Linear Shaft Motors vs Linear Servo Motors

An Independent Review of Energy Efficiency of the Linear Shaft Motor Linear motors are known to be high precision and high performance compared with traditional systems. High performance servo motors incur losses in many areas. At the coupling, gearbox (if used), and again at the screw in a traditional rotary to linear transmission system. It …

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5 Reasons to Switch From Pneumatic to Electromechanical Actuators

A common trend in the industrial automation and robotics industries is that people are looking for electric alternatives to their pneumatic components. This can be seen with – but not limited to – electric robotic grippers, electromechanical cylinders, and linear actuators. Many of pneumatic end effector manufacturers are starting to venture into the world of …

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4 Reasons to Use Pilot Operated Solenoid Valves in Pneumatic Manifolds

Solenoid valves used in air manifolds can be direct acting or pilot operated. In the case of a direct acting solenoid valve, the coil acts directly on the valve spool to actuate it. In the case of a pilot operated solenoid valve, it uses system air pressure as a pilot to actuate the spool. Both have been in use …

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Vertical Loads: When And How Should Brakes Be Used On A Linear Actuator?

Vertical Loads: When And How Should Brakes Be Used On A Linear Actuator? In Motion Control, there are many examples of vertical applications, and the examples can vary widely. Whether it’s a packaging gantry or a robot end effector, linear actuators commonly are used to lift loads against gravity. However not all actuators have a …

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Top five reasons cobots are great for adapting to our “new normal”

Top five reasons cobots are great for adapting to our “new normal” It’s an understatement to say that things have changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, almost everything about our daily lives has changed in an effort to adapt and continue operations while keeping our teams safe. As you …

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Pneumatic Proportional Control with Actuator Position Feedback

Pneumatic Proportional Control with Actuator Position Feedback When infinite position adjustability of an actuator through its entire range of motion is required, many people have become accustomed to looking at servo-electric solutions first. This is often the best choice, but in some cases, a pneumatic solution can be more cost-effective overall. One of our customers recently …

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Hose and Fittings

Types of Fire Resistant Hydraulic Fluid

Types of Fire Resistant Hydraulic Fluid In many industrial systems, hydraulic fluids may come into contact with sparks, flames or could be subject to extreme ambient conditions caused by nearby equipment. When these conditions are present, hydraulic system designers are tasked with selecting fluids that will safely withstand the presence of high heat or or …

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Preventing Rust on Hose Adapters

Preventing Rust on Hose Adapters Have you ever tried to disassemble a hose from a piece of equipment, only to find that the rusted adapter won’t allow you to break the connection? Then you know about rust and the problems that can come with it! And it isn’t just connection problems…you can have system contamination, …

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Save Time and Money with Transair Compressed Air Piping

Save time and money by using Transair for your compressed air piping Compressed air literally keeps your facility running, but are you wasting time and money with copper or galvanized steel tubing? These old systems are time-consuming and expensive to install, and corrode over time causing poor performance and damage to your equipment. Switching to …

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Silica Dust Regulation and Control

OSHA Regulation for Silica Dust Suppression Silica, a mineral found in stone, sand, and soil can cause serious health issues when inhaled. Using equipment such as a saw or jackhammer to cut or break up brick and mortar, causes silica particles to become airborne which creates a hazardous environment. Workers who inhale these silica particles …

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Can you Mix and Match Hose Manufacturers?

Can you Mix and Match Hose Manufacturers? Cross Hose & Fittings is a Parker distributor, providing precision-engineered products that meet or exceed a variety of industry standards. Parker is synonymous with quality, and their products can be found on and around any production operation with moving parts. Although there are a number of manufacturers on …

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Consider the True Cost of Industrial and Hydraulic Hoses

Consider the True Cost of Industrial and Hydraulic Hoses Many buyers and maintenance managers equate the cost of a hydraulic hose assembly to its purchase price. However, the cost relevant to your business is not only the purchase price but the whole the cost of ownership or cost of using one product versus another over …

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Mobile Systems Integration

Five reasons to choose Lithium over Lead-Acid Batteries

The mobile equipment market is moving steadily towards more electrification. As this occurs there is a growing demand for quality batteries for this equipment. The inevitable debate that comes up is whether to go with traditional lead-acid batteries or lithium-ion batteries. At Cross, we believe that lithium-ion batteries are the future for mobile equipment energy …

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Capitalize on Replacement Part Sales Using IoT

Capitalize on Replacement Part Sales Using IoT As a mobile equipment manufacturer, you are aware that there are significant opportunities for revenue in selling replacement parts for your machines. However, chances are that much of this income is lost to aftermarket parts manufacturers. Why is that? In theory, OEM parts are ideal for the equipment …

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Common Causes of Hydraulic Overheating

Common Causes of Hydraulic Overheating Every hydraulic system is adversely affected by excessive heat. The impact of excessive heat in a hydraulic system can be particularly insidious because of the subtlety of its effects. Over time, excessive heat can lead to system damage due to seal failure as well as hydraulic fluid breakdown. It is …

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Hydraulic Charge Pumps

Hydraulic Charge Pump Overview For OEM’s that build on-road and off-road mobile machinery, a hydrostatic transmission should be considered versus a standard gear transmission because of the seamless way speed ratios and torques can be achieved. A hydrostatic transmission is made up of a hydraulic pump connected (and dedicated) to one or more hydraulic motors. …

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Increasing Aftermarket Sales for Mobile Equipment Manufacturers

Increasing Aftermarket Sales for Mobile Equipment Manufacturers Many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) lose a significant amount of business by not gaining the re-sale of aftermarket OEM spare parts from their customers for warranty and service work. This is because their customers are sourcing these replacement products from other manufacturers or distributors. If you are an …

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The Case for Lubricating a Planetary Gearbox

Lubricating a Planetary Gearbox Using a Hydraulic Motor Case Drain: Should It Be Done? Using a planetary gear box is pretty common in the hydraulics industry. Several manufacturers of primarily mobile-type equipment use them for applications such as swing drives, drill heads, and drive systems to name just a few. One common way of lubricating …

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Precision Measurement

Mistakes to Avoid: Thread Gages

Mistakes to Avoid: Thread Gages While thread gages are some of the most commonly used inspection instruments in manufacturing, they can be confusing and intimidating to those who are not familiar with their design. Small mistakes can have large ramifications such as incorrect judgements or frequent need for gage replacements. The following examples are common …

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Wireless Data Transmission

If the number wasn’t important you wouldn’t take the measurement, right? Manufacturers around the world invest tremendous resources into their metrology programs to inspect parts and products for quality assurance and insight into their process. Despite this immense volume of data, time-consuming and error-prone manual entry is still common practice. With the pressure for leaner …

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Wireless Data Collection – How it Works in Measurement Tools

The need to get information around an obstacle has been ever-present in our lives. Think about times of trying to have a private conversation with your high school sweetheart away from your nosey siblings, only to be shackled by a corded phone. At some point, a person was so desperate that they tied a message …

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Finding the Right Scale for Your Operation

Choosing the right scale Choosing a scale seems like a simple task: just make sure the scale can hold what you usually weigh and the display shows the right number of digits. In reality, there is a little more you need to know to choose the best scale for your application. If you know the …

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Legal for Trade Medical Marijuana Scales

Since the passage of SQ788, the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the state of Oklahoma has exploded, with over 1500 licenses for them approved by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority to date. All dispensaries are required by the State Weights and Measures program to be using a NTEP-approved scale to weigh out their product. …

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The Importance of Sun Simulation Testing on Consumer Goods

Will your product stand up after prolonged exposure to the sun? When making products that will spend most or all of their life outside, it is critical to ensure they will stand up to the elements. Specifically, you must make sure they will maintain both functionality and appearance after prolonged exposure to the sun. For …

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Process Solutions

When to Engage An Integrator in Your Next Project

As an integrator we are often brought into new projects later than what would be ideal, which results in the creation of additional work for the integrator and additional cost for the customer. If the OEM or custom equipment has already been spec’ed and ordered before engaging an integrator, there is a strong possibility that …

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Control System Platform Diversity: How to know what is right for your facility

Commissioning For Process Controls: The Pursuit of Excellence There are so many control system platforms to choose from, it is hard to know what is right for your facility. To make matters more complex, you may also be debating whether or not to standardize platforms across your entire facility. While we find a mix of …

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Top 10 Low Hanging Fruits for Process Improvement Before or After a Lean Audit

Top 10 Low Hanging Fruits to Pick for Process Improvement Before or After a Lean Audit This article was featured in Valve World Americas and was written to help any plant manager, maintenance supervisor, process engineer, or mechanical team shine. These may not be everyday ideas for you, but they are simple and absolutely impact …

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Commissioning For Process Controls: The Pursuit of Excellence

Commissioning For Process Controls: The Pursuit of Excellence Commissioning is a team effort to document the continuity of a project as it moves from one project phase to the next. To achieve commissioning excellence requires that the testing documents be accurate and written in an orderly fashion. The Documentation Gatekeeper, or the Commission Lead, is …

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The Preventative Maintenance Mindset: How to quantify the True Cost of Inaction

The Preventative Maintenance Mindset: How to quantify the True Cost of Inaction Many of us have heard of lean initiatives such as predictive maintenance. Possibly in the past, you focused upon preventative maintenance, or even use to failure. Each of these have their good points and bad points. Today we’re going to discuss the value …

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Why migrate your process to a new control system?

Why migrate your process to a new control system? You have probably heard the old adage “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” While there are some great arguments for leaving well enough alone, it isn’t true for your control system. There can be serious advantages to moving your outdated system to a newer platform …

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