Ah, our little green friends…the printed circuit board. Taken for granted until they fail, circuit boards are key to the operation of virtually everything these days. So if you are suspicious, or even absolutely certain, that your circuit board is the problem, you may need some advice and circuit board repair or replacement.

Always remember the Electronic Axis of Evil: Moisture, Heat, and Dirt. If you can avoid these, your circuit boards will last longer.

Four Top Reasons For Circuit Board Failure and Tips to Identify The Problems & Causes:

Do subjects like peak load capability and high voltage safety testing keep you awake at night?

Worried about the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) requirements for efficiency and no-load power consumption?  Confounded about why two seemingly-same power supplies can possibly perform differently?

If power supply selection, power supply repair, or other power supply issues are concerning you, then you will want to obtain the new, third edition of the Power Supply Technical Guide by XP Power.  The plan was to boil all this information down for you right here to make it easy, but, having just read this new guide myself, I can tell you…it is so jam packed with useful information that I have thrown my hands up and am just giving you the link.

Could smudge marks on your touchscreen monitors leave you vulnerable to a security breach?  According to a University of Pennsylvania study it’s true!  Researchers took photos of the smudge trails left on various touchscreens, digitally increased the contrast and found they could unlock secure touchscreens 92% of the time! 

I just checked out my new, totally cool android phone and sure enough, there are my paw prints leaving a “smudge trail” where I unlock the unit.  My phone is no big security breach, but this could affect touchscreen interfaces such as bank machines, voting machines, or any other public or industrial touchscreen requiring a graphical pattern password. 

Attention all Manufacturers:   ABB is now promoting FUN!  Fun? At work you say?  Under the interesting news category we hear that ABB has teamed with tracermedia interactive to create an electronic game that entertains AND educates manufacturing plant professionals. 

Players have fun while experiencing how their reliability decisions will impact performance down the line and the overall business. Since this a virtual situation, your team can enjoy the challenge without worrying  about disastrous results.

It works like this:  players are members of a failing company.  Then, the game takes them through a series of real-life problems that require  reliability solutions to win the ABB Reliability Challenge.  The virtual manufacturing world gives players a sample of what companies may face in the real world. 

LED light bulbs for household and general use are, relatively speaking, right around the corner.

Supposedly the light they will emit will not only save energy, but also look more like incandescent bulbs. We can only hope.

You might already know that a few months ago the U.S. Department of Energy announced funding of more than $37 million to support high-efficiency, solid-state lighting (SSL) projects. Lighting accounts for nearly 24% of the total electricity generated in the U.S. today. That’s huge!

Not surprisingly, reliability ranked the most important criteria in purchasing industrial electronics according to a recent survey by Plant Engineering & Maintenance. 

Reliability was followed, in descending order, by quality, safety, maintenance, service, price, throughput, technology, noise, speed, and “green”.

Maintenance ranked 4th out of 11 so we know it’s pretty high on your list.  Nobody wants equipment that is difficult or excessively expensive to maintain.  Downtime is lost time and lost time is lost money.  

Save money in the long run by purchasing quality industrial electronic equipment with a good warranty.  And when that warranty runs out, or the OEM does not provide responsive service, send your repairs to a reliable expert. 

It was just a few months ago that I blogged about how to make a decision whether to repair or replace your industrial electronic equipment.  It’s a question many of you probably face every day. 

With the economy just beginning to climb out of the basement, saving money is a  high priority for all of us.  The pain of this recession will stick with us for a long while (I promise I will not get political here! That would be a whole ‘nother conversation.  LOL).  

There are a million and one iPhone apps out there but this one by Baldor Electric Company, www.baldor.com  is way cool.  Those smart cookies at Baldor have converted their BE$T desktop program for calculating and comparing motor efficiencies to an Apple iphone app.

By calculating a motor’s annual electricity usage based on its nominal efficiency and comparing it to the annual electricity usage of Baldor’s Standard-E and Super-E premium efficiency motors, it can then recommend, by catalog number, the appropriate Baldor motor for the application as well as information on the payback period for replacing the existing motor. 

You can get a great meal for free at Bill’s BBQ restaurant in Cockeysville, Maryland by using the following coupon code, NAFWTJD2KBEH.  Have a great meal on us!

Plant safety, work site safety, worker safety -  it seems we are hearing this daily now from plant engineers around the country.  It would appear that a cultural shift is in the wind and that safety attitudes and practices are changing – for the better.  There is a realization that a safe working environment is beneficial not only to employees but to the bottom line.

The concern is there on the part of  many CEO’s and managers but the question they often have is, “Where do we start?”   You can start by thinking outside the OSHA box.  Assuming you have already met the minimum OSHA standards, do a hazard assessment.  Look at past history, look at insurance forms, reports on injuries,  where have the injuries and illnesses taken place, ask your employees what could be done better.