EQUIPMENT

In preparation for Heat Treat Radio episode #87 (looking at ways to increase productivity especially with data management) coming tomorrow, take a look at these three articles from the Heat Treat Today files to get you warmed up. No matter where you are in the digitization process, you'll find something to help here. 

Taking the step from a paper and whiteboard system to a computerized system is a big jump. Maybe that's been done, maybe that's still being considered. Already digital? Then there are always efficiency and organization improvements to run an even more productive shop. Lastly, what does the future hold? How best to stay on the cutting edge of data management?

Read this original content article for guidance and encouragement in the use of digital systems for the heat treat shop.

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1. Heat Treat Control Panel: Best Practices in Digital Data Collection, Storage, Validation

Heat Treat Today asked six heat treat industry experts a controls-related question, "As a heat treat industry control expert, what do you see as some of the best practices when it comes to digital data collection and storage and/or validation of instrumentation precision?" This article gives reasons for why you collect and store data and some helpful ideas for making sure those records are preserved.

One expert had this to say: "electronic data must be validated for precision; checked; and calibrated periodically as defined by internal procedures or customer standards. Data must be protected from alteration, and have specific accuracy and precision."

Read the entire piece to get even more perspectives.

2. Heat Treat Case Study: Predicative Maintenance with Digital Thyristor Power Control

Tony Busch, sales application engineer at Control Concepts, Inc., takes a look at digital maintenance systems. These systems play a part in recording and monitoring data, and they contribute to the overall productivity of the heat treat shop. This article makes a strong case for intelligent controllers.

"Digital power controllers can calculate resistance and provide precise power control. Predictive maintenance is achieved by knowing when an element has reached its useful life. Intelligent power control includes embedded algorithms with teach function to calculate data and predict what is likely to happen next in the life of a heating element," emphasizes Busch.

Find out more about the benefits of digital connectivity here.

3. DUAL PERSPECTIVES: The Heat Treat Shop of 2050

Global ideas emerge in this article, as two men from very different locations, give some thoughts about digitization in the next 20 years or so. Hear from each expert - one representing the European market; one representing the North American market - as they discuss the role of technology, the human element, and heat treating of the future.

Thomas Schneidewind says, "digitization must always remain only a tool, not an end in itself." He reminds readers that importance always must be placed on the human element. Doug Glenn counters with, "For commercial heat treat shops where variability is high and volumes are relatively low, much of the same will be true with less and less human interaction needed."

Explore the rest of the forecast from Thomas Schneidewind, the editor-in-chief of heat processing magazine, and Doug Glenn, the publisher and founder of Heat Treat Today here.

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