Electrical Apparatus August 2005
Featured articles  

  • Solid states electronic service at Michigan Industrial Controls, in the August 2005 Electrical ApparatusService - 1st Century service in a 19th Century landmark Featuring Michigan Industrial Controls, Port Huron, Michigan, readers learn how Thomas Edison's boyhood town has become a home to solid-state electronics service. Technicians at MIC have been servicing uninterruptible power supply systems since 1986. The company offers a range of services, from minor repairs to complete new system design and turnkey start ups. This editorial feature will be of special interest to EA readers who work with repairs or upgrading of a-c and d-c electronic drive systems in industrial machinery   By Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor
  • Enjoying the EASA Convention, in the August 2005 Electrical ApparatusAssociations, Conventions & Trade Shows  - Service increasingly mechanical and on-site The August EA includes our post EASA show report from the Nashville convention, which stressed non conventional, emerging sources of revenue and ways to improve customer service and profitability. Our extensive coverage includes exhibit floor photos, first-hand seminar reports, comments from attendees, and special insights from Engineering Editor Richard L. Nailen.  
    With contributions from Richard Nailen, Jane Powell Campbell, Elizabeth Van Ness and Kevin Jones
  • Insulation tests, page 31, August 2005 Electrical Apparatus Insulation  - Choosing the right insulation test : Why the type of test employed depends on the use to which the insulation will be put. Maintenance electricians, troubleshooters, engineers, or service center personnel who need to diagnose the insulation condition of large rotating machines will learn much from this technical article. Evaluating the integrity of a motor or generator insulation system requires several different tests. The effects of moisture or chemical contamination; the quality of an impregnation process; and the presence of air voids within the insulation wall must all be accounted for. Whereas insulation resistance testing alone is sufficient for many windings, testing the power factor of insulation is useful at the higher voltages when voids may be the principal defect rather than moisture or contamination. (Read an online summary)
  • Welding Safety, p. 40 in the August 2005 Electrical ApparatusSafety and Health  -   Welders require protection from head to toe: Every job needs complete protective equipment. By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor  
    By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor 
     
     
     
  • Accounting  -  Standards for service quality: How to establish benchmarks in an electromechanical service setting By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor

Departments and Columns (for additional information or to submit material, see the Departments and Columns page.)

  • Editor's Comment EASA Show report: bigger and better, this year's EASA convention in Nashville featured an improved quality of program, a broader variety of products and services exhibited, and the global focus of the worldwide group of delegates who attended ... EA expands its show coverage ... Correction re: error in map accompanying our July article about the Traction Motor Service company ... by Horace B. Barks, Executive Editor 
  • Let's Solve Your Problem Do motor starters generate overvoltages? ... What's worse: shaft voltage or current? ... What's the best escape from resonant frequency? ... How much does current reduce bearing life? ... Why does coolant affect transformer efficiency? ... How does overload of motor affect bearings? ... Could nonlinear loads cause phase unbalance? ... How useful is the turns ratio test?
  • Business and financial briefs   New AW Dynamometer, Inc and Jenkins Electric Company venture ... IPC Power Resistors and Post Glover merge ... Fluke Corp buys LEM Instruments ... Pennsylvania Electric Coil Ltd. installs $1.6 million automated electric form coil process ... Powell Industries buys Switchgear & Instrumentation Ltd. ... ABB announces profit warning and job cuts ... Guarantee Electrical Contracting of Denver merges with Cache Valley Electric ... General Electric reorganizes into six business units ... A.O. Smith plant reaches safety milestone - one million hours without a lost-time accident ... Financial briefs for Baldor Electric Co and Magnatech ... Mitchell & Associates is new sales representative for Peerless Electric and Ohio Electric Motors, Inc. Edited by Kevin Jones
  • Glenn Brown of Newnan, Georgia's Shenandoah Apparatus Service, p. 13 of the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus EA reader at ease  Lust for Life: Glen Brown, general manager at Shenandoah Apparatus Service in Newnan, Georgia, loves to dance. By Joseph S. Hoff, EA Special Features Editor  
     
     
     
  • Trade associations,  professional societies and government activities   Stuart Irby, Edwin Kanner, Francis Piscitelli and David Crum honored by the National Association of Electrical Distributors ... Germany says its challenges are like those of the United States re: outsourcing and job losses ... the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society announces sessions for its annual convention (see www.rses.org ) ... The U.S. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute signs a memorandum of understanding with the China Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Association ... Schneider Electric makes a $25,000 donation to the Electrical Safety Foundation International ... the InterNational Electrical Testing Association seeks papers for its annual technical conference ... Concerned scientists urge increased use of renewable energy sources ... the Independent Infrared Conference will be held in Sarasota Florida in January (see www.snellinfrared.com  ) ... National Association of Electrical Manufacturers and the American Hospital Association release a new agreement concerning the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Edited by the EA Staff
  • Training Briefs Announcements of workshops, seminars and instructional materials, in every issue and updated on the web. See our Training page for current offerings.  In this issue - Power Quality, from PowerCET Corp., www.powercet.com/download/courscat.pdf  ... Electrical safety testing from Associated Research ...  Electrical grounding, from Luncole XIT Grounding, www.lyncole.com  ... Maintenance management, from the New Standard Institute (www.newstandardinstitute.com) ... Industrial truck safety, from Vast Consulting and Marketing ... Drives and controls, from Bosch Rexroth Corp (www.boschrexroth-us.com) ... Servomotor training, from Quality Solutions Company ( www.motor-solutions.com) ... High voltage maintenance, from Ox Creek Energy (www.corona-technology-course.com) ... Professional certification, from The Association for Facilities Engineering, www.afe.org   ... Edited by Bill O'Leary
    Producers of workshops, seminars, and instructional materials are encouraged to send announcements to Training Briefs Editor, Electrical Apparatus. See Contact Us page. Certain restrictions apply - contact the editors for details.
  • Standards briefs    updates of standards and related information... In this issue:  European directive alarms the American Society of Testing & Materials ... International Electrotechnical Commission publishes Photovoltaic standards outside the U.S. ...  U.S. agencies continue 'national adoptions ' ... Canada recognizes Factory Mutual approvals ... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)'s "Order 2003" and "Rule 2006"  ... Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 
  • Calendar In every issue and updated on the web. See our Calendar page for current offerings.
  • Trilingual summary For our international readers, each month one featured topic is presented in French, Spanish and German. In this issue - "Choosing the right insulation test" (read an online English summary) Rating of Electric Power Cables in Unfavorable Thermal Environment, reviewed in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus
  • Rating of Electric Power Cables in Unfavorable Thermal Environment, reviewed in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus New Books Recently published books, reviewed by our editors. In this issue - Rating of Electric Power Cables in Unfavorable Thermal Environment, by G. J. Anders, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. In this book, Dr. Anders gives electrical system engineers some tools to forestall overheating of transmission and distribution circuits at 100 to 400 kV. Reviewed by RLN.  
     
  • Greg Zook of Brooks Utility Products Group, in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus Mike Hadank of Leviton Manufacturing, in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus Dennis French of Leviton Manufacturing, in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus Patrick McSalley of Guarantee Electrical Co, in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus Bill Elliott of the National Association of Electrical Distributors, in the august 2005 Electrical Apparatus John Duda, of the National Association of Electrical Distributors, in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus  
  • Names and Faces Scott Sanders of Longo Electrical-Mechanical, Inc., .. Greg Zook (left) of Brooks Utility Products Group .. Jack Dobson, Jr. of Simplicity Manufacturing .. Littlefuse, Inc's Paul Dickinson ... Gerry McCarthy of Volland Electric Equipment Corp. ... Tom Scheck of Eurotherm ... Dan Bender of Power Control Products ... Mike Hadank (second from left) and Dennis French (third from left) of Leviton Manufacturing ... Patrick McSalley (third from right) of Guarantee Electrical Co ... Dana Roschnafsky of The P.D. George Co. ... Traction Motor Service's Tom King ... Bill Elliott (second from right), John Duda (far right), Peter de Steiger, Bruce Leff and Tammy Miller of the National Association of Electrical Distributors ... Nicholas Brown, Michael Green, Richard Grigg, Karen Knutson, and Susan Tierney, new board members for the Electric Power Research Institute ... Mike Owens of ProTradeNet LLC ... Stephen Norris, Alan Frakes, David Inman, Keith Bovee, and Mark Klein of Klein Tools ... Jason Sherrill of Cooper Wiring Devices ... - Edited by the EA Staff
  • Frederrick McBroom, co-founder of the Service Electric Co in Indianapolis, remembered in the August 2005 Electrical Apparatus Deaths  - Frederrick McBroom, co-founder of the Service Electric Co in Indianapolis which became the current family-owned McBroom Electric Co.  
     
     
     
     
  • Say It Right  - ... The popular column about language in the workplace  ...In this issue - What's an 'embedded' temperature sensor?  Be careful - the term applies to only one kind of device  by Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor 
  • Web briefs  - .National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - www.niehs.gov/emf-rapid.html  ... Field Management Services Corp - www.fms-corp.com  ... Pennsylvania Crusher Corp - www.penncrusher.com  ... "Operation Safe Site" (Construction Safety Institute) - www.opsafesite.com  ... The Engineering Toolbox - www.engineeringtoolbox.com  ... "Industrial Electrical and Maintenance" - www.patchn.com  ... Controlled Power Co - www.controlledpwr.com  ... Galco Electronics - www.galco.com  ... Sunon, Inc. - www.sunon.com  ... Robotics Online - www.roboticsonline.com  ... Lapp USA - www.olflex.com  ... National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health - www.cdc.gov/niosh/injury/tramaelec.html - All about Circuits - www.allaboutcircuits.com  ... Maintenance World - 222.maintenanceworld.com  ... Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture - www.usda.gov/rus  ... U.S.A. Wire and Cable - www.usawirecable.com ... Placid Industries, Inc. - www.placidindustries.com  ... BOWest Pty. Ltd  - www.bowest.com.au  ... Fabreeka International - www.fabreeka.com  ... Spintelligent Labs - www.spintelligentlabs.com  ... ... ... Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 
  • Cy's Super Service, Motorhead and Generatorhead
  • Direct and Current  3- year treasury bonds ... Email troubles ... Identity theft ... Profit growths reported by the National Association of Electrical Distributors ... Telephone IRS filing ... Trade show budgets ... Nigerian email fraud arrests... . International Briefs... Edited by the EA Staff
  • Classified Advertising Equipment, jobs, businesses, business opportunities and services.

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Electrical Apparatus - August 2005
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