I originally referenced George Monbiot's web page because of his views and insights on nuclear and fossil fuels after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. A few posts below this is where you will find it.
Since I posted the info I have been following his site and below are two more subjects he has written about that I have found very amusing. I find his debates and articles refreshing, he takes a stand on subjects. He is passionate about his subjects, but logical and reasonable.
A Bounty for Blair's Arrest, be sure to following the link in his posting to the web site he started.
The Nuclear Power Debate, you can link to the actual debate, this is not really a good debate as the green piece fellow and other consultant debating against the motion never really talked about the motion but about their own agenda, however it was still very insightful. Interesting how the subject of Bombardier losing a huge train order to Siemens came up. It is also interesting that in England they offer the same strange subsides to solar power as we do here in Ontario, which is ludicrous.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Action for Happiness
A few months ago I had a post about the "The Movement For Happiness". I just want to make a note that the name has changed to "Action for Happiness". I have updated the link to the site also.
As per the post for the movement for happiness I still believe very much that Ayn Rand's philosophy does not conflict in any way with this movement for happiness. Even though she has conservative views about the economy everything I have read revolves around the pursuit of happiness.
As per the post for the movement for happiness I still believe very much that Ayn Rand's philosophy does not conflict in any way with this movement for happiness. Even though she has conservative views about the economy everything I have read revolves around the pursuit of happiness.
Plasma Cutting Bolt Holes
Back in August 2010 we obtained a contract to make transfromer core clamps for a company near us. It originally started out to be 5 clamp sets per day which consists of 4 angles of various sizes averaging 16" in length with an average of 6 holes / slots and tapped holes put into them. It was to double in size over a few months. In the 2 months it went to an average of 30 clamp systems or 120 parts, 7 days a week from 5 days a week. We where using the CNC plasma to cut all the slots and holes and used the mill for the tapped holes.
In the two months we produced over 7000 angle parts, which corelates to 42,000 holes . The accuracy of the plasma is dependant on how long you alow the tips to run before changing. For cutting holes in wall thickness from 1/8" to 1/2" thick and hole diamters from 1/4" to 1" we can hold +- 0.035" diameter easily and location +-0.008 with ease. We did however have to give up the order as the customer required a tolerance that was tighter than this for the hole diameter.
We believe the project has been a success even though we did loose the order. It has given us a very strong base line for future quotes and has opened up the range of possiblities for new customers. If you happen to a product line that requires parts to be bolted together and the tolerances given above are acceptable which we believe they are for most structural work, then plasma cutting is without doubt the most cost effective way to do it.
We set up custom jigs to load and unload the CNC plasma table with angle, channel, beams etc from which we procede to cut the holes and parts required.
In the two months we produced over 7000 angle parts, which corelates to 42,000 holes . The accuracy of the plasma is dependant on how long you alow the tips to run before changing. For cutting holes in wall thickness from 1/8" to 1/2" thick and hole diamters from 1/4" to 1" we can hold +- 0.035" diameter easily and location +-0.008 with ease. We did however have to give up the order as the customer required a tolerance that was tighter than this for the hole diameter.
We believe the project has been a success even though we did loose the order. It has given us a very strong base line for future quotes and has opened up the range of possiblities for new customers. If you happen to a product line that requires parts to be bolted together and the tolerances given above are acceptable which we believe they are for most structural work, then plasma cutting is without doubt the most cost effective way to do it.
We set up custom jigs to load and unload the CNC plasma table with angle, channel, beams etc from which we procede to cut the holes and parts required.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Going Critical, Nuclear Power / Coal
Going Critical ---follow this link, it is good!
The above link "Going Critical" will take you to George Monbiot's web site. I recommend you read it. He has recently been on CBC radio and I liked his argument for Nuclear Power and agree with it also. He notes that more radiation is given off from coal production which is true and also notes that even an old bad designed nuclear site in Japan gets hit with one of the world’s largest earthquakes and one of the world’s largest Tsunami ever, yes there are issue, however compared to fossil fuels it is not anywhere close to being as deadly.
I have recently been doing work for coal mines and I have within the last year or so done some indirect work for the nuclear industry. For the coal mines we help with transfer chutes and other areas, for the nuclear industry we have done some structural and lifting device engineering related to the fuel cell production.
I also recommend you go back and read some of his other articals. Again agree with all I have seen so far. "Atomised" is also a good read.
The above link "Going Critical" will take you to George Monbiot's web site. I recommend you read it. He has recently been on CBC radio and I liked his argument for Nuclear Power and agree with it also. He notes that more radiation is given off from coal production which is true and also notes that even an old bad designed nuclear site in Japan gets hit with one of the world’s largest earthquakes and one of the world’s largest Tsunami ever, yes there are issue, however compared to fossil fuels it is not anywhere close to being as deadly.
I have recently been doing work for coal mines and I have within the last year or so done some indirect work for the nuclear industry. For the coal mines we help with transfer chutes and other areas, for the nuclear industry we have done some structural and lifting device engineering related to the fuel cell production.
I also recommend you go back and read some of his other articals. Again agree with all I have seen so far. "Atomised" is also a good read.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Smart about 3D, lets use it
When we design parts and assemblies using any 3D program the greatest benefit of this is we have already built the unit in the computer at least once before it goes to the floor.
When designing using 3D we make parts and assemble them just like you would in the real world. During the design phase designers find errors that would not normally be found when just looking at 2D drawings. We then modify the parts and assemblies to insure everything fits properly and is located in the correct location. Talk to any designer using 3D modeling and I am sure they will agree with this. The same thing happens if you are working on the shop floor building something from scratch (in the 3d world). You will put a series of parts together and then during final assembly you will often find that a part of two does not fit as you thought and you will modify on the fly to make it work. The exact same thing happens when designing in 3D, however it is typically a lot less expensive to modify a part on the computer than it is in the real world. This is the greatest reason for using the 3D modeling. You have already built a virtual part on the computer even before it gets to the floor.
It was about 15 years ago Industrial Revolution started using Pro/Eng for our designs. Before that everything was done in AutoCAD. What we found was the errors on the shop floor from mistakes on the drawings dropped by over 70% within a few weeks of switching to Pro/Eng. We switched to Pro/ENG not for this reason, but because many of our customers where using it and we wanted to match with them seamlessly. The previously unforeseen benefit of reduced rework however was huge even for a small shop like us.
We would like to see anyone using 3D modeling to please supply the part and general assembly drawings in a dxf format so we can use the data direct from your own files. What I do so often is redraw the locations of tabs and parts for that have already been modeled. We often etch the layout direct to the metal parts. We are trying to eliminate the layout time for each part we are manufacturing and to increase the accuracy. However mistakes are still made sometimes if I am only copying from a 2D drawing to make another 2D drawing for etching. It seems to me to be a huge waste of time and a shame that we cannot use the data that is already available and correct. The benefits that are gained from doing the 3D modeling are being lost, or at least not utilized to the fullest.
I am passionate about this because manufacturing in North America is falling behind the rest of the world very fast. It is not just the fault of manufacturing but also government hindrance, but that is another story. We have the tools being used already to manufacture even better and to attempt to keep the price down.
Only those companies that are using their tools and skills to the maximum benefit will survive in the global market.
When designing using 3D we make parts and assemble them just like you would in the real world. During the design phase designers find errors that would not normally be found when just looking at 2D drawings. We then modify the parts and assemblies to insure everything fits properly and is located in the correct location. Talk to any designer using 3D modeling and I am sure they will agree with this. The same thing happens if you are working on the shop floor building something from scratch (in the 3d world). You will put a series of parts together and then during final assembly you will often find that a part of two does not fit as you thought and you will modify on the fly to make it work. The exact same thing happens when designing in 3D, however it is typically a lot less expensive to modify a part on the computer than it is in the real world. This is the greatest reason for using the 3D modeling. You have already built a virtual part on the computer even before it gets to the floor.
It was about 15 years ago Industrial Revolution started using Pro/Eng for our designs. Before that everything was done in AutoCAD. What we found was the errors on the shop floor from mistakes on the drawings dropped by over 70% within a few weeks of switching to Pro/Eng. We switched to Pro/ENG not for this reason, but because many of our customers where using it and we wanted to match with them seamlessly. The previously unforeseen benefit of reduced rework however was huge even for a small shop like us.
We would like to see anyone using 3D modeling to please supply the part and general assembly drawings in a dxf format so we can use the data direct from your own files. What I do so often is redraw the locations of tabs and parts for that have already been modeled. We often etch the layout direct to the metal parts. We are trying to eliminate the layout time for each part we are manufacturing and to increase the accuracy. However mistakes are still made sometimes if I am only copying from a 2D drawing to make another 2D drawing for etching. It seems to me to be a huge waste of time and a shame that we cannot use the data that is already available and correct. The benefits that are gained from doing the 3D modeling are being lost, or at least not utilized to the fullest.
I am passionate about this because manufacturing in North America is falling behind the rest of the world very fast. It is not just the fault of manufacturing but also government hindrance, but that is another story. We have the tools being used already to manufacture even better and to attempt to keep the price down.
Only those companies that are using their tools and skills to the maximum benefit will survive in the global market.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Building Not For Sale / Ind Rev Sales Are UP
The for sale sign came down in October. We had a few low ball offers that we did not accept. With so many places for sale the land devolopers are holding out for the guys that are bankrupt and must sell. With the economy being so slow for so long I have not seen a lot of companies starting up and growing. It would be this type of company that would likely purchase our building.
Industrial Revolution Ltd is continuing to see an upswing in sales. I would describe it as fragil as the companies that we are getting work from are doing well, however they are doing well because of others downsizing. What we like to see is everyone doing well and everyone growing. Until that happens North America is still in potential trouble.
Industrial Revolution Ltd is continuing to see an upswing in sales. I would describe it as fragil as the companies that we are getting work from are doing well, however they are doing well because of others downsizing. What we like to see is everyone doing well and everyone growing. Until that happens North America is still in potential trouble.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Industrial Revolution Ltd to build CIME in Canada
Over the last few weeks Industrial Revolution Ltd has made arrangements to fabricate portions of all furnaces sold in the USA and Canada. Initially the hydraulics, cradle and transfer systems of the furnace will be manufactured in Brantford Ontario. The furnace body and control system will still be manufactured in Italy until sufficient production volume has been established to justify building these parts here in North America.
The furnace body will be shipped from Italy to Canada and integrated into the frame and tested here. The assembled unit will be shipped to the customer from our location in Canada. If the furnace is being shipped to a Canadian customer all CSA approvals will be done before shipping.
We are looking forward to this new and even stronger relationship with CIME.
The furnace body will be shipped from Italy to Canada and integrated into the frame and tested here. The assembled unit will be shipped to the customer from our location in Canada. If the furnace is being shipped to a Canadian customer all CSA approvals will be done before shipping.
We are looking forward to this new and even stronger relationship with CIME.
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