IQS NEWSROOM

A source for industrial products & services news and events.
Latest Insights in the Evolving Digital World

It’s all in the Nameplates

Nameplates are usually associated with an office setting where they are placed on a desk to identify its occupant. In some cases, they will have the name of the person and their position. Though we use a single term for nameplates, there are multiple varieties of them made from different materials. While we may presume them to be exclusively for offices, they have a broader function beyond what we may think.  A nameplate, regardless of its function, is an identifier. In some cases, it can be identifying a product, a button on a panel, or the up and down buttons of an elevator. Manufacturers of nameplates produce products that go far beyond the simple name on a desk. Their definition includes switches, control panels, brand name symbols, warning signs and important functions such as labeling the displays on airplanes and space shuttles. 

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folder Hardware

The Importance of Die Casting Services

The birth of die casting owes its origins to printing. Making printed copies of documents has been around for thousands of years. At its beginning, highly accomplished artists would carve words or pictures into wood, apply ink to the wood, and press paper against it. The result was an impression of what was carved into the wood with each print being relished as a work of art.

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folder Castings & Forgings

What’s Cooking with Grey Iron Castings

Cast iron, the base metal of grey iron, has a long history that touches every part of the world. The earliest versions of it were created for use as a farm and household implements. Though steel had been invented, it was too expensive for simple farmers. Cast iron, though not as durable, was the affordable choice.  In the 5th Century B C, the Chinese used it to make plows and pots. The Europeans discovered its use in the middle of the Renaissance and forged it into cannonballs.

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folder Castings & Forgings

The Mighty 316 Stainless Steel Tubing

There are 150 distinct grades of stainless steel with only fifteen of them being commonly used. The difference between the grades is determined by the alloys that are added to the steel during production such as titanium, nickel, molybdenum, silicon, aluminum, and carbon. Each grade is designed and engineered to serve a particular purpose in the manufacture of consumer and industrial products. Most steel producers specialize in one or two grades.

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folder Metals & Materials Suppliers

The Importance of Head Gaskets

The simplest parts of an engine are its gaskets that fit snugly between metal parts. Though they do not have any moving parts and are made by a stamping machine, they are one of the most critical components of an engine. From the very first moment an engine is started, it begins to wear out due to stress and friction. To protect engines, lubricants are added to allow metals to move against each other. Without the lubricants, heat would build up between the metals causing them to melt and weld to each other freezing the engine.

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folder Plastic Molding Processes

3 Types of Hardware Cloth

Hardware cloth is an old term that refers to metal cloth made from stainless steel, galvanized steel, or other metals woven into a flexible metal fabric. The original hardware cloth was very sturdy and durable and was made in a variety of designs depending on its use and type of weaving. Modern hardware cloth has the same qualities of the older version and is used for fencing or protection of animals and plants. Its different weaves determine the size, flexibility, weight, and strength of the cloth.

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folder Metals & Materials Suppliers

The Things You Love Brought To You by Filling Machines

The automation of product manufacturing has led to the invention of devices designed to efficiently complete labor-intensive tasks such as filling bottles, cereal boxes, and other food products. Though these may have been the primary use of filling machines, their role in the distribution of products has spread to more industries requiring exact quantities with precise measurements.

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folder Packaging Equipment

Air Springs for Low-Riders

When I think of suspension systems I picture thick metal springs that compensate for my rough driving; that or the suspension on my mountain bike that creates for a smooth ride. However, not all suspension springs are solid metal. Air springs, often referred to as air bags, can take the place of steel springs in vehicle suspension systems. The pneumatic spring is an inflatable balloon-like device. I liken it to a rubber propane tank in appearance. Although if propane tanks were used to support cars I imagine the results would be disastrous.

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folder Plastic Molding Processes

Mildew, and Mold, and Moisture! Oh, My!

Ventilation fans, also known as exhaust fans, help circulate the air inside a home. This helps keep a house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Fans accomplish this by circulating warm/cool air. Ventilation fans also help prevent the growth of mildew and mold in places such as attics or bathrooms. Circulating air disperses the moisture in small enclosed spaces. Varies types of ventilation fans are available, including roof ventilation, exterior-mounted, combination ventilation and in-line ventilation fans.

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folder Process Equipment

Valve Actuators, Old and New

The term “valve actuator” is likely to evoke images of automotive components for many people with backgrounds in industry, specifically those who have had experience in the automotive industry as professionals or as hobbyists. However, it may surprise some of those people to hear that actuators are used in the control of valves outside of the context of the automotive world. In these other contexts, valve actuators might not be used to the same extent as they are to close choke valves during an engine cold start, at least not yet. However, especially as automation gains popularity across industrial contexts and disciplines, valve actuators are likely to increase in popularity.

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folder Motion Control Products

Selling Your Product Online

With the death of door-to-door salesmen and the decline of phone orders, coupled with the fact that people no longer buy products exclusively from the facility closest to them, learning how to sell your products online is vital to your company’s survival. A couple helpful hints include learning how to set up and easy-to-navigate website that is simple but attractive and researching various online directories that can help get your company name at the top of search engine lists. For example, pressure vessels manufacturers that are searching for new customers, which is a must in today’s economic climate, can start off by designing a website that clearly features the best characteristics of their products. Utilizing keywords that are application and industry specific is also a good idea. This will help their company name come up when someone searches for those terms. If your pressure vessel options include ASME pressure vessels, which are basic pressure vessels that are up to code and approved by the ASME board, then including this information on your website will be very attractive to your clientele.

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folder Process Equipment

Water Sealed Vacuum Pump Creates Continuous Movement

Doubling as both a vacuum pump and a gas compressor, water sealed vacuum pumps are versatile. Water is used as a source of energy in order to compress the gas. A vacuum is created as water is pumped through a cylinder-shaped rotor. As the pump spins as a result of the vacuum, the process of gas compression begins.

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folder Pumps & Valves

Invention of the Hydraulic Press

Joseph Bramah is an inventor from England who was born on April 13, 1748 in Yorkshire, England. He started his invention work when he designed a lock, and received a patent for it in 1784. He soon started a lock company called Bramah Locks, whose locks were well known for their resistance to tampering and lock picking. In fact, they had a famous “challenge lock” hanging outside of the store, which promised to offer 200 guinea (a British coin) to whoever could open the lock. The lock remained unopened for 67 years, and it took the locksmith who eventually opened the lock 51 hours to do so. The original lock remains in the Science Museum in London.

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folder Hydraulic Equipment & Supplies

Vacuum Drying: Back to Physics 101

Imagine a 1 liter glass beaker full of water sitting at sea level. This water has a column of air—gaseous atmosphere comprised of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide and particulates—that is as large as the mouth of the beaker and sixty-two miles high. Those gaseous molecules and particulates have mass and are affected by gravity which is why air is denser at sea level and becomes increasingly less dense as you reach the Kármán line, which is the limit between the Earth’s atmosphere and space. If you wanted to boil the water in the beaker at sea level, you would have to add enough thermal energy to increase the temperature to 100°C. Then the water could overcome the 14.7 pounds per square inch of atmospheric pressure and jump from the liquid phase to the gas phase. As you increase in altitude and the pressure on the surface of the water decreases, the amount of energy required to excite those water molecules into the gas phase decreases. Vacuum drying takes advantage of this natural phenomenon by adjusting the pressure in order to remove liquids at low processing temperatures.

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folder Process Equipment

Vacuum Leak Detectors

Leaks of any nature are never a good thing to have. Whether that leak is occurring in a water well, or in a gas chamber, leaks are unanimously thought of to be bad. Being able to detect a leak is very important. It not only can prevent disasters and injuries, it also prevents the loss of materials and supplies and valuable work time in a manufacturing environment. There are many different ways to detect a leak, and each one is more suitable for different circumstances than others.

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folder Flow Control Related Products

Leaks and The Right System

Finding out that you have a leak in one of your systems is not the best feeling in the world. It is a gut wrenching panic whether it is a leak in a water pipe or gas pipe. In today’s world, pipes can be found everywhere. They can be found under streets for water and even in the ocean floor for oil. There are networks of pipe lines all over the globe dedicated to transporting oil, gases, water and other fluids. And while leaks can occur in any of these situations, the scariest ones are the ones that occur in places where they cannot be mended, such as the ocean floor. We have experienced the consequences such an event can have in the disaster the gulf had not long ago.

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folder Flow Control Related Products

The Sensitive Vacuum Gauge

When liquids and gases are concealed in a pressure vessel or some sort of sealed system, the internal pressure is created. To measure this pressure, pressure gauges are utilized. Depending on the gauge, the devices can read between 10 and 10,000 psi. Vacuum gauges are a sub-category of pressure gauges that are used to measure sub-atmospheric or vacuum pressures within a contained system. Perhaps the most sensitive vacuum gauge is th e ionization gauge, which is utilized to measure very low pressures.

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folder Flow Control Related Products

Finding Distributors of Industrial Vacuum Cleaners Online

I know how confusing and frustrating it can be to try to find a good industrial vacuum cleaner distributor. There are plenty out there; the tough part is wading through the many search results to find the closest, most reliable one with the particular unit you need for your application. Searching Google for “Industrial Vacuum Cleaners” will bring up residential, commercial and industrial products, but you should be able to quickly narrow down your options by paying attention to keyword phrases that will lead you to more specialized websites and search engines for industrial products and services. So, let’s go to Google and see what pops up.

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folder Plant & Facility Equipment

Frequent Use of Vacuum Cleaners

How many people vacuum once a week, or even multiple times a week? One mom of six active children pointed out, you should vacuum an area as many times per week as the number of people who regularly use it. So, she began a daily vacuuming routine with each capable child responsible for a particular zone every day. They could really see what a difference this cleaning schedule made, plus it forced them to keep everything picked up off the floor! What a great way to instill better cleaning habits into your kids at a young age!

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folder Plant & Facility Equipment

Bumpin’: The World of Industrial Bumpers

Bumpers are used in the manufacturing process to protect products and equipment during production. Bumpers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and even materials for different uses. Most bumpers are used to protect the products from bumping into sharp edges and cracking or receiving other damages during their travel down the production line before packaging. Bumpers are a vital part of any manufacturing process, and it is necessary to maintain the bumpers with the highest level of care to ensure product safety.

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folder Plastic Molding Processes
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