Walk into any manufacturing plant in the United States and you are likely to see 50-year-old men and women working hard. These skilled craftsmen and women have earned the respect of their peers by performing year after year. While 50-year-old workers are commonplace, 50-year-old equipment…not so much. When that equipment happens to be a dynamometer, and it gets shipped back to the manufacturer for review and rebuild, it will invariably get nicknamed “dyno-saur.”

A worldwide manufacturer of many types of plastic has manufacturing facilities around the world, including one in the southeast that makes PVC stretch film. Imagine the film used to wrap meat at your local neighborhood grocery store, or that you might use to keep leftovers fresh for later in the week. Although the plant is designed for precision and automation, sometimes mechanical components derail those plans and require operator interaction to correct the components shortcomings.  The clutch-brake on a turret winding system was not precise, which not only required operator interaction but also caused downtime.  Replacing the dry clutch brakes with Force Control Oil Shear clutch brakes eliminated downtime, increased accuracy and repeatability, and slashed operator involvement – all while increasing throughout.

For nearly 50 years, AJD Forest Products has been producing top quality industrial lumber for the Lake States region. Located in Grayling, Mich., the company has earned a reputation for supplying high-grade red oak, hard & soft maple, aspen, ash, and basswood.  The mill processes 1,700-2,000 logs, or 70,000-90,000 board feet of lumber a day, but constant maintenance and adjustment on their stacker and chain conveyor brakes were forcing unplanned downtime.

MagnaShear motor brakes, which provide a secure, no-maintenance, no-adjustment, holding brake solution for mining conveyor applications will be featured at MinEXCHANGE Booth #2720. 

Force Control dynamometers featuring Positorq oil shear load brakes absorb extreme torque at very low speed, down to zero rpm. This allows them to accurately capture data at these critical junctures, when dynos equipped with traditional load brakes cannot.

Force Control Industries’ offers a full lineup of motor brakes, clutches, and clutch-brakes in washdown configurations for food, chemical, and pharmaceutical processing applications. MagnaShear and Posistop motor brakes and Posidyne clutches and clutch-brakes are totally enclosed with heavy duty, cast housing which offers additional protection against moisture, water, saltwater, caustic spray, and chemicals.

Force Control Industries presents a maintenance-free, no-adjustment crane brake that virtually eliminates crane downtime as well as the need to perform maintenance and adjustment at height. The MagnaShear motor brake employs oil shear technology, providing longer service life in demanding applications like the frequent start/stop cycles seen on cranes, hoists, and winches.

The complexity of supply chain issues in a globally interdependent economy is vast, and there are multiple aspects to be addressed in each problem. Food supply has been in the spotlight throughout the pandemic and considering inflation and other factors, the issues aren’t likely to disappear overnight. However, companies like Warner Electric, Force Control, and Miki Pulley are literally putting the brakes on some of these issues with solutions for today and tomorrow. Warner Electric and Miki Pulley both offer brake solutions that include various robotic and battery-powered agricultural equipment being developed for the future while Force Control addresses the here and now with a brake solution for a palletizer problem that was disrupting production at National Frozen Foods.