by Staff Writer | Sep 2, 2012 | CSI, Municipal Water
THE MYSTERY A municipal water customer was having an issue with the exhaust fan on one of their lift stations: When they flipped the switch to start the fan manually, it tripped two breakers. They called an ACES Control Systems Inspector (CSI) to the scene to...
by Staff | Jul 26, 2012 | Aircraft, Control Systems, CSI, Furnaces and Ovens, Yaskawa VFDs
THE MYSTERY An aircraft parts manufacturer had an aluminum heat treat oven that wasn’t meeting its surveys. The customer surmised that what the oven needed was more airflow, and they called ACES to make the adjustment. THE CLUES The fan was running 500 rpm, and being...
by Staff | Jul 19, 2012 | Control Systems, CSI, Yaskawa VFDs
THE MYSTERY One of ACES’ customers closed their factory in Utah and moved all of the equipment to Kansas in order to set up a line manufacturing synthetic twine. The system included a PLC processor and six DC variable speed drives (VSDs) and their attendant DC motors...
by Staff Writer | May 30, 2012 | Control Systems, CSI, Wiring and Electricity, Yaskawa VFDs
Sometimes swapping an old VFD for a new one is harder than it looks, like when the old drive is much larger and heavier than the new one. Here, the ACES CSI (Control Systems Investigator solved both hardware and software challenges.
by Staff | Feb 15, 2012 | Control Systems, CSI, Motion Control, Wiring and Electricity
THE MYSTERY A beef production facility had a industrial deep freeze, 20 shelves high, complete with an elevator that delivered boxed beef to each shelf. The pusher that automatically dispensed the boxes onto the shelves for freezing had become stuck in the out...
by Staff | Feb 1, 2012 | Aircraft, Control Systems, CSI, Data Acquisition Systems
THE MYSTERY An aircraft manufacturer has been using a system-wide data acquisition system (DAQ) designed by ACES about three years ago. Part of the protocol involves measuring metal heat treat batches that sometimes run around the clock. The customer called ACES...
by Staff | Nov 23, 2011 | Control Systems, CSI, Municipal Water, Wiring and Electricity
THE MYSTERY The ACES CSI (Control System Investigator) was just finishing up a service call at a wastewater plant. He was testing the work he’d done on a controller, which runs a coagulation unit removing heavy metals from water. This is a high-current, low-voltage...
by Staff | Nov 14, 2011 | Control Systems, CSI, Wiring and Electricity
THE MYSTERY A corrections facility in the area called ACES because one of their industrial washing machines (100 lb. capacity) was down. They called an electrician in to look at it, but he was unable to find the problem. THE CLUES ACES sent a Control Scene...
by Staff | Nov 7, 2011 | Aircraft, Control Systems, CSI
THE MYSTERY A manufacturer of aircraft parts was having mystifying issues with their Turco tank. Sometimes the customer could turn on the machine and the burner with no problem — but then 10 minutes later it would randomly shut down and sound an alarm. At other times...
by Staff | Oct 27, 2011 | Control Systems, CSI, Furnaces and Ovens
THE MYSTERY A manufacturer of specialized motors had an oven that was way out of calibration. The mid-sized electric oven, used to cure epoxy for motor windings, was 30º out of range, a huge discrepancy for an oven that’s rated ±2½ºF. THE CLUES The first thing the...
