by Staff | Feb 18, 2011 | Control Systems, CSI, Steam Generators
THE MYSTERY An ACES Control Systems Investigator was called to the scene of an oil-heating steam generator platform, in a processing plant for natural gas liquids (NGLs). The CSI had been called for routine biennial emissions testing, but he noticed the trend lines...
by Staff | Jul 30, 2010 | Control Systems, CSI, Furnaces and Ovens
THE MYSTERY A manufacturer of large metal extrusions for the aircraft industry called ACES to the scene of a 40’ drop bottom furnace. The furnace had failed its most recent NADCAP audit because the hot junctions of the thermocouples recording the high and low limits...
by Staff | Jul 16, 2010 | Aircraft, Control Systems, CSI, Furnaces and Ovens
THE MYSTERY The temperature controller of a 20-year-old vacuum furnace had gone completely dark. This furnace was a critical piece of equipment for the owner, a local aircraft plant. The original manufacturer of the controller no longer supported it — but they would...
by Staff | Jul 7, 2010 | Control Systems, CSI, Programming, Wiring and Electricity
THE MYSTERY A local box manufacturer called ACES in a panic because the machine which produced the starch that glued their corrugated cardboard had suddenly quit working, resulting in a sticky mess. The factory used glue to turn giant rolls of paper into corrugated...
by Staff | May 18, 2010 | Control Systems, CSI, Data Acquisition Systems, Municipal Water
THE MYSTERY A large municipality hired ACES to upgrade their telemetry system from MDS serial to MDS Ethernet radios. We replaced almost twenty radios and installed two access points. After the replacement one access point periodically locked up. Cycling power would...
by Staff | May 11, 2010 | Control Systems, CSI, Wiring and Electricity
THE MYSTERY A large aerospace company in Kansas owned a large industrial generator that wasn’t generating; it was subsequently sold to two different companies — neither of which could make it work —so the generator was condemned. THE CLUES The first thing the ACES...
