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Pressure Switches and Lean Industry

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Ashcroft Pressure Switch

Pressure switch image courtesy of Ashcroft.

Automation is the wave of the future for industry. As the words “lean manufacturing” work their way into the vocabularies of a higher number of professionals, automation and all of the components that contribute to it are increasing in their popularity within industry. Manufacturers see the benefits in terms of reduced labor costs and increased efficiency, and the transition to automation simply makes sense. But the fact is that the trend toward automation has been a long time in the making, and Continue reading →

Understanding Differential Pressure Switches

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Sor Pressure Switch

Differential pressure switch image courtesy of SOR, Inc.

Differential pressure switches can seem difficult to understand at first. To the layperson, their name doesn’t immediately indicate what they are or what they do. The average person might have heard what a pressure switch is and does; it’s a metering and control utility that can control the flow of something and in some cases provide a meter reading as well. But knowing the difference between Continue reading →

Well Pump Pressure Switches: Keeping Rural Areas Hydrated

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In 2011, only 19 percent of the United States population lived in rural areas, according to the Associated Press. This is a decline compared to previous years. But 19% of 307 million Americans is still a very large number of people (approximately 58 million people). Most of the people who live in non-urban and non-suburban areas don’t have access to water treatment infrastructure. It’s too costly to extend water treatment infrastructure to the most rural of areas, and it’s actually often unnecessary. This is Continue reading →

Water Pressure Switches: Helping Manage Water Flow

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Tecmark Pressure SwitchWater pressure switch image courtesy of Tecmark Corporation.

People who benefit from wastewater treatment have a tendency to take that service for granted. There are still a staggering number of countries throughout the world where there is no substantial water treatment infrastructure. Here in the United States, as well as in places like Canada and Europe, we find it odd, or more likely frustrating or maddening, if we find ourselves without access to clean water. In many other places worldwide, the opposite can be true. It can be helpful, in appreciating Continue reading →

Vacuum Switches: Surprisingly Exotic

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United Electric Pressure Switch

Vacuum switch image courtesy of United Electric Controls.

Pressure switches are important, if relatively obscure, utilities in a number of industrial, commercial and consumer contexts. They are regularly used in a lot of regular, relatively boring contexts, such as in automobile engines. However, they are also employed in some more exotic contexts. Take, for example, the CERN Nuclear Research Laboratory. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) laboratory is home to some of the most esteemed eggheads on the planet, all of whom are conducting Continue reading →

Low Pressure Switches: Useful in Labs and Elsewhere

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The name “low pressure switches” can be a little misleading. The implication of the name is that the devices are used to respond to and regulate systems in which a material is pressurized at low levels. This is true, but perhaps a more appropriate name would have been “high-sensitivity pressure switches.” That’s really the distinguishing factor between the kind of pressure switches that can detect minute differences in pressure levels Continue reading →

Oil Pressure Switches Help Keep Engines Running Well

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Dwyer Pressure Switch

Oil pressure switch image courtesy of Dwyer Instruments.

It’s important for the operators of heavy industrial equipment to be aware of the operating status of the machinery they use. Because many kinds of industrial equipment, particularly those kinds that involve the use of moving parts, involve the use of oil in a pressurized system, it is important for the operators of such equipment to be able to carefully monitor the level of oil pressurization. This is important so that operators can ensure maximum operating efficiency as well as safety. Oil pressure switches Continue reading →

Air Pressure Switches for Industry, Commerce and Elsewhere

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Air pressure switches are a rare example of a widely used industrial utility that also has crossover appeal. An air pressure switch could be used, for example, as part of the control system for a pneumatic conveyor’s air compression system in a heavy industrial setting, and in a commercial setting an air pressure switch could be used to regulate the operation of an air compressor used to power pneumatic hand tools in a high school theatre scene construction shop. In either case, they are widely available at relatively low cost, and they can easily be added to systems that require Continue reading →

Air Compressor Pressure Switches Make Life Easier

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Imagine what life would be like if there was no such thing as an air compressor pressure switch. Instead of a small device regulating the operation of an air compressor’s electric motor, imagine some guy whose job it is to constantly stand next to an air compressor and turn it on and off as needed. This would not be a very pleasant job, and it would probably end up causing problems for workplace safety. Happily, this is not the case. Instead of using a person who guesses the level of pressurization within an air compressor, we Continue reading →