Electrical Apparatus February 2005
Featured articles  

  • Starting from isolated power sources, February 2005 Electrical ApparatusPower Systems - Motor starting from 'isolated' power sources: When starting any a-c motor, especially larger ones, voltage drop at the motor terminals (caused by high starting current flowing through system impedances) is always a critical concern. This important article will explain the “captive transformer” scheme, through which a motor is directly connected to a secondary transformer, which closes the primary circuit and simultaneously energizes the transformer and starts the motor. We walk readers through the steps needed to accurately calculate voltage drop and discuss how to keep the captive transformer ready to withstand mechanical and thermal stresses, and current peaks. (Read an online summary)
    By Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor
  • National Manufacturing Week, page 27, February 2005 Electrical ApparatusTrade Shows  - Greater efficiency for competitiveness abroad:   In our February issue, we present the first of a two-page series previewing one of the year’s first major trade shows—the National Manufacturing Week Expo (including the Plant Engineering & Design shows), to be held March 7-10 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. This year's National Manufacturing Week focuses on how manufacturing and maintenance practices can help or hinder overseas sales. The February preview highlights seminar and conference offerings at the show (Part Two of our NMW preview, in the March issue, will feature show floor exhibits).
    Compiled by the EA Staff
  • Motor Performance - Deriving the stator thermal damage code:  What's the relationship between the magnitude and allowable duration of short time overloads on an induction motor winding That question arises in matching moor characteristics to those of protective devices such as fuses or relays, and in evaluating whether or not the motor can sustain occasional brief overloads without seriously reducing normal insulation life.
    By Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor  
  • Safety and Health  -   Carbon-based fibers improving personal protection technology    How flame resistance is being enhanced by advances in textile science   By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor
  • insulation resistance - from the February 2005 Electrical ApparatusAccounting  -  What makes an accounting system 'good'?  Why managers can't afford to leave accounting entirely to the professionals  
    By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor  
     
     
     

Departments and Columns (for additional information or to submit material, see the Departments and Columns page.)

  • Editor's Comment  Wine and sunshine - Richard Nailen's article, "Electricity from the Sun, where do we stand?" was distributed last month at the 2005 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento California by symposium speaker Ken Arthur, of Arthur Engineering ...  EMBR staff changes ... Our monthly PMM ... National Manufacturing Week ... Tsunami victims by Horace B. Barks, Executive Editor 
  • Let's Solve Your Problem Insulation life not so easily defined ... What's meant by 'DOL starting'? ... Why bypass contactor on solid-state starter? .. Short-circuit rating for motor terminal box? .. What does the phrase 'pump runout' imply . Inverter and motor horsepowers the same? .. Should bearing grease drains be open? ... Painting explosion-proof motors a problem? .. How should bypass contractors be rated?
  • Letters  Comments and questions from readers of Electrical Apparatus In this issue:  A question about thermal disc protection, from Maurice Bracken, Instructor, Tantasqua Technical High School, Fiskdale, Massachusetts ... World voltage, from I. Fischman, Israel Electric Corp., Haifa, Israel ... Kind words, from M. D. Oswalt, Modis, Vacaville, California
  • Business briefs  News of expansions, relocations, annual reports, and more, about companies serving the electrical mechanical industries  ...Edited by Kevin Jones In this issue: L&S Electric acquires Advance Motor Services of Minneapolis  Jerry's Electric of Colman, S.D. opens reclamation facility ... Lincoln Electric Holdings to buy alloy manufacturer J. W. Harris Co., Inc ...  Moeller GmbH sells the assets of its North American sales operation to John Hamm . MGE UPS Systems, Inc. enters partnership with enclosure maker Wright Line LLC ... Balmic, Inc. moves to larger facilities in Ohio .. Bosch Rexroth AG of Lohr, Germany  buys Oil Control Group SpA of Milan, Italy ...  Schneider Electric North American Operating Division donates $20,000 to American Red Cross ..  Financial briefs - Rockwell Automation, Inc., increases earnings forecast .. Certification brief -  Darby Electric  completes Underwriters Laboratories audit to confirm compliance with ISO 9001-2000 .... Edited by the EA staff
  • Trade associations,  professional societies and government activities  National Association of Electrical Distributors finds health care costs are 'out of control' ... American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM International) seeks new standards are sought for nanotechnology ... EASA backs off plan to drop chapters ... National Electrical Manufacturers Association calls for a global association .. Electricity Consumers Resource Council represents firms that are big electrical users ... Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute has formed a new product section for ductless air conditioners and heat pumps ... Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and MidAmerican Energy Co have become sponsors of Motor Decisions Matter, the national non profit group founded in 2001 by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency ... The Refrigeration Service Engineers Society honors Dennis L. Bush of A.O. Smith Electrical Products Co 
  • Calendar Briefs In this issue - conferences, meetings, conventions and more, from February 2005 through October 2005 ...Edited by Sarah E. Wittliff 
  • Bruce Rawlings, quantum physics enthusiast, in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus EA reader at ease Bruce Rawlings, regional sales manager with Meltric Corp, has a passion for quantum physics.  "I look a things and wonder why they work and how they work," says Rawlings, who likes games and activities that take thought, and likes to observe fundamental truths of the universe. By Joseph S. Hoff, EA Special Features Editor
  • Standards briefs Kazakhstan becomes associate member of the International Electrotechnical Commision ... The American National Standards Institute adopts documents . Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization publishes safeguards for motor balancing ... Underwriters Laboratories updates control standard ...  Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 
  • EMBR update  - Changes to the Electromechanical Bench Reference 2005, the annual buyers' guide that readers received with their December 2004 Electrical Apparatus.  Following publication of the directory, corrections and additions appear in subsequent issues of the magazine. 
  • Training Briefs Motor/generator rewinding, from EPRI Power Generation and Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co - joliver003@aol.com   Motor application and maintenance, from the Electrical Apparatus Service Association, www.easa.com  ... High-voltage maintenance, from Ox Creek Energy - www.corona-technology-course.com  ... Facilities professional certification, from The Association for Facilities Engineering - www.afe.org  .. Drives, controls and hydraulics, from Bosch Rexroth Technical Training Department - www.boschrexroth-us.com  ... aerial work platform safety training from Aerial Work Platform Training - www.awpt.org  ... Testing for corrosion, from ASTM International - www.astm.org   Edited by Sarah E. Wittliff
  • Trilingual summary Motor starting from 'isolated power sources
  • Electrical Energy Conversion and Transport: An Interactive Computer-Based Approach Renewable Energy Systems: Design and Analysis with Induction Generators Variable Speed Drive Fundamentals
  • New Books Variable Speed Drive Fundamentals By C. A. Phipps, The Fairmont Press, Inc. . ... Renewable Energy Systems: Design and Analysis with Induction Generators. By M. G. Simoes & F. A. Farret, CRC Press LLC ... Electrical Energy Conversion and Transport: An Interactive Computer-Based Approach.  By G. G. Karady and K. E. Holbert, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ... Power Quality Measurement and Troubleshooting, By Glen A. Mazur. American Technical Publishers, Inc.
  • John M. Stropki of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus Emerson Network Power's Bharat S. Shah, in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus Robert E. Smith of the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society, in the ebruary Electrical Apparatus The American Society of Safety Engineers, in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus Baldor Electric's John A. McFarland in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus Baldor Electric's Ronald Tucker, in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus
  • Blake Lloydof Iris Power Engineering, whose appointment was noted in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus Paul Magder of Iris Power Engineering, whose appointment was noted in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus Daniel T. Bertovich of Brooks Meter Devices, whose appointment was noted in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus  Romanoff Industries' Mark Misejka, whose appointment was noted in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus  Cooper Wiring Devices' Heather Robinson, in the February 2005 Electrical Apparatus
  • Names and Faces John M. Stropki of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. ... Ralph J. Pontillo of NACE International (not pictured) ... Emerson Network Power's Bharat S. Shah ... Robert E. Smith of the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society ... Tom Costanza of Volland Electric (not pictured) ... The American Society of Safety Engineers' Randall Wingfield ... ... Detlef Braun of Messe Frankfurt GmbH (not pictured) ... Baldor Electric's John A. McFarland, Ronald Tucker, and R. Wayne Thurman ... Blake Lloyd and Paul Magder of Iris Power Engineering ... Daniel T. Bertovich of Brooks Meter Devices .. Romanoff Industries' Mark Misejka ... Cooper Wiring Devices' Heather Robinson, Jeff Koontz (not pictured) and Arthur Porrello (not pictured) ... and (all remaining not pictured) Kevin Evans, Ted Marston, Nancy Mason, Mike Howard, Wade Malcolm, Terry Surles, Clark Gellings and Bill Clark of the Electric Power Research Institute and its affiliate EPRI Solutions ... Edited by Sarah E. Wittliff
  • Say It Right  Calling for 'high quality' may not get it ... everyone knows it when they see it, but just what is it? Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor 
  • Electronics (Automation briefs)  -Brushless servomotors from Baldor Electric .. computers and accessories from B&B Eletronics and CyberResearch ... Control components from Elibrecht Electronics, Astec Power, Automation Systems , Micro Plastics, Inc., and BK Precision ...Sensing devices from Macro Sensors of New Jersey and LMI technologies . Simulation software from Electronics Workbench  .. Edited by David P. Tryling 
  • Literature Offerings from Bridgeport Fittings, Kingsbury, Inc., Tyco Electrnoics, Brady Corp., Magid Glove & Safety Mfg. Co., B&K Precision Corp., Stahlin Non-Metallic Enclosures and Clare Instruments  Edited by the EA Staff
  • Electropix - Grade schools in Coffeyville Kansas see the light - in the February Electrical Apparatus Electropix  Grade schools in Coffeyville, Kansas see the light - Bill's Electric, Joplin Mo, did the work pictured in three Electropix photos. 
  • Electrical Manager An interview with Lisa Lineal, owner of Lineal recruiting services, Trumbull, Connecticut, which has specialized in placing people in the electrical industry for 24 years ...
  • Product briefs Switching devices, tools, circuit interrupters, controls, enclosures, interconnections, measuring equipment, motors and gearmotors, power quality and safety products...Edited by the EA Staff. 
  • Cy's Super Service, Motorhead and Generatorhead  Cy's computer problems  ... Motorhead checks out a new nightclub
  • Direct and Current Will records stored on DVD and CD be retrievable in 10-20 years? .. Criteria for the annual Baldridge Business Awards ... record group sales in Germany ... cheaper, more power-efficient flat panel displays .. fewer small business loans possible . a new standard for electrical performance, from the National Electrical Contractor Association ..

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Electrical Apparatus - February 2005
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