5 tips for preventing overheating
It's the height of summer here in the UK and it has been a scorcher so far. What's more, the latest data from the Met Office suggests that we can only expect more of the same in the years to come as 2020 concluded the earth's warmest 10-year period on record.
In this blog, we share some of our hottest tips for managing the heat in your plant or on your production line to ensure that you get the most out of your equipment.
- Let your plant breathe
- Use the correct motor insulation classes
- Keep your equipment clean
- Implement temperature sensors
- Maintain your hardware and software
1. Let your plant breathe
When equipment gets too hot, it can easily overheat. Equally, warmer air can carry more water vapour than cooler air and during the summer months we need to be prepared for high humidity levels which can cause corrosion.
To prevent both equipment overheating and corrosion, your plant needs to be well ventilated.
To ensure good ventilation, keep vents clear and make sure all your fans are in working order — this applies to fans and vents around your plant, on the hardware itself and in your cabinets — let your plant breathe.
2. Use the correct motor insulation classes
With motors, make sure you choose the right insulation class for your environment. The industry standard for low voltage motor insulation is class F with a limit on a temperature rise of class B.
Other insulation system classes and higher levels of protection are available and you can read more about motor insulation classes on this motioncontroltips.com article.
3. Keep your equipment clean
Although industrial automation and mechanical equipment is rugged in its nature, a build up of dirt, dust, oils and grease can quickly cause equipment to overheat or overwork itself.
4. Implement temperature sensors
With temperature playing a vital role in many industries such as glass manufacturing, oil and mining, chemical processing and renewable energies, many opt for a more accurate, proactive solution to heat management.
This is where temperature sensors come in.
Using temperature sensors around your plant can determine whether there are impending risks of danger or malfunction caused by heat.
(Did you know that Foxmere sells sensors for all industries and applications from many of the leading sensor manufacturers such as Endress+Hauser, IFM, Danfoss, WAGO, SICK and Omron?)
5. Maintain your hardware and software
Something as seemingly trivial as a worn bearing or an incorrect parameter in your programming can have a surprising effect on the lifetime of your equipment.
Habitually check your equipment parameters are correct for their environment and make sure the hardware itself has all of its components, such as bearings and actuators, in full working order to prevent overworking and overheating during these hot summer months.
To conclude
Prevention is better than cure.
Buy the right equipment for your environment, implement sensors where you can and make sure you look after your investments by keeping your equipment and environment clean, well ventilated and well maintained.
And if it's too late, no problem, give Foxmere a call on +44 (0)1922 349 999 to book in a repair, evaluation or to enquire about a replacement part and one of our expert team will be more than happy to oblige.
