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H is for Honor

To all Horner employees and their families: Happy Veterans Day to our Veterans!!! Today is a day that we all need to remember all of our veterans and say “Thank You” to each and every one of them. All of us have known a veteran, been a son or daughter, brother or sister of a Veteran, or were a Veteran. So, no matter where you are in that chain, it is a day that we all should remember and show the respect to our Veterans that they deserve. Personally, along with the Horner family, I want to say thanks to all [...]

H is for Honor2020-01-15T13:11:55+00:00

High Temperature Generator Project

We received a phone call one day from a Phd. Mechanical Engineer working on-site at an Air Force Base. I soon realized that this was a phone interview to see if our company was qualified to help him on his jet engine projects. After working together for about a year, successfully fabricating custom parts for the jet engine test stands, the engineer referred our company to a Phd. Electrical engineer who asked if we could help him develop a high temperature generator. On a jet fighter plane, space is at a premium as there is a need to produce more electrical [...]

High Temperature Generator Project2019-09-09T20:13:09+00:00

Pallet Fabrication Project: Before and After

Before After Before After A pallet fabrication company called for help with their operation in Franklin IN. They process dimensional hardwood into heat treated pallets for domestic and international use. They had recently added some automation equipment and additional saws to their production operation. Their old dust collection system would plug and they could only run half of their equipment at a time. Not to mention several hours a day were spent cleaning sawdust off of the floor. The other issue was the PVC pipe they had used can cause a static electric [...]

Pallet Fabrication Project: Before and After2019-09-09T19:50:50+00:00

Ghosts: Vibratory Conveyors

Symptoms of Problem: In a small Midwestern town, the residents complained that they felt movement of their houses, particularly at night. One of the residents stated that her sister would no longer come and visit her because she thought the house was haunted with ghosts. She felt this way because lampshades would move, pictures would rattle and rocking chairs would rock without anyone being in them. Test Procedure: In an attempt to identify the cause of the above problem, vibration measurements were made at several of the houses in the community, along the sidewalks and at a factory located near the [...]

Ghosts: Vibratory Conveyors2019-09-09T17:49:57+00:00

From Skies to Seas: Horner APG Puts Customers At Ease

Horner APG recently held an Application Show and Tell contest where customers were asked to share stories and pictures of how they use our products. Some of the results were expected and typical, such as in oil and gas operations, farming or agricultural installations, and standard industrial manufacturing applications. We were surprised, however, to see photos of our XL7 and XL4, respectively, inside airborne and seaworthy vessels! One aviation customer needed a sunlight readable controller which could interface to functions such as the engine fuel and ignition, touchscreen capabilities, and were restricted by power limits. The customer was already very familiar [...]

From Skies to Seas: Horner APG Puts Customers At Ease2019-09-09T17:46:03+00:00

Power Loss At Foundry Results in Only One Shift of Downtime

On August 14 while at a forging plant in Portland In, Horner technicians were already onsite for arc flash data collection. During this time the entire plant experienced a power loss as one of their eight padmount transformers failing. Mike Croft and Ryan Haffenden were already onsite and were immediately called upon to assess the situation. Upon inspection, the far south compressor room transformer had experienced a catastrophic event on one of the load break elbows and cutout fuses of the 15 KV line feeding the transformer. After initial testing of the transformer it was quickly realized that the transformer was [...]

Power Loss At Foundry Results in Only One Shift of Downtime2019-09-09T17:40:49+00:00

Aluminum Plant Outage

In June of 2017 an Aluminum plant contacted us to begin the early planning stages of their outage which was scheduled for January 2018. The customer was about to undertake the most involved outage on their primary mill and wanted Horner’s exclusive involvement. The outage was a success despite the very large scale and daunting tasks assigned. All work was coordinated by Ralph Coonce of field service. If you’ve ever seen Ralph in action during an outage I don’t have to explain that he doesn’t just show up. He’s elbow deep in the actual work turning wrenches or any another task [...]

Aluminum Plant Outage2019-09-09T17:28:00+00:00

Vibration Of Microscope In Microsurgery Room

Equipment: A microscope mounted from the ceiling of a surgery room. The special microscope was used by the surgeon during micro-surgery operations which involved replanting severed fingers and toes. Symptoms: The chief surgeon complained that the image was jittery and that it was very tiring to operate under those conditions, particularly when the scope was set for its maximum magnification. Test Data and Observations: The scope was set to its greatest magnification and printed material was placed on the operating table. Vibration was clearly noticeable, just as the surgeon had indicated. Vibration spectra were taken on both the table and the [...]

Vibration Of Microscope In Microsurgery Room2019-09-09T17:18:50+00:00

From Scrap To Like New

A brick manufacturer had a large fan that pulls air, brick and cement dust thru an overhead duct system into a bag house then through the fan and up a stack. The baghouse requires cleaning frequently and during the cleaning cycle the baghouse is bypassed and the material goes through the fan. This causes buildup on the fan blades and thus an imbalance and vibration. The vibration is so severe it cracks the motor base, bearing base and fan housing. The customer has attempted to deal with this by filling the fan base with concrete, welding large angle iron to the [...]

From Scrap To Like New2019-09-03T20:16:15+00:00

Slurry Pump Project

We have a local gravel pit and asphalt operation near our Springfield OH repair shop. Over the years, we have built a solid relationship with this customer, doing field service, motor and mechanical repairs. This project started in September of 2016 when Dave Whited and Karl Hoppe met with the corporate engineer and local management about ways to improve power factor. Initially, we looked at PF correction capacitors and then into AC drives as a way to improve power efficiency. The slurry system consists of three pumps – a fresh water pump, a sand pump, and a waste pump. All part [...]

Slurry Pump Project2019-09-03T15:59:21+00:00
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