Category Archives: Industrial Machines

Vending Machine Business Incomes – Earning a Six Figure Profit

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When entrepreneurs first start to considering vending as a business opportunity, one of the first questions that they often ask is if it is possible to earn a’ six figure’ income in this industry.

‘Six figures’, or $100,000 or more in pre-tax earnings per year is still seen as a reasonably good benchmark for success by many people. They want to know that they will have a realistic chance of hitting this income level within a few years before they put their time and capital into a new business venture.

Let’s look at some of the factors that typically separate the operators with ‘six figure’ vending machine business incomes from the rest.

Part Time or Full Time?

It is common to start off doing vending part time while also keeping a regular job. Some vending machine business operators make a nice income to supplement their day job salary. However, to reach the $100,000 profit level you will probably need to eventually go full time.

Understand Vending Machines

Successful operators understand vending equipment and closely follow industry developments. Understanding in these areas allows the business operator to acquire good quality machines for the best prices and to organize their maintenance effectively.

Branding

The winners in this business understand that branding is important. If you establish a name and a reputation for yourself over several years then you will find that new accounts will come to you instead of you having to go out and get them all the time.

Organization

The high income earners in the vending machine industry are organized and manage their time well. Computer systems and software can be used as a way of collecting data that can help a vending machine business owner make crucial decisions that can affect profitability. While some see vending as a way of earning easy passive income, the most successful players realize that this comes many years down the road and that there is a lot of work to do before you get to that point.

Master the Art of Sales

Getting new locations comes down to having an attractive offer and solid sales skills. To be successful you need to fine tune the art of scoping prospective locations, getting appointments with decision makers and selling them on what your machines can do for them and their business. Good vendors find ways of making their machines more marketable such as working in cooperation with charities.

Hiring Employees

While you can start off doing everything yourself you will soon find that to scale your business up to the’ six figure’ income level you will need to hire reliable staff to do the footwork for you while you concentrate on growing your business.

Customer Relations

Always maintain the highest standard of customer service. Service machines regularly and keep them clean and presentable. Never give ‘decision makers’ at your locations any excuse to ask you to take your machines off their premises. If you maintain good relations with managers at each location you may even be able to sign them up for additional machines. This can be an easy way to increase revenue without having to find new clients. You will also get referrals from your clients if you keep them happy.

Commissions

Most of the vendors that see a decent level of income learn how to deal with the issue of commissions. Selling your vending machines on the advantages that they offer to the staff, management and patrons of an establishment is better than selling them on a percentage of the takings. Successful vending machine business operators do however realize that some locations are so good that a commission can be justified if it is required to win the account.

Attention to Detail

Vending is a numbers game and the top entrepreneurs in this industry realize the variables that must be focused on to improve income levels. To get to a decent level of earnings you must maximize your locations, maximize the quality of your locations, reduce the frequency of machine breakdowns, reduce commission paid to location mangers and maximize the efficiency of your employees.

Getting the right product mix, or category management is also crucial so that your stock sells well and so that you don’t run out of some items quickly while others are slower to sell. In this way you can increase sales and reduce the frequency of visits to re-stock machines.

The Right Attitude

Determination and a willingness to learn are important attributes for an operator to possess. A vending business can be tough in the first year and you have to get used to constant rejection as you try to place machines. The key to success is to learn from failure and rejection and to see them as opportunities to learn how to improve and refine your systems until you find ones that work. Keep trying, trying and trying again and success is inevitable.

Could you earn a ‘six figure’ vending machine business income? With the low barriers to entry and low startup costs that this industry offers it is definitely an opportunity worthy of consideration.

The Benefits of Greenuptown CNC Spring Coiling Machine

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Springs have been an inseparable component of the machine industry since the start of the industrial revolution. Every machine of any field of technology makes use of springs. These are developed in different shapes and sizes to match the machine’s structure and provide optimum functionality. They are used in small components such as pens in the form of compression springs to the larger components such as cars in the form of suspension springs. Thus, manufacturing and utilizing them in the best possible way are of tremendous importance in today’s machine industry.

For producing efficient and durable springs, spring coilers are used. They are important for producing a spring of the desired shape and size. They consist of different components and parts, but most of them have the same configuration. Some of the spring coiling machines are developed using high-end components to provide enhanced durability and versatility so that a single machine can manufacture different springs.

Greenuptown manufactures efficient and durable spring coiling machinery to enable high levels of production with maximum precision. Greenuptown provides machinery modes across the 2,4,5 and 8 axes. This machinery is designed to produce maximum results with high precision in a limited amount of time. Thus, the components of these machines are durable and produce high levels of performance. The machine comprises high-quality Feed rollers, block guide, cutter, pitch tool, Arbor, coiling point, and wire guides. These components ensure efficient processing and durability of the spring coiling machine.

Greenuptown machinery provides maximum precision and high-performance levels for wires ranging from 0.15mm to 16mm. This advanced machinery provides various additional features for efficient and durable spring processing. Some of these features include Mandrel in/out movement, O.D control, USB Data interface, On-screen diagnostics, Roller pressure gages, Micropulse handles, rotary and straight cut. These and many other features have proven to be very beneficial in producing the best quality springs in different sizes and shapes within a set amount of time.

Greenuptown is very well-known in the production of CNC spring coiling machinery. CNC machinery is helpful for high-speed manufacturing while following the performance and result guidelines. Greenuptown has a tremendous amount of experience and a very successful track record in the spring coiling machinery industry. Greenuptown is recognized as the leading manufacturer and producer of automatic spring coilers. The spring coiling equipment developed by Greenuptown is of advanced technology and made by using premium raw materials to ensure maximum safety and performance levels. Greenuptown manufactures spring coilers of various types and models and helps your industry meet the necessary machinery requirement. As mentioned earlier, Greenuptown is a renowned name in the spring coiling industry, and thus, they only employ highly skilled professionals who work very hard for manufacturing spring coiling machinery according to the international laws and standards.

Greenuptown’s unique and advanced approach to spring coiling technology has revolutionized the machine industry. Our machinery is used by different industrial sectors such as electronics, automobiles, toys, home appliances, and sports facilities in manufacturing springs of different types and sizes.

Brass Ferrules Or Aluminum Ferrules For Hoses?

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Industrial and residential customers globally use hoses for a number of applications. From hydraulic hoses connected to industrial equipment to garden hoses that someone will use to water their flower bed, having the right type of hose for the task at hand is critical to getting the activity done.

When you build a hose, you want to create the highest quality work so that the hose does not break during use. This means using the right material for the hose as well as the right ferrules used to connect the hose to the engine pipe or to any other length of hose.

Types of Ferrules

The most common types of ferrules you’ll see on the market are made of three different metals: brass, aluminum, and stainless steel. These ferrules are commonly found in compression fittings or couplings for pipe work attachments in the plumbing industry as the ferrules will have both male and female fittings to create a solid seal. For hose applications, you may find different metal ferrules in the following hose types:

Steel ferrules in automotive hose
Brass ferrules on water heater hose
Aluminum ferrules on fire hose

You can also find brass ferrules on welding hoses and steel ferrules on hydraulic hose systems. What the hose will be used for, the length of the hose, and the size of the ferrule can help you decide what type of metal to use when making the hose.

Brass Ferrules or Aluminum Ferrules?

Debate always arises on the type of metal used for ferrules. Is aluminum stronger than brass? Will brass rust? Which metal is cheaper to use?

While metal pricing will depend on your company’s budget and manufacturing capabilities, you can help with the decision-making process by basing your choice in advance on the type of hose you will be manufacturing. Are you making a water hose or an air hose? If the hose you are making is for air, most manufacturers will use an aluminum ferrule for the application. For water hoses, people usually choose brass ferrules.

What happen? Although brass or aluminum does not rust when in contact with water, it does oxidize. Oxidation is a kind of protective mechanism in this metal. This will create a type of scaling and staining on the metal. When brass is properly sealed with a protective coating, it can resist oxidation and last for a very long time. Even when oxidized, brass will last a long time before eroding.

Some aluminum alloys do not have the same yield when in contact with water, because the layered oxidation causes erosion that damages the metal permanently. If you must decide to use aluminum for the ferrules, then you need to use anode aluminum that can handle both fresh and saltwater applications as corrosion rates slow down.

The shape and length of the ferrule can also be a factor. Aluminum ferrules range in length from 0.500″ to 0.968″ and can be smooth cylindrical. Brass ferrules can typically range from 0.500″ to 1,000″ and are available in a variety of shapes such as oval, ribbed, smooth and drenched.

Choose the Right Ferrule For Hose Application

Again, it cannot be stressed enough that making your decision on brass or aluminum ferrules should be based on the type of hose you are making and what it will be used for in an industrial or residential application. Make your decision about what to pass through the hose and the type of seal you want to choose the best ferrule for your needs.

Portable Industrial Vacuum Systems

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Vacuum systems have always been used industrially to transport liquid products such as water, slurries or slurries, as well as dry products. This vacuum system may be truck based, or alternatively, on a portable platform such as a trailer or skid. A common question is how far the product can be transported, and how close the vacuum unit should be to the job. This paper answers the question for moving liquid products with a Liquid Ring pump based vacuum system.

For liquid products, it makes no difference how far you can run horizontally (up to 400-500 feet) as long as you use good seals and gaskets to prevent vacuum loss. Make sure you don’t experience any additional (unnecessary) kinking or lifting or lowering of the hose. It should be as straight as possible on a flat track. Use a slow 90 degree radius spin. The bend in the line reduces the loading rate significantly. Your vertical lift will be the hardest part of the process. No machine will lift a solid column of water more than ~30 feet. You can make very high lifts (over 100′) vertical if air is allowed to enter the column. Make sure your hose is not buried in the product for a long time….the system needs to swallow air.

You cannot burn a liquid ring vacuum system by burying the hose in the product; it will only make hot water in the water tank. When that water finally evaporates, you will lose your vacuum. When you add water back into the tank, your vacuum will return.

Hard tubing will greatly improve your flow by reducing friction losses. Maybe you can’t use it, but if possible, use it. (Hard tubing is usually Schedule 80 PVC, glued in a straight line, flanged cleaning at 90° slow radius, threaded end for flexible suction hose). Descending works best if you suck into the container. If it’s possible to do this, do it.

In general, larger diameter hoses provide greater vacuum efficiency and higher loading rates. Changing the diameter of the hose along the length of the suction hose can be a problem. Air velocity is directly dependent on the diameter of the hose, and variations in air velocity can cause blockages in solid products.

Hoses with a 4″ diameter can be handled by one person. Hoses with a diameter of 6″ require frequent disconnection or tag-teaming by two people. A better alternative is to use a wheelbarrow or a broom or sweeper to transfer the product to the hose. It is also possible to remove the intake and have two hoses working at the same time, under the right circumstances. A wand is available for the end of the hose to facilitate product retrieval, and often a makeshift grip is made of brooms and duct tape.

For solids, a 6″ hose can generally handle a maximum diameter particle size of 2″, a 4″ hose can handle 1″, and a 2″ hose can handle a maximum particle size”.

As indicated, hard tubing is best for reducing friction losses. If you don’t have tough piping, the next best thing is a smoothbore hose. Corrugated polyethylene hoses are lightweight and easier to handle, but long corrugated hoses can reduce speed dramatically. Most of the length of your hose should be hard tubing or fine bore rubber hose, with only the last part of the working end (<30′) being lightly corrugated hose.

Machine Vision and Inspection

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This system is widely used by machine makers in the manufacturing industry as a method for checking the quality of products or components on a production line. They can be found all over the world and in a number of different environments.

A factory in England produces stainless steel washers of various sizes. The production line is very basic. Washers are punched out of large sheet metal where they are dropped onto a conveyor belt ready to be packed into bags. One day, a worker found a bag containing a washing machine without a hole in the middle!

A vision inspection system could be introduced to identify this kind of fault before the faulty washer is packaged. A camera, placed at a point along the conveyor would be triggered to take a picture of a washer as it passes underneath. The image from the camera is relayed to a computer system that is pre-programmed by an engineer to interpret the image of the washer and decide if it is acceptable or faulty. A washer identified as faulty could be removed further down the line allowing only acceptable ones to be packaged.

This is a vision system almost at its most basic. They can do an awful lot more! Taking the washer example further; the computer system could be programmed not only to detect the presence of a hole but also check the size of the hole, the size of the washer’s outer diameter, the quality of the punched hole’s edge, roundness, scratches, colour and a whole lot more besides. Moving on from simple washers, a camera system can be used to take measurements and check the quality, alignment and presence of extremely complex assemblies.

A more recent use of vision systems is for robot guidance. Many modern car production lines rely on cameras to guide the robot arms in manouvering components like windscreens carefully into place on their vehicles.

This is only a very simple overview of what is an often a complex and vital part of the manufacturing process. In further articles I hope to go into greater depth of what makes up a vision system and how it integrates into the production line.

Implementing Vision System in Manufacturing Industry

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Vision System is the perfect technological advancement today. The main task of this machine is to track the related operations of the machine and its applications. The main purpose of this tool is to produce higher quality commercial products and makes the consumer experience better. Vision System collects data on each production unit every day and makes the production process more effective in every way.

The task of the vision system is to inspect production lines and other areas in all industrial units. This machine identifies parts to final assembly and packaging. Any mistake can cause a setback for the entire line, and the vision system saves you from crucial losses. The vision system improves efficiency many times over because the computer system can identify deviations and faulty products. The image of the damaged product is captured and then entered into the system. At the end of the line, they are removed.

Vision System helps predict damage to each unit. Industrial machine breakdowns often occur because, in industry, machines are used every day. They are also prone to breakdowns and errors. If the entire machine breaks down, it can cause a huge financial setback for the unit. However, by applying the Vision System, damage can be avoided before the production process starts. The machine will identify the signal and provide fault information.

All manufacturing and assembly industries that operate 24 hours need to apply the Vision System in each production unit. The manufacturing industry always runs production machines throughout the day and must ensure consistency of quality in the products that will be sold to the market. Vision System helps companies with large capacities continue to create high-quality products. How is this system able to maintain consistency of product quality? The Vision System collects many signals and identifies them also displays them in detail in 3D form. You will find detailed information about a product during the production process, such as the position of the bottle cap, labeling, sealing, etc.

The Vision System has a state-of-the-art camera. This camera captures the signal and defines it into a detailed 3D image on the computer. Displaying product information in 3D will help in understanding the product parts in detail. It doesn’t matter whether your product includes large or small components, all assembly will work as expected. So, If you want to ensure that the component assembly of a manufactured product meets the standards, you must perform a 3D inspection using System Vision.

Through the advanced inspection machines from Vision System, the manufacturing units can continue to check their production processes regularly and reduce errors. Manufacturing industry owners can easily find several Vision System manufacturers specializing in new systems today. Please visit several websites of Vision System manufacturers, and find a machine that fits your company’s needs.

Visual Inspection Machines Quality Control

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Machine vision is a manufacturing sector that is growing very rapidly. Growth drivers feel that there is a need for the integration of industry intent and vision. It is because of this that new vision techniques have emerged and this has led to the creation of incredible opportunities for all types of businesses.

It’s never easy to explain machine vision, especially to people who have never heard of it before, sometimes it takes a professional to clarify it. Some things that need to be understood include embedded vision, hyper-spectral imaging, and artificial intelligence. This is an aspect that can help us better understand machine vision.

Industries Covered

Visual inspection machines are required for different industries. This includes:

Military tools
automotive industry
Printing
Pharmacy and medical
Machine
Precision hardware
plastic industry
Electronics and semiconductors
Packaging
Mining and metal
Silicone or rubber components
Products Covered
Visual inspection system manufacturers handle different parts and they include smart cameras, smart sensors, machine vision cameras, compact vision cameras, lighting, frame grips, software systems, lenses, accessories and services.

Application of Visual Inspection Engine

The visual inspection system is able to combine high preliminary vision processing with the best technology to solve various types of quality control, identification and automatic inspection problems. They include:

Measuring Inspection

There are several good visual systems to offer dimensionally and measurement-accurate examination results.

Color Match

There are vision systems capable of providing enhanced color and image processing offerings. This kind of system provides precision in terms of quality.

Pattern recognition

The system is perfect for arbitrary logo, feature, shape and pattern recognition.

Types of Pre-Processing Inspection

This is a very important aspect of the visual inspection engine. This is the capacity to preprocess the image. This means that the system can actually manipulate the captured image to produce better enhancement and contrast before the image is processed.

Attendance Verification

This type of system provides reliable and high-speed options for checking the shape, completeness, position, size and presence of different features. This is important in verifying packaged goods, assemblies and spare parts.

Surface Inspection

The integrated visual inspection engine must be able to pinpoint inclusions, discoloration, cracks, scratches, and contamination at very high speeds. For this reason, quality control is in order and in the end; You can achieve the most superior product.

Manufacturers need these systems to maintain the highest standards in terms of the quality of their finished products, sub-assemblies and components. It is always important to use advanced and automated machines and quality control systems. There are so many new generation leading options in the market today and they are better in many ways. It’s always a good thing to find something that’s efficient, faster, and something that the experts integrate.

Industrial Robotics

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Industrial robots complete tasks such as painting, welding, assembly and product inspection with speed and precision. They don’t tire like humans and perform repetitive actions reliably without getting bored, which leads to high productivity at low costs. These attributes make industrial robots invaluable to manufacturers in many industries.

Some industrial robots perform repetitive actions without variation, as in typical ‘pick and place’ applications. These actions are determined by programmed routines that determine the direction, speed, acceleration, deceleration, and distance of a coordinated series of movements.

Other robots use machine vision systems to perform complex tasks, such as weld inspection and optimization in the automotive industry. This usually involves complex actions and sequences of movements, which the robot itself may even have to identify.

Machine vision systems comprise high-resolution cameras linked to powerful image processing software. They make for efficient handling and control, and work without wear and tear even under demanding manufacturing conditions. Machine vision systems achieve high success rates, and ensure smooth production without manual intervention or supervision, even in unpleasant environmental conditions.

Machine vision has a wide range of applications in industrial automation:

2D Robot Vision

2D vision systems use line-scan or area-scan cameras to capture photographic images that contain width and length, but no depth. By processing these images, they measure the visible characteristics of an object, and feed robotic handling systems data on its position, rotational orientation, and type.

The automotive industry uses 2D vision systems to pick heavy gearboxes from cages, unload cylinder heads from wire mesh boxes, identify axle castings, and detect the position of slide bearing shells.

Automated 3D Position Detection

3D vision systems detect the position and shape of an object in three dimensions using specialised cameras and lasers. They determine the starting point, overall length and rotation of a component, and transmit this data to industrial robots for fast and efficient handling. 3D vision systems enable the automated, reliable handling of different sized objects.

A common application for 3D vision systems is the production of crankshaft castings in the automotive industry, where they instruct robots to position castings ready for the next stage of assembly.

Assembly Inspection

Proper part assembly is essential to any manufacturing process. Poorly assembled parts lead to malfunctioning, unsafe products. Machine vision systems equipped with fast, fixed focus cameras and LED illumination continuously inspect parts during assembly to verify the presence of characteristic features, and instruct robots to remove defect items from the production line.

Characteristic features include screws, pins, fuses, and other electrical components. Machine vision systems also check for missing slots or holes, which can prevent proper assembly. Inspection takes just seconds, even with a huge variety of different parts, allowing manufacturers to maintain high levels of efficiency and productivity.

Machine vision systems for assembly inspection have a wide range of applications. These include checking vehicle components in the automotive industry, verifying fill levels in blisters, chocolate trays, and powder compacts, and ensuring correct label positioning on boxes.

Contour Inspection

Machine vision systems for contour inspection examine the profile of an object using high-resolution cameras and 3D sensors to ensure it is free from deviations (e.g. chips), which affect the shape and thus the function of the product. They also check measurements such as length, width, and radius to ensure they are within set parameters.

Pharmaceutical companies use machine vision systems in automated production lines to inspect injection needles, which are unusable if blunt or bent. Multiple cameras photograph needles as they flow through the system on powered conveyors. Sophisticated computer software analyses the captured images to determine needle sharpness and check the contour of the tube. Industrial robots use this information to separate and discard defect needles.

Injection needles’ size makes them almost impossible to inspect with a naked eye. Machine vision systems can inspect 40 needles per minute with 100% accuracy, speeding up production and reducing costs. Other contour inspection applications include concentricity checks of spark plugs for petrol engines, the measurement of coating structures on capacitor foils, and tooth inspection of saw blades.

3D Seam Inspection

Poorly welded components break, causing products to fail. In the case of automobiles and aeroplanes, this often has disastrous consequences and costs lives. Robotic weld seam inspection and optimization is now the standard in many industries.

Machine vision systems for weld inspection comprise a sensor mounted on a robotic arm. A laser in the sensor projects a line of light across the surface of a component joint, a technique known as laser triangulation. At the same time, a high-speed camera, also housed in the sensor, captures an image of the line as an elevation profile. Through the relative motion of the component and the sensor, the system builds a 3D image of the welded seam surface.

Using this image, a computer checks the seam’s consistency along its length. It accurately detects imperfections like profile variations and pores, which weaken the joint, and instructs a robotic burner to rework or repair seams if necessary.

Machine vision systems store inspection results in a database along with serial numbers, which makes components easy to trace. They work on multiple seams of different types, shapes and sizes, and operate at high speed. The automotive industry uses automated weld inspection and optimization systems extensively to ensure vehicles are of high quality and safe to drive.

 

Balancing Machine

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A balancing machine is a device used to establish and maintain the proper tension of a rotating machine. It is capable of performing tasks through rotation of individual parts as well as sensor detection.

Most balancing machines have a set of solid bases along with bearings and suspension. Most of these machines are also capable of balancing different parts such as rotors for electric motors, turbines, disc drives, fans, pumps, and also propellers.

The use of a balancing machine is quite simple. You should place items that need to be straightened directly onto the bearing either mechanically or manually. Then the unit is rotated using air-drive, end-drive, and also belt-drive. The item then vibrates during rotation. The vibration will make the sensors installed in the machine know the condition of the unbalanced unit. In addition, it can determine the number of shifts required to establish balance. In addition, it can also pinpoint where the load is needed to balance or where the load should be placed.

There are many types of balancing machines available. Two common types are soft bearing and hard bearing machines. Both differ in terms of suspension. Generally, hard-bearing balance machines require the use of lower frequencies to be more durable and flexible. This type of machine is ideal for use with objects of various weights.

On the other hand, soft-bearing machines require higher frequencies so they are less flexible. They require a new calibration for each use. Generally, they are used to balance items with the right properties. Although more time consuming, they are ideal for use for high production jobs.

You can also find vertical balancing machines. They are used primarily to calculate the balance of how far an item can move away from a geometric center in a standing position. Blade balancing machine is also available. It is mainly used to prevent additional correction for some items such as fans, turbines and propellers.

Furthermore, for instruments that are not easily disassembled, a portable balance machine would be ideal for use. Through displacement sensors mounted on the part, they can measure vibrations during operation. Then, they will identify the parts that need to be balanced.