Newsletter | August 2018

Our monthly newsletter is back! This month we look at the many uses of pressure in the world of testing, highlight a friend’s recent new product and introduce our Manufacturing Disruption blog series. Read the newsletter Subscribe for monthly updates

High Accuracy Testing at High Pressures

The test and analytics market for manufactured products is expansive. Nearly every product undergoes testing to ensure its quality, whether the specifications are set by the industry, an individual company or the government. Tests that control the amount of pressure or flow a product can withstand are common ways to check for potential weaknesses or leaks. … Continued

Newsletter | July 2018

Our monthly newsletter is back! Meet the new leadership at Proportion-Air, check out our new website and learn how Burling Valve has “officially” merged with Proportion-Air! Read the newsletter Subscribe for monthly updates

Pascal – The Man Behind the SI Unit

When you’re requesting information for a pressure product on our website, you’re offered a choice of units: bar, inches of water column, PSI and a few others. You might recognize the end of two of the options as a name: kilopascal and megapascal.   Who was Pascal? A native of France whose work covered a … Continued

After a full school year of planning, building and experimenting, our Pneumatic Lab team completed their capstone project. They presented the final product – three pneumatic lab setups with guides – at the Purdue Polytechnic Tech Expo on April 27. Reflections on the project At our last update, the labs were being tested with students … Continued

Pneumatic Lab Team in the Home Stretch

It’s the middle of April, it’s finally warming up and the pneumatic lab team from Purdue Polytechnic Institute can feel the end of the school year upon them. They’ve nearly completed their entire capstone project, but a couple steps remain for Gate 5. Building the lab Early in the capstone, the team had several ideas … Continued

Robert Boyle – Boyle’s Law

In our new Manufacturing Disruption series, we highlight groundbreakers past and present who have made scientific and engineering breakthroughs that affect manufacturing.  Boyle’s Law Robert Boyle by Johann Kerseboom, circa 1689. Robert Boyle was a 17th century Renaissance man, dabbling in theology, inventing and philosophy. His work in physics and chemistry, however, yielded him the … Continued

What’s a Steam Regulator?

What’s a Steam Regulator? And why it may be a much better choice than a complicated control valve My training on controlling temperature using saturated steam did not come from a thermal dynamics or other university course. I learned the basic art of temperature control from very wise engineer customers and since I didn’t come with textbook … Continued

One More Gate Down for the Pneumatic Lab Team

With the second semester of the 2017-18 school year underway, our pneumatic lab team has now passed four of the six gates to completing their capstone project. They spent the last month or so working on Gate 4. This gate included creating design plans to build and refine the three labs they have selected. Now … Continued

Henry Bessemer – The Bessemer Process

Henry Bessemer, “Meyer’s Encyclopedia,” published 1906 In our new Manufacturing Disruption series, we highlight groundbreakers past and present who have made scientific and engineering breakthroughs that affect manufacturing.   The Bessemer Process Although many inventors see the realization of their hard work before their death, Henry Bessemer only saw the tip of the iceberg he helped … Continued