Field notes
Practical write-ups from the shop floor — diagnosing failures, building maintenance programmes, and getting machine data online. Written by the people doing the work.
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Pressure unit conversion: psi, bar, kPa and feet of head
A field conversion table for psi, bar, kPa, inches of mercury and feet of head — plus the one conversion that changes with the fluid you are pumping.
Troubleshooting & Repair -
How to check V-belt tension and alignment
The deflection method, the alignment checks and the sheave wear limits our technicians use on every belt drive — with the numbers that actually matter.
Preventative Maintenance -
How to test a steam trap: temperature, sound and sight
Three field methods for testing a steam trap without shutting the line down — what temperature, ultrasound and sight each tell you, and what each one misses.
Preventative Maintenance -
Five Readings to Take Before You Call Anyone
The five-meter sequence our technicians run before condemning any part: supply, control voltage, per-leg current, contact voltage drop, and…
Troubleshooting & Repair -
7 warning signs a pump coupling is about to fail
Couplings rarely fail without warning. Here are the seven signs our technicians look for, and what each one usually means for the machine behind it.
Troubleshooting & Repair
Interactive calculators
Twenty live engineering calculators — type your numbers and the result and the diagram update as you go. Free, no sign-up, works on a phone in the field.
- V-Belt Length Calculator Free V-belt length calculator: pitch length from large and small sheave diameters and center distance, with wrap angle and…
- Sheave / Pulley Ratio & Speed Calculator Free calculator for driven sheave speed and drive ratio from sheave diameters and driver RPM, with belt rim speed.
- Bearing L10 Life Calculator Free bearing L10 (B10) rating-life calculator from dynamic load rating, equivalent load and speed, for ball and roller…
- Bearing Regrease Quantity & Interval Calculator Free calculator for bearing regrease grease quantity and relubrication interval from bore, OD, width and speed — stop over…
- Pump Affinity Law Calculator Free pump affinity law calculator: new flow, head and power when a centrifugal pump's speed changes (VFD or new sheave).
- Pump Power (BHP) Calculator Free pump brake-horsepower calculator: hydraulic and brake HP from flow, head, specific gravity and pump efficiency, with…
- Shaft Thermal Growth Calculator Free shaft thermal growth calculator: vertical centerline rise from height, temperature rise and material — the cold offset…
- Motor Full-Load Current (FLA) Calculator Free calculator for three-phase and single-phase motor full-load current from horsepower, voltage, power factor and…
- Motor Overload Sizing Calculator (NEC) Free NEC motor overload sizing calculator: overload relay setpoint and code maximum from FLA and service factor (430.32)…
- Voltage Drop Calculator Free copper conductor voltage-drop calculator by wire size, length, current and phase, with percent drop and the 3% limit…
- Three-Phase Power Calculator Free three-phase power calculator: real (kW), apparent (kVA) and reactive (kVAR) power from line voltage, current and power…
- Motor Energy Cost Calculator Free motor energy cost calculator: annual kWh and dollars from horsepower, load, run hours, rate and efficiency, with…
- 4-20 mA Signal Scaling Calculator Free analog signal scaling calculator: convert 4-20 mA, 0-10 V and other signals to engineering units and back, linear or…
- DP Flow (Square-Root) Calculator Free DP flow calculator: flow from differential pressure across an orifice with the square-root relationship — why 25% DP is…
- Pressure Unit Converter Free pressure unit converter: psi, bar, kPa, inHg, ftH2O, mmHg, atm and kg/cm², with psi and kPa reference values.
- Pipe Velocity & Flow Calculator Free pipe velocity calculator: fluid velocity from flow rate and inside diameter, with suction and discharge velocity…
- Downtime Cost & PM ROI Calculator Free calculator for the cost of unplanned downtime and the ROI of a preventive-maintenance program — failures, hours, cost…
- OEE Calculator — Overall Equipment Effectiveness Free OEE calculator: overall equipment effectiveness from planned time, downtime, cycle time and good/total counts…
- MTBF, MTTR & Availability Calculator Free reliability calculator for MTBF, MTTR and inherent availability from operating hours, failures and repair time.
- Asset Criticality Score Calculator Free asset criticality calculator: rank equipment for PM prioritization by consequence and likelihood, with a recommended…
Interactive troubleshooting trainers
Thirty-two simulators that put you on a real work order: take meter readings, work the circuit, and call the fault. Each one hides six different faults.
Electrical & foundational
- Troubleshoot a Contactor: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a 24V-coil contactor switching 480V three-phase. Take real meter readings, work the…
- Troubleshoot a Three-Phase Motor: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a 480V three-phase motor. Take winding-resistance, insulation, supply-voltage and…
- Troubleshoot a VFD: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a 480V variable frequency drive. Read the drive's fault code and monitor values, verify…
- Troubleshoot a 4-20 mA Loop: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a 4-20 mA instrument loop. Take mA and voltage readings on a loop-powered transmitter…
- Troubleshoot a Sensor (PNP/NPN): Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a 3-wire PNP proximity sensor and its PLC input. Toggle the target, take voltage…
- Troubleshoot a Hydraulic Press: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for a hydraulic press that won't build pressure. Take pressure and flow readings at the pump, relief…
- Read a Vibration Spectrum: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for reading a machine vibration FFT. Compare axes, read the peaks, and tell imbalance, misalignment…
- Belt Drive Alignment & Tension: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for a V-belt drive. Measure tension, offset, angle and condition against spec, and diagnose why the…
- Steam Trap Survey: Interactive Trainer Interactive steam trap survey trainer. Read inlet and outlet temperature, ultrasound and the sight glass to tell a good trap…
- Motor Overload Sizing: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for motor overload protection. Read the nameplate FLA, the overload setpoint, running current and trip…
- Lockout / Tagout Verification: Interactive Trainer Interactive lockout/tagout trainer. Verify a coworker’s lockout across four steps — isolate every source, lock the…
- PLC Digital I/O: Interactive Trainer Read module LEDs against real terminal voltages and separate field wiring, input point, output point, common and relay faults.
Instrumentation & controls
- Thermocouples & RTDs: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a temperature measurement. Read the indicated value against a calibrated reference, the…
- DP & Orifice Flow: Interactive Trainer Interactive differential-pressure orifice flow trainer. Read the indicated flow, the DP, the impulse lines and the…
- DP & Hydrostatic Level: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for hydrostatic tank level. Compare the indicated level to a dip, read the head the DP transmitter…
- Radar & Ultrasonic Level: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for non-contact (radar and ultrasonic) tank level. Read the indicated level against a dip, the echo…
- Magnetic Flowmeter: Interactive Trainer Interactive magnetic flowmeter trainer. Judge whether a mag reading is trustworthy from four checks — indicated flow vs an…
- Coriolis Mass Flow: Interactive Trainer Interactive Coriolis mass flow trainer. Read the indicated mass, the density, the drive gain and the zero stability to…
- pH Analyzer: Interactive Trainer Interactive pH analyzer trainer. Read a glass-and-reference pH loop against a grab sample, the raw millivolts, the reference…
- Control Valve & Positioner: Interactive Trainer Interactive control-valve trainer. Compare a valve’s actual travel to its 4–20 mA command, read the signal and I/P, the air…
- PID Loop Tuning: Interactive Trainer Interactive PID tuning trainer. Step the setpoint and read the shape of the PV response to diagnose the tuning fault: too…
- HART Transmitter Calibration: Interactive Trainer Interactive HART transmitter calibration trainer. Apply a known input and make the digital PV and the analog 4-20 mA agree…
Mechanical & rotating equipment
- Centrifugal Pump Cavitation: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a centrifugal pump. Read flow vs BEP, suction pressure and NPSH available, discharge…
- Laser Shaft Alignment: Interactive Trainer Interactive laser shaft alignment trainer. Read parallel offset, angularity, soft foot and thermal growth to align a…
- Bearing Failure Analysis: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for rolling-element bearing failure analysis. Read the temperature, the vibration defect band, the…
- Gearbox Troubleshooting: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing an industrial gear reducer from oil, sump temperature, gear-mesh vibration and tooth…
- Mechanical Seals & Packing: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a leaking pump shaft seal. Read the leak rate, the seal flush, the face condition and…
- Hydraulic Circuit Troubleshooting: Interactive Trainer Interactive hydraulic troubleshooting trainer. Read pressure, flow, oil condition and the valves on a…
- Pneumatic Actuators & Valves: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a pneumatic actuator circuit — air supply, FRL, directional solenoid valve and cylinder…
- Fan & Blower Troubleshooting: Interactive Trainer Interactive centrifugal fan and blower troubleshooting trainer. Read airflow and static pressure together, check motor amps…
- Chain Drives & Sprockets: Interactive Trainer Interactive roller-chain drive trainer. Check the sag, measure chain elongation on a wear gauge, inspect the sprocket tooth…
- Compressed Air Systems: Interactive Trainer Interactive trainer for diagnosing a plant compressed-air system. Read header vs point-of-use pressure and the ΔP, the…