Category Archive: Uncategorized

Construction Equipment and America’s Housing Recovery

This past March, home prices in America reached their highest gain since 2006. According to recent statistics, spring home-buying season is seeing aggressive demand, and throughout the country, building and renovating is flourishing for the first time in a long time.

With spring being the season of renovations and new projects, and the recovery moving forward, U.S. neighborhoods will see construction going on just about everywhere.  With all of this construction comes the need for equipment—good news for the equipment manufacturers—which will include curbers, tampers, chippers, saw mills, industrial mixers, and more. And each of these pieces of equipment requires a good clutch—one that will provide the quality and endurance necessary for the influx of work.

New communities are being built left and right (check out this article on what’s going on in Omaha), and with that comes new sidewalks, and therefore the need for curbers.  Other people are renovating existing homes and adding new areas and features—this is where tampers come in.  For some, spring means sprucing up your property and clearing debris—leading to the need for chippers.  Then there are the saw mills who provide lumber for all the jobs, and the industrial mixers that will handle the thousands of tons of concrete and paint that are being used throughout the country.

Whatever the job, whatever the tool — the homeowners and builders who are contributing to America’s housing recovery are counting on their quality. They might not know the importance of the tools, but the manufacturers certainly do. And they know that a good tool is a sum of its parts.  Without a good clutch, you’re in trouble.

So what type and size of clutch might you need? For sawmills and chippers, go with a 6-inch clutch, size 60, 25 horsepower and 3000rpm.  For tampers and curbers, a 4-inch, size 41, 10 horsepower 3600 rpm clutch.  And for mixers, an 8-inch, size 80, 60 horsepower, 1800 rpm clutch.

Every little part, person, and job leads to the big picture of America’s restored housing market.  Remember to think small before thinking big.

Getting a Grasp on the Different Types of Clutches and their Applications

Centrifugal clutches are available for a wide variety of applications. But, they may not always be the right type of clutch for the job. The type of clutch you need is determined by the job at hand and other factors, and depending on your application, you may require any one of these three types of clutches:

• Electromagnetic clutch
• Hydraulic clutch
• Centrifugal clutch

An electromagnetic clutch uses electricity to engage and disengage. If you want to switch the clutch on and off at various times throughout the drive, this is the type of clutch you need. But, remember: If you don’t have an electricity supply, such as in instances of power failure, you’re in trouble, and the electromagnetic clutch won’t do its job.

Hydraulic clutches use fluid to engage and disengage. A valve system pumps the fluid and the clutch relies on the flow of the system to work. Your environment usually helps determine if you can and if you should use a hydraulic clutch. For instance: If  there is a perferation in the hydraulic line the fluid will leak out disabling the clutch and thus the machine it is on.

Centrifugal clutches rely on centrifugal force – a “natural force” explained by the laws of physics – to engage and disengage. (In case you need a physics lesson reminder, centrifugal force is defined as the outward pressure that’s exhibited around an object rotating around a central point.) Designed and manufactured for specific applications, centrifugal clutches are relied on for their independence and ability to function on their own, without the need for fluids or electricity. They can also be customized for single use products or one-of-a-kind specialized applications.

If your application requires starting assistance and/or overload protection, a clutch is exactly what you need. Just be sure to select the right type of clutch for the job!

Why It’s Critical to Keep Today’s Water Treatment Systems Running Smoothly

Water: It’s fundamental to all life, and the need for water treatment systems has become increasingly more critical as the population around the world continues to grow. From the “people perspective,” our reliance on clean water is obvious: We rely on water for drinking, bathing and cooking. Rivers and lakes are sources for our drinking-water systems, where pollutants need to be removed and then safe, clean water can be distributed to the population. Our wastewater systems collect sewage and used water, remove contaminants, and eventually discharge clean water back into lakes and rivers. Or, more recently, the “cleaned” wastewater is used for other commercial purposes, such as the ski resort in Arizona using wastewater to make snow.

From an industrial perspective, our reliance on water and water treatment facilities is deep-rooted and affects just about every industry out there: Farms need clean water for crop irrigation. Chemical and food manufacturing facilities need clean water as components of their products. Power plants rely on water for cooling and other industrial processes. Hospitals, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses and industries simply cannot operate without clean water. Overall, the need for clean water is widespread around the world.

A report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (Failure to Act) says, “Although new pipes are being added to expand service areas, drinking-water systems degrade over time, with the useful life of component parts ranging from 15 to 95 years. Particularly in the country’s older cities, much of the drinking-water infrastructure is old and in need of replacement. Failures in drinking-water infrastructure can result in water disruptions, impediments to emergency response, and damage to other types of essential infrastructure. In extreme situations caused by failing infrastructure or drought, water shortages may result in unsanitary conditions, increasing the likelihood of public health issues.”

To safeguard our water supply, the smooth operation of water treatment facilities is critical. BLM is dedicated to providing the clutches necessary for the back up systems that ensure that when electrical failures occur they do not impact water treatment delivery. BLM has been providing clutches for this application around the world, and we’ve been doing this for more than 80 years. In fact, many of the automatic centrifugal clutches in place and working at water treatment facilities today were made by us. There are only a few companies around the world that design and manufacture a wide range of centrifugal clutches. Clutches with a modular design allows for easy inspection, maintenance and service.

Improved power, motor life, and reduced electrical power are just a few of ways clutches provide a greener solution!

BLM Automatic Clutch has been producing environmentally friendly clutches since our inception.

Centrifugal clutches are extremely economical because they conserve energy and allow for the use less electrical power. Motors with centrifugal clutches installed help the motor run more efficiently because the motor is permitted to start under no load, thus allowing for a smaller motor which in turn, results in improved power consumption.

Using a centrifugal clutch has several benefits:

• It is automatic and doesn’t require manual engagement.
• The motor is right sized not oversized – making it more economical.
• A standard motor with a clutch runs more efficiently than an oversized motor running below its full rated load, thus improving the power consumption.
• It reduces electrical power consumption costs because when starting a motor with a clutch, the time the motor spends drawing high current is a fraction of the time that is spent by a motor without a clutch.
• Increased motor life by as much as 5 times because the shortened high current draw saves motor insulation and windings.
• Eliminates the need for costly reduced voltage starters to protect the motor because it uses simple economical across the line starters.
• It has a long life.

We want to tell you so much more about centrifugal clutch designs that we manufacture for a variety of small and large applications. We’re experienced in working on projects with several different unique requirements.

At BLM, We Put the “C” in Custom!

We’re Centrifugal Clutch – and not only do we design and manufacture a variety of centrifugal clutches for small land large applications, we have the expert knowledge to meet your specific needs! We specialize in coupling, flywheel, universal shaft, and pulley combinations as a part of our main clutch designs, but whatever your application requires, we can help.

We call ourselves “experts” because we’ve been doing this for a long time. Our employees have nearly 40 years of experience, so they really know our product. Most of our employees are machinists who have received CNC training, computerized lade training, and a number certifications that allow them to do their job even better.

Regardless of the project scope, complexity, or urgency, BLM has the solutions to get your project completed right. Not only do we do prototypes, but we’ll let you test the equipment directly in your application, and we’ll work with you to make adjustments, and any necessary changes in order to guarantee its functionality. In addition, we also provide customized pieces for single use products or specialized applications, and we are happy to work with you to develop a prototype for your unique application.

We cater to several businesses in the following industries:

• Pumping solutions
• Water treatment
• Agriculture
• Mining
• Road work
• Compressors
• Riding trowels
• Saw mills and chippers

Whether your application requires starting assistance, and/or overload protection, we can help! Please visit our website to learn more about BLM automatic Clutch!

We’ll be blogging on a monthly basis, bring you the latest BLM, and industry related news. Be sure to check back each month to see what we’ve been up to!