When you hear the phrase, “pump the jam” your mind could be drawn – if you are of a certain age – to Technotronic’s 1989 club hit “Pump Up the Jam.” But you could also be a machine operator in a jam factory where pumps are used in the production process and must be routinely maintained due to jam viscosity, seeds and fruit chunks, and the sugary buildup on seal faces in sealed pumps.

In addition to jam factories, pumps are used across industry for water movement, chemical processing, and fluid management, as well as for moving harsh, corrosive, or heavy-duty substances. These fundamental components are utilized in agriculture, food and beverage, mining, petroleum, power generation, and pharmaceutical applications to move everything from wastewater to petroleum, sludges to slurries, dairy products to wine, and on and on. Pumps come in an assortment of types and configurations and industry uses a variety of them, such as turbine, piston, and gear pumps.

The most widely used pump across industry is the centrifugal pump, which is a dynamic pump, meaning it adds kinetic energy to the substance that increases the fluid speed and creates pressure. As expected with any kind of mechanical component subjected to constant pressure and operation, wear and tear of pumps is inevitable. However, with a solid understanding of the most common problems occurring from prolonged pump operation and a routine maintenance plan, full scale pump failure and costly production shut downs can be avoided. The most prominent problem with pumps that routine maintenance can prevent is cavitation.

What is Cavitation?

In relation to pumps, cavitation is the phenomena where vacuum bubbles form within fluid being moved through a system. When these bubbles – or voids – collapse they create shockwaves. Over time and repeated use, these shockwaves create premature wear on a pump impeller and lead to component failure if no maintenance is performed. Not only does cavitation lead to component failure, but when present it is extremely noisy and causes vibrations, which results in a loss of process efficiency.

In addition to cavitation, common things that technicians should watch for on industrial pumps include bearing and lubricant condition, shaft seal condition, pump vibration, and pump discharge pressure.

What Pump Maintenance Tasks Can Prevent Cavitation and Pump Failure?

As with any machine, consistent maintenance is key to process efficiency and prevention of equipment failure. In pumps, maintenance can extent equipment life, decrease operating and costs, and prevent specific component ills like cavitation. Generally, it’s recommended to group your maintenance program into three categories: routine, quarterly, and annual. Examples of tasks to track and check include adding oil to the bearing reservoir, cleaning and oiling governor linkages and valve stems, and inspecting disc couplings.

But how can you ensure that maintenance technicians and operators at your facility have the know-how to perform these tasks correctly?

DAC Worldwide’s Pump Maintenance and Operation Training Systems

DAC Worldwide offers an array of options for up-skilling or assessing your employees for pump maintenance and operation, including:

Centrifugal Pump Fundamentals Training System Plus (227-PAC)

The Centrifugal Pump Fundamentals Training System Plus (277-PAC) offers hands-on training for basic centrifugal pump operation and maintenance. This system can be used to demonstrate pump cavitation, fundamental operational principles, and the effects on flow and pressure by varying static head and piping configuration. The Centrifugal Pump Fundamentals Training System is a perfect solution for introductory operations and maintenance courses related to centrifugal pumps and process systems.

This system features a centrifugal pump with an open impeller, a variable speed DC pump motor with a controller, and a modular, clear PVC piping system with a variable-height support structure that allows for multiple configurations of the tank, pump, and motor to create new flow and static head conditions. The system also offers optional pipe spool variations to create even more process flow conditions.

Pump Maintenance Training System Plus (275-PAC)

DAC Worldwide’s Pump Maintenance Training System Plus (275-PAC) is a benchtop training device featuring a standard ANSI centrifugal pump mounted on a heavy-duty, 7-gauge, formed-steel, powder-coated baseplate. This systems features real-world pump components for practicing the disassembly, packing, and reassembly of common centrifugal pumps, as well as common pump maintenance such as impeller clearance adjustment and mechanical seal replacement. This system also features a clear acrylic backhead for visibility of the seal area.

Pump Maintenance and Alignment Training System Plus (275E-PAC)

The Pump Maintenance and Alignment Training System Plus (275E-PAC) is a benchtop training system featuring a standard ANSI centrifugal pump and a simulated motor element. This combination along with a replaceable ¾-in. diameter steel shaft with keyways allows users to practice shaft alignment skills. Further, the motor element features flanged bearings that can be adjusted to allow for angular and parallel misalignment. This system also allows users to practice complete pump tear-down and assembly. The Pump Maintenance and Alignment Training System also features a clear acrylic backhead to show pump packing procedures and the installation of mechanical seals.

Additionally, DAC Worldwide has dissectibles, component cutaways, and sample boards for expanded industrial pump training. DAC’s sister company, Amatrol, also offers pump systems that can bolster your industrial training program.

Amatrol’s Centrifugal Pump Learning System (950-PM1) and Expansion Systems

Amatrol’s pumps learning systems cover industry-relevant skills including how to operate, install, maintain, troubleshoot, and select a variety of pumps, as well as system design. The base learning system features a centrifugal pump, but allows for the use of several different pumps for expanded training; these pumps include: parallel pumps, turbine pump, diaphragm pump, peristaltic pump, piston pump, gear pump, magnetic pump, and centrifugal pump with stuffing box.

Let’s say on the way to pick up you prescription at the drug store, you stop at the gas station, fill up your tank, and pick up a cold soda pop. By the time you get home, you’ve interacted with at least three products that use process control and instrumentation in their creation. Oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage are only three of the countless number of industries that rely on process control and instrumentation to produce their goods.

What is process control and instrumentation?

According to the Process Industry Informer’s Phil Black, “Process control is used in continuous production – in manufacturing and in other fields and industries where some kind of material is produced without any kind of interruption – as well as in ‘batch processing.’ It’s used to automatically control the conditions in which a product is made – ensuring better quality and efficiency.”

And the applications of these processes are only getting started. According to Amatrol’s Duane Bolin, “Process control is big business all over the world. The global economic value of the process control systems market is estimated to be more than $120 billion. This value will only continue to grow as automation and Industry 4.0 technologies enable process control systems to further increase the productivity and efficiency of manufacturing facilities.”

Why is process control important?

Much like its applications, the importance of process control is nearly limitless in industry, but here are three major reasons:

1. Improved Process Efficiencies

   Process control allows for improved process efficiencies because the data produced by sensors can be analyzed resulting in more effective decisions.

2. Limited Staff

   Because processes can be automated, a small staff of operators can control the most complex processes from a central location.

3. Ensures Safety

   Manipulating substances to produce a product is a very demanding and potentially hazardous process. The controlled environments and components within process control limit danger to operators.

How do I set up process control training for our school or industry training center?

So you have a workforce or classroom full of people that need to be upskilled on process control and instrumentation practices. Where do you begin? Technical training innovators like Amatrol, DAC Worldwide, Bayport, and Pignat offer a variety of concentrated, single-topic options for process control training like Amatrol’s Temperature (T5553) or Pressure (T5555) systems, DAC Worldwide’s Calibration Training (616-000) system, Bayport’s Flow Level Trainer (120-CFLCD), or Pignat’s Gas-Liquid Absorption (ABS/2000) system.  However, there is one system that not only offers hands-on skill building across all forms of instrumentation training, but is also customizable to an almost limitless degree to exactly meet your training needs:

DAC Worldwide’s 4-Variable Advanced Process Control Training System (603-000)

DAC Worldwide’s 4-Variable Advanced Process Control Training System (603-000) allows candidates to build hands-on skills in flow, level, pressure, and temperature process control applications. This system features an open physical architecture and wiring design, which allows for incredible adaptability and customization. This system can be configured to meet almost any process control training need or industry application and allows you to modify it as needs or technology changes.

The large size of the system and more complex measurement and control environment enables for PLC and DCS control systems, which means it can be set up for one large complex loop or two individual loops. This system can also feature Hart, Foundation Fieldbus, and Profibus communication systems.

The DACW 4-Variable Advanced Process Control Training System can be used for everything from interpreting PNID drawings, to teaching system walkdowns and PID control methodology, to the creation and maintenance of instrument loops, as well as large-scale system troubleshooting. This instrumentation training system includes a dynamic and complex piping system with a PID on each side, which allows for experiments in true cascade control – a topic that is uniquely covered by the 603-000 in the technical training industry.

There are also instrumentation packages – including Endress Hauser, Rosemount, & Honeywell – available to fully meet the training needs that most closely resemble the equipment you’ll see in your company or local industry.

Even More Process Control Option from DAC Worldwide!

If 4-Variable Advanced Process Control Training System is a bit more than what your training program needs, DAC Worldwide offers a full line of process control and instrumentation options. Some of these include single-topic options such as Analytic Process Control (605-000), Temperature Process Control (602-PAC), and a PID Controller Trainer (608-000).

How Can DAC Worldwide Help Your Training Program?

With more than four decades of experience in industrial training, DAC Worldwide’s reach extends far beyond just electrical products. In fact, DAC Worldwide possesses knowledge and expertise in a wide range of technical topics, including Electronics, Fluid Power, Heat Transfer & Steam, HVAC, Machining & Measurement, Mechanical Drives, Oil Production, Process Control & Instrumentation, and Pumps, Compressors & Valves.

Our training aids range from training systems and sample boards, to models and dissectibles – with real-world, hands-on learning being the core of each product. For more information on how DAC Worldwide can enhance your industrial training program and provide you with the best training solutions available, please click here.