Troubleshooting chart

Table 44.6 is a vibration troubleshooting chart that identifies some of the common failure modes. This table provides general guidelines for interpreting the most common abnormal vibration profiles. These guidelines, however, do not provide positive verification or identification of machine-train problems. Verification requires an understanding of the failure mode and how it appears in the vibration signature. 

The delay relay contacts may be cleaned by passing a cloth soaked in naphtha between them. Do not force the contact arms or use any abrasives to clean the points. Do not file the silver contacts. The pilot relay is enclosed in a dust-proof box and should need no attention. Relays are usually adjusted at the factory and should not be tampered with unless faulty operation is obvious. Table 24.18, a troubleshooting chart, may prove to be a great timesaver. 

As in other plastic processes, the cast film process depends on many interactive variables, so that any defect may have one of several causes. A remedy for one defect may introduce another, so proeess problem solving is not straightforward. With these provisos, the troubleshooting chart (Table 8.1) provides a useful guide for problem solving. 

Establish control charts of instrumental performance. Day-to-day variations in pump flow rate, relative response factors, absolute response to a standard, column plate counts, and standard retention times or capacity factors are all useful monitors of the performance of a system. By requiring that operators maintain control charts, troubleshooting is made much easier. The maintenance of control charts should be limited to a few minutes per day. 

Section Three is a simple chart used to define the type of tissue specimen, the IHC staining and ancillary reagents already in place in the laboratory, and the staining protocol used by the laboratory personnel. You are encouraged to copy this chart and use it to help troubleshoot any problems you may encounter with your staining systems. 

Troubleshooting flow chart Use this flow chart to determine source(s) of non-specific staining when using an immunohistochemical protocol. 

One of the usual responsibilities of an engineer is problem solving, e.g., process troubleshooting. Using an established technique of problem analysis, you can become a better problem solver by knowing which problem to attack first. The Pareto chart is one of the most powerful tools in problem solving, yet is often overlooked in U.S, industry. 

This chart is similar to one used in tablet press monitoring for press troubleshooting (Fig. 15). It is vital for any production press operator. 

Provide quality control charts for operator review Provide troubleshooting flowcharts to assist operator... 

Computer workstations can be used to monitor and integrate the functions of one or more analyzers. Typically, the workstation serves as the point of interaction with the instrument operator, accepts test orders, monitors the testing process, assists with analysis of process quality, and provides facilities for review and verification of test results. The workstation is usually directly interfaced with the LIS host, accepting downloaded test orders, and uploading test results. Most workstations have facilities to display Levy-Jennings quality control charts, to monitor the progress of each test order, and to troubleshoot the analyzers. They may also provide facilities to assist with the review of completed test results. Some workstations have rule-based software, which allows the operator to program rules for autoverification of test results (MODULAR Middleware Software). 

If you toured a lab facility, you probably toured a wet lab, a quality control lab, or perhaps a process development lab, or maybe all of the above and wondered what these terms meant. You probably saw a control chart and wondered what it was. You may have sat in on a meeting to prepare for the upcoming quality assurance audit and wondered what an audit actually was or what GLP, MSDS, and SOP meant. You may have heard someone talk about certified reference materials and wondered what that was. You may have encountered a formal means of disposing of chemical waste and said, Wow Or you may have noticed an experiment or an instrument that wasn t working properly and, subsequently, observed chemists and technicians teaming together for troubleshooting. 

An invaluable tool for troubleshooting and maintenance is the instrument control chart. Anything useful can be control charted, such as detector response factors, deviation from expected retention time, etc., but the analysis results from a check gas is one of the most popular items to chart. The most important information a control chart can show is when the instrument needs maintenance or recalibration. While it may seem like a good idea to recalibrate every day, the act of recalibration has error associated with it, and thus overcalibrating can be as much of a problem as undercalibrating. Statistical tools can... 

Corrosive wear can usually be identified by a pitted, worn surface. The best solution to corrosive wear is to eliminate the corrosive component from the compound. However, this is often not possible for other reasons. In this case, one has to use corrosion-resistant materials of construction, such as stainless steel. Inconel, Hastelloy, etc. In order to select the best material of construction, one should know the chemical species that are causing the corrosive attack. Various metal handbooks contain information about the chemical resistance of many metals against a number of chemical species. Figure 11.12 shows a flow chart that allows systematic troubleshooting of wear problems. 

Figure 11.12 Flow chart for troubleshooting wear problems...

The first approach to the problem is generally adjustment of the temperature profile or other process conditions. If temperature adjustment does not solve the problem, one should check the hardware thermocouples, controllers, screw, barrel, drive, etc. If the problem is not associated with the hardware, it must be a functional problem and one should determine what functional zone is causing the problem. The troubleshooting flow chart in Fig. 11.34 can help in systematically exploring the possible causes of the instability. 

Figure 11.34 Troubleshooting flow chart for fluctuation In extruder performance... 

Figure 11.37 Troubleshooting flow chart for voids in the extruded product...

Table 8-2 presents in chart form a troubleshooting guide for molding problems. 

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