Nazim Hussain Baluch

Outsourcing maintenance of power generating equipment in Malaysian palm oil mills

Government of Malaysia has acknowledged that its sources of fossil fuel are depleting and stresses the need to seek other forms of energy sources as critical and of strategic importance for its long-term energy security.The government continues to undertake efforts to manage both non-renewable and renewable energy resources to meet the energy demands of Malaysias rapidly growing economy; in particular, Malaysian governments renewable energy efforts promote the biomass power generation and co-generation in the palm oil mills.However, Power producers must also consider the nature of power generation, i.e. uninterrupted electric service and environmental impact, which requires high reliability, stability and safety. Industrial organisations are constantly in search of new solutions and strategies to develop and increase their competitive advantage. This paper discusses the pros and cons of one such solution, outsourcing maintenance in power generating plants in palm oil mills and outlines, maintenance outsourcing process, and selection criteria of Maintenance Service Provider.

Efficacy of dry-ice blasting in preventive maintenance of auto robotic assemblies

Welding robots are extensively applied in the automotive assemblies and ‘Spot Welding’ is the most common welding application found in the auto stamping assembly manufacturing. Every manufacturing process is subject to variations – with resistance welding, these include; part fit up, part thickness variations, misaligned electrodes, variations in coating materials or thickness, sealers, weld force variations, shunting, machine tooling degradation; and slag and spatter damage. All welding gun tips undergo wear; an elemental part of the process. Though adaptive resistance welding control automatically compensates to keep production and quality up to the levels needed as gun tips undergo wear so that the welds remain reliable; the system cannot compensate for deterioration caused by the slag and spatter on the part holding fixtures, sensors, and gun tips. To cleanse welding robots of slag and spatter, dry-ice blasting has proven to be an effective remedy. This paper describes Spot welding process, analyses t...

AHSS Auto Structural Metal Stampings: Crucial Role of Lubricant

To improve crash worthiness and fuel economy, the automotive industry is, increasingly, using Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS). However, in recent years, stampers, particularly those serving the automotive industry, have begun to face new challenges related to the increased use of AHSS. Stamping AHSS can push the capability limits of some lubricants and often cause lubricant film break down and galling thereby increasing scrap rate and tool maintenance cost. This paper discusses the advantages of AHSS in auto metal stampings, highlights the new challenges faced by stampers, and delineates the exigency of draw lubricant in producing high quality auto stampings from AHSS.