OVERVIEW OF PRODUCTION CYCLE TIMERS

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION CYCLE TIMERS  all come in waterproof and corrosion proof enclosures and are built for rugged use in a typical factory setting.

The most popular use is a simple count-down or count up. The standard count-down cycle is used for things like timing the dwell of a rack of parts in a tank. There’s even an early warning before the end of the cycle to call the operator to the tank. This feature can also be used to announce an allowable window of time, such as with the preparation of locomotive bodies for painting. It is a lot of work to prime and condition these metal hulks and so our timers make sure the allowable painting window is hit every time.  However, there are many more programs programmed into each timer. These special cycles are selected with a DIP switches inside the enclosure

NON STANDARD TIMER CYCLES

Examples of these cycles are: interval timing, repeating cycles, machine runtime, accumulating time, and on-delay cycles. There are videos on each mode in the detail pages for each timer.

One of these is the Guard duty cycle which is used to ensure that certain processes are regularly checked. For example, many prisons around the country need our timers to ensure guards make the rounds. Each timer must be acknowledged regularly or else and alarm is given.  Similarly, the chemical industry uses it as a way to ensure that chemical levels are checked regularly.  This same cycle is used by one customer on a ship to make sure the horizon is checked every 20 minutes during the night shift when there is a danger of sailors falling asleep. 

Another cycle we created for a customer is the Andon timing, or takt timing mode.  In this case, the timer paces the production people to finish a task on time. If the operator is behind the time target, the timer chirps and flashes.

Another useful program for the production cycle timers is our interval cycle. An example is a coating operation where the ratio of the dip time and dry time is important.  In this cycle, the timer beeps after 10 seconds, which tells the operator to pull work out of the tank.  After that, it counts up for 8 seconds drying time.  This lets the operator know he must put the work back in the tank.  This cycle repeats like this until a certain color is achieved and the operator can then stop the repeating cycle.

Finally, the runtime cycle tracks run time of machines or devices with a continuous contact close, and announces when time has elapsed. An example is announcing when forklift batteries need to be charged. The timer counts the minutes that how long the ignition key is turned on.  Then, when the battery runtime is over-time, the timer issues a chirp every 5 minutes as a gentle reminder that the battery needs to be charged.

CUSTOM TIMER CYCLES

These are some examples of the less common time cycles we offer. If you need a timing cycle that isn’t in our library already, we can probably create it!