Protecting Your Customers’ Info: Understanding The ‘Safeguards Rule’
By now, most shops should have implemented their information security programs and taken steps to ensure compliance with the Safeguards Rule. If you have not, we recommend taking steps to get in compliance immediately. If you have, it’s still important to periodically review and assess your program to ensure you remain in compliance. History President
Making Dollars and Sense Cleaning Blocks, Heads
Unless you’re starting with all new parts, cleaning is as important to your engine build as disassembly, inspection, machining and reassembly. Without taking the cylinder heads and engine blocks down to bare metal, you can’t properly inspect the castings for cracks, wear and other defects. For something so important, proper cleaning technique is often misunderstood, overlooked
PRI Racing Trade Show To Attract Racers From 65 Countries
PRI will feature the latest advances in motorsports technology for all forms of auto racing, including sports car, stock car, drag, open wheel, formula, prototype, off-road, karting and more. Approximately 1100 companies will exhibit their new product lines for the 2012 race season in 3,200 booths. The whole event takes up 700,000 square feet. In
Cleaning Cylinder Heads and Blocks
The cleaning process should remove all of the dirt, grease, oil, rust, scale and carbon deposits that have accumulated over the years. With painted castings, the old paint also has to be stripped away so the surface can be repainted. Even if you’re working with brand new castings, a final cleaning is still necessary after
Common Failure Modes
For years, B&G Machine had been a diesel machine shop serving Seattle and the upper Northwest part of the U.S. To address certain market conditions in the mid- to late-’90s, we began building diesel engines. In doing so, we tried to identify the engines that would best serve a captive market – markets that would
Sulzer Metco to Showcase Coatings Technologies at IMIS and PRI
The companies will share a booth so that attendees can discover the benefits of the companies’ complementary technologies. They can be found at Booth 433 at IMIS and Booth 3963 at PRI. Sulzer Metco surface solutions enable racing teams, engine builders and automotive companies to increase the durability of their parts and components and
SME Announces 2011 Election Results For Int’l Directors and Member Council
All will be installed on November 13, 2010, at the SME Fall Board of Directors Meeting in Dearborn, Mich. Their terms officially begin on January 1, 2011. 2011-12 International Directors Warren R. DeVries, PhD, FSME, is dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Previously, DeVries was
It
The above statement is bold, you may think. Are you thinking that it doesn’t applyto your business? You may think you’re doing okay. Yet my statementapplies to everyone – from a one-man shop to a shop with 100 employeesor more – because if you don’t do it, your competitor will! The most recent Machine Shop
Sulzer Acquires Diamond-like Carbon Coatings Division from Bekaert
The DLC division of Bekaert has been acquired by Sulzer Metco, a leading global supplier of services and products for surface solutions, covering thermal-spray and thin-film coating technologies. The acquisition, which includes Bekaert’s diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings and racing activities, will deliver significant technological benefits to Sulzer and Bekaert customers, as both companies have a
The Evolution of Diesel Piston Designs
Traditionally, diesel engines are known for their long life, fuel economy and efficiency in getting large loads from place to place. Diesel engines are equal to gasoline engines in horsepower per cubic inch, and they have double the torque of gasoline engines and can achieve up to 40 percent better fuel economy, making them ideal
APRA to Host MEGA Clinic
The Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) will be bringing four divisions together during the upcoming “MEGA Clinic” on June 3-5, 2010 at the Doubletree Hotel in Springfield, MS. The program will contain seminars for remanufacturers and suppliers involved in HD Transmissions, Volume Transmissions, HD Brakes and Electrical. Along with cutting edge seminars, the group will
High Tech Cleaning Options
Yet while machining tolerances and performance expectations have changed dramatically over the past few decades, when it comes to getting parts clean, many of those high-tech shops struggle with the same technology they used 30 years ago. The simple fact is, times have changed for parts cleaning, and so have the methods. Engine builders have
Advanced Machine Tooling
The key to boosting productivity is to remove more metal in less time. However, faster cutting speeds and feeds require tooling inserts that can take the heat and abuse without dulling. To achieve these goals, tooling suppliers have come up with various cutter shapes, edge geometries and surface coatings that significantly improve tool performance and
It
A bold statement, you may think. Are you thinking that it doesn’t apply to your business? You may think you’re doing okay. Yet my statement applies to everyone – from a one-man shop to a shop with 100 employees or more – because if you don’t do it, your competitor will! The most recent Machine
Cleaning: Different Methods for Different Needs
Back in the late 1800s, the director of the U.S. Patent Office was said to remark “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Charles Duell, U.S. Patent Commissioner in 1899 reportedly told the President of the United States that there was no more innovation and, therefore, no more need for the patent office. Except
Boosting Performance – Nitrous, Superchargers and Turbochargers
From the budget six-cylinders that get 300 hp and 28 mpg for less than $25,000 to the 600 hp Viper V10 to the 630 hp Corvette ZR1 for just over $100,000, the performance market is deep and wide. “It’s amazing, the horsepower potential that these cars are coming with off the factory floor,” says Frank
A Winning Pair
The Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association (APRA) and the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association (ATRA) will both be holding their annual expositions at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas prior to the AAPEX and SEMA Shows. Combining the two shows – APRA’s The BIG R Show and ATRA’s Powertrain Expo – into one all-encompassing exhibit
EFI Introduction 101
EFI has become the tool that has unlocked the next level of engine performance. Nowhere is it more evident than in drag racing, where EFI has taken over where the rules permit. Take Joe Dunn’s Pat Musi-powered ’68 Camaro that just rocked the competition with a 6.38 @ 218 mph pass. Its 755 cid big-block
Lincoln Electric Launches Welding Fume Awareness Campaign
The Lincoln Electric Company has launched its “Are You Ready?”awareness campaign, designed to educate employers, as well as thegeneral welding community, about effective fume control practices. Thecampaign is also designed to help fabricators understand both recentand upcoming Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA)regulations, including the hexavalent chromium standards going intoeffect on May 31, 2010. Thecampaign
Profiting From Personal Performance
Ifyou’ve been following my articles over the last year, you may bestarting to get some new ideas for finding profits in selling highperformance engines, parts and accessories. We’ve discussed various sales techniques to battle internet and catalogparts sales, or “walk-in parts,” as I like to call them. I wrote aboutstrategies and gave them creative names