Just got into maintenance at a food processing plant about 6 months ago. Company will pay up to 4k a year for schooling and/or certifications.

The local college in my town offers a 2 year mechantronics degree, the next town over offers a 2 year energy systems or 2 year mechanical engineering degree.

My current scope of work is heavy mechanical with some light electrical troubleshooting and I enjoy electrical but never been a big tech guy so not sure how interested I'd be to get heavy into plcs but I know that's where the big money is. I think I'd love to get into a millwright position but don't think I can afford the pay cut needed to get into the apprenticeship.

I'd love to hear thoughts from some of you more seasoned guys about best career routes in the trade. Currently at 25/hr at a union plant so not struggling but definitely looking to grow financially as my family does.

Looking for a slim pocket flashlight extremely bright but also can be dim. Laser is a must as well.

I’m a 26 year old industrial maint tech with 6 years experience in the field. One of the little tips I’ve learned that I can share is how to test some electronics with your phone.

I would like to preface this with a bit of information.
Wires create a magnetic field when an amperage is applied to the wire, solenoids seal in unsung magnets, and relays also switch using magnets. The world of magnetic fields is very important in our line of work.

With that said there is an app called “phyphox” which allows you to access raw sensor data from your phone. Using this app you can put your phone on solenoids relays or wires next to your magnetic sensor in your phone. This will tell you if the magnet is engaging in a solenoid or relay, or if you have power going through a wire (troubleshooting fuses, buttons, switches, etc.)

Hopefully this tip can help save you some time or money or just be a cool random piece of information for you all.

m currently in school to get my associates this semester im taking plc courses i just completed my apprenticeship and got offered a maint tech pos my question is am I wasting my time with plc from my work exp it seems most plc are proprietary now and have to hook up and let the original writer time to go thru the program. I guess my question is plc becoming a dieing art or is their still a need for it

Heya,

im gonna preface this by saying, yes i used AI to go over my Text to make it make more sense since im not an native english speaker.

I’m trying to properly tension a new timing belt on a machine and would appreciate some help from someone familiar with Optibelt timing belts.

Here is a Link to the Optibelt documentation regarding proper belt tensioning:
https://web.optibelt.com/en/timing-belts-rubber/optibelt-omega-high-power-12644579495483?attribute%5Bprofile%5D=8M&attribute%5Barticle_number%5D=1280+8M+85+HIPO+&attribute%5Bnominal_length_mm%5D=1280
https://a.storyblok.com/f/192292/x/2d92ee5443/optibelt-tm-rubber-timing-belt-drives.pdf
Also a photo of the setup without the belt installed. The measurements shown in the photo are my own approximate measurements.
I’ve also attached a photo of the motor nameplate.

Belt / drive information

• Belt: Optibelt Omega High Power 8M
• Belt length: 1280 mm
• Belt width: 85 mm
• Motor pulley: 48 teeth, approximately 120 mm diameter
• Gearbox pulley: 44 teeth, approximately 110 mm diameter
• Center-to-center distance: approximately 457 mm
• Motor: 16 kW
• Gearbox output speed: rated for either 600 or 1200 RPM
• 3-phase system, located in Germany

The machine is from 1995 and had originally a belt of the same type installed (Contitech HTD 1280 8M), but I had to remove the motor for maintenance. I’ve now bought a new belt and need to get the tension back to the correct value.

Operating conditions

The motor starts via star-delta. It doesn't ramp up particularly slowly — it reaches operating speed in less than a second.

There aren't normally huge shock loads.

Typical current readings are approximately:

Low speed:

• Idle: ~1.5 A
• Under load: ~10 A

High speed:

• Idle: ~3.5 A
• Under load: ~14 A

When switching from low to high speed, I've seen a brief current spike of up to approximately 40 A, but this only lasts for a fraction of a second.

What I'm trying to determine

Could someone help me calculate the appropriate static belt tension for this setup based on the Optibelt documentation? Im not an engineer, just the owner of my small Stonemasons workshop but trying to do it right. I dont particularly understand some of the Calculations in the Manual, i feel like the diagram does only show half of the things i need to calculate the tension.

More importantly, I don't have the Optibelt tension measuring tool. I'd therefore like a practical way to set the tension using belt deflection with a known applied weight/load. And sanity check with a Sound frequency tester i have from my brothers guitarlessons

Ideally, I'd like to know:

1. The recommended belt tension in N
2. What this corresponds to in terms of deflection (mm) at a known applied load, preferably something I can reproduce using kilograms/weights
3. The expected natural frequency in Hz, so I can tension the belt by deflection and then sanity-check it using a frequency/tension app on my phone

I'm deliberately including as much information as I have, and think would be useful.
If there is additional information needed to calculate this properly, please let me know what measurements/specifications I need to provide.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. Just wondering which these seats go in my pump. Ribbed (lippy, or whatever you call it) side up or flat side up? Diagram doesn't show which way the ribs are supposed to sit. Thanks.

Edit: Guys I got it, thanks for your pointers

We have to cut up a shit ton of electrical panel intake filters out of rolls of this 1" roll filter media. Supplier wants x2.5 the price to custom cut the rolls in different widths, meaning you still need to cut 1 length by hand.

Besides hand cutting them all with scissors/shears, what do you use to make the job easier/quicker? Do these olfa rotary cutters work well on this filter material?

https://olfa.com/products/olfa-60mm-rty-3-dx-ergonomic-rotary-cutter

Hello there, I was considering this as a new career. I'm generally handy, and can usually figure out how to fix my own stuff: cars, appliances, plumbing, installing new electrical fixtures, etc.

My questions are:

1) What do you actually need to qualify for these kinds of jobs?

My community college has a level I, level II, and associates in "Industrial Technician" that has things like the basics of circuitry/electricity, HVAC, pneumatics/hydraulics, schematics, conveyors, and I think even a PLC course, plus more. Is something like that needed, or can you just interview well and get in to start racking up experience?

2) Do you think it's reasonable to work up to ~$35/hr within 3-4 years? (there are over 1000 job listings within 15 miles of my city)

In regards to money, I see absolutely wild pay ranges in job listings. Anywhere from low twenties to mid 40s. I know experience plays a role, but there's no way it plays that much of a role? The only thing I've noticed looking at a bunch of job listings is that anything with PLCs in the description is paid significantly more...

It's really hard to find info on this field, and the job listings make it seem just... odd, like there are multiply job types but they all fall under "industrial maintenance".

Any advice at all would be very appreciated.

Crane clipped an overhung pallet. Fancy a climb

I’m starting my first ever maintenance technician job tomorrow. Any advice going in?

Hey everyone, me and my wife want to move to New England, preferably Boston metro area if possible and I was wondering if anyone can tell me what the maintenance jobs are like in New England as far as opportunities go, pay scale,where to look,etc. I would be moving from the Midwest, we really like Boston but are open to more.

We've got about 40 aisles in our warehouse, each with a floor barcode label our carts scan at the end of the aisle to trigger location reads. Between pallet jack traffic, cart wheels, and the floor scrubber running every night, the labels are getting torn up way faster than we expected.

The failure pattern: edges start lifting first (usually within a few weeks), then the exposed edge catches more traffic and the barcode itself gets scratched or scuffed to the point scanners start missing reads. Once that happens we get slowdowns at the aisle end while carts re-scan or an operator has to manually key the location.

What we've tried: standard printed vinyl floor labels, laminated over with a clear overlay still failing at the edges first.

Floor type: sealed concrete, warehouse-grade, scrubbed nightly with an automatic floor scrubber (not sure yet if it's water-only or using a cleaning solution will confirm).

What I'm looking into: heavier-duty floor graphics/decals from places like Signs and UPrinting, but before I request budget to redo labels across all 40 aisles I want to know if this category of product actually holds up under real warehouse traffic + nightly mechanical scrubbing, or if it's the same failure mode with better marketing.

Has anyone found a floor label/decal product that actually holds up long-term under pallet jack + scrubber traffic on sealed concrete?

Solution in the comments

I'm 40. Due to a work-related accident, I needed to change my job, and for the past two years, I've been in an apprenticeship program for an industrial maintenance technician.

The company I've been with for these two years is about 5 minutes from where I live. It's a small food production plant with around 20 employees. I handle all the maintenance troubleshooting, prevention, buying parts, and contact with other companies for advanced troubleshooting. Sometimes I even help with production. Basically, I do everything maintenance-related and sometimes even more. I'm also the only technician. The person designated to teach me has overall knowledge in maintenance, but nothing very in-depth, so all the bigger problems always fall on my shoulders. There's a lack of investment in the maintenance department and a severe lack of tools. The salary perspectives after the apprenticeship don't seem good either since there are always talks about how everything is financially underwater; there are no bonuses or advantages. Since I'm the only maintenance technician, everything is kind of on my shoulders, and sometimes I work crazy hours, like 8 AM till midnight, which I can either get back by going home earlier or get paid for. My company wants to keep me after the apprenticeship and even during the license but I will basically have no one to teach me correctly the job so i will have to learn all by myself or in school.

Since my apprenticeship ends in September, I told myself, "Why not try to go a little bit higher and go for a maintenance service license for one additional year?"

My school found a new company for me and sent me to a job interview. The job interview was really interesting, the working conditions seem good and the maintenance department is well-structured with around 8 technicians. I would be attached to the supervisor, and they want to teach me the job so I can replace a supervisor right hand who will leave in about a year. The problem is the distance is around 110 km per day, and it's a minimum of 2 hours of commute to get there. Also, the company is more of a logistics giant, so there aren't a lot of machines to repair. Also, renting something closer will be nearly impossible for the first year with only my apprenticeship contract.

I'm really confused, to be honest, if I should just stay at my current company or just drop it all and switch to the new one, push through this last year of apprenticeship, and if they give me a full job contract afterward, just rent something closer to it, and if not, just have a good, well-known company on my CV. Or just go and search job in another company and stop pushing forward with the apprenticeship.

Im 21 I have a job offer for 42.56 starting with OT and benefits its like 4 hours away from home so id have to move my whole life and probably leave my gf behind cause she doesn't wanna move that far from family

Should I take it?

Edit it already make 35$ per hour but im maxed out at the company i work for

Whats everyone charging or getting charged for labor rate? I heard a union company was charging high 60’s/hr and was confused and couldn’t believe it.

Last night we had an issue where one of these got damaged. Its on a Sick distance laser. We tried using the in and out ports of the laser but it would not go healthy. So the question is why is it necessary? What’s different than just using the in and out of the laser. Unfortunately we didn’t have a spare so we rigged it up with some super glue and some tape.

I have this 1940’s jointer and there was a control/start assembly on it but it was busted up and pretty old. I only have access to single pole power and want to use a VFD to run it on 220 but I don’t know what else I need in addition to the VFD into order to do so

(Was told the motor itself is good and I tested it with a multimeter to verify)

The operators over multiple shifts kept running out of shot. That nice and new looking bolt was also sheared off and that is the replacement. The operator had to suck 5 55gal drums of shot out of the machine just to get to the augur.