Everyone has a blog these days. Even my mother-in-law is a blogger. She has found a niche among the grandmotherly types who can't help but detail the lives of their grandchildren. She also gives equal time to the horse world she has been a part of since she was old enough to feed peppermints to horses pulling carts through the suburbs of Cleveland.
The content she provides works for her and her followers. She knows her audience and she stays focused.
For the chemical processing industry, there are several blogs that serve their communities in niche ways. And since I am part of the media that covers the chemical processing community, I am made aware of these blogs in hopes that I will enlighten my audience.
Well, consider yourself enlightened. Here are just a few new blogs I've learned about:
Brooks Instrument, a provider of advanced flow, pressure and level solutions, has launched a blog that aims to educate its audience about Brooks’ products and technologies, applications, industry trends and more. The blog will also provide a space for customers and industry experts to share their ideas and opinions regarding all types of flow, pressure and level products and applications.
Current topics on the blog include using secondary electronics with your mass flow meter or mass flow controller, using a rotameter (variable area meter) to measure flow and more.
Visit http://www.BrooksInstrument.com/Blog for more information.
Emerson Process Management also has launched an online resource to share information about Micro Motion flow and density meters.
The new Micro Motion Online Community aims to explore industry-specific measurement challenges, discussing Coriolis flow and density applications, and sharing best practices to optimize user processes.
The Micro Motion Online Community features blogs, private and public groups, videos, event listings, a knowledge wiki, and polls.
The online community can be accessed via this link >> http://www.micromotion.com/community.
This next item, while not a blog, does fit under the category of cool new tools. And since this is my blog, I can write about what I want!
Ludeca Inc., a provider of laser alignment and condition monitoring solutions, presents an iPhone app called “Laser Align” -- a free reference tool for shaft alignment of rotating equipment. With this app you can access reference material and learn about key laser shaft alignment concepts.
“Laser Align” features the following tools with helpful reference guides: Short Flex Tolerance Table , Spacer Shaft Tolerance Table, Thermal Growth Calculator.
You can download the Laser Align iPhone App by visiting
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/laser-align/id371520051?mt=8 – it's also available in the iPhone App Store.
I am certain there are several other blogs and smartphone apps out there geared toward the chemical industry. Now it's your job to enlighten others – simply post a comment regarding blogs or tools you've found useful. Are you a provider of said blogs and tools, you're welcome to post comments, too! Just don't turn this into a commercial soapbox. The idea is to make us aware of more resources.
And lest I forget, Chemical Processing and ADT have partnered to bring you a security blog that offers insight on CFATS. You can visit that blog here >> http://community.chemicalprocessing.com/chemical_security_action.
Traci Purdum
Senior Digital Editor