 ambient air, taking hours. The system used excessive floor space in the middle of the plant, affecting work flow in our welding and body preparation operations. We handled about 100 parts on an average good day, and it took eight or more hours to get a rush part through the finishing operation."
After inventorying all the parts that needed to be painted, studying production rates and other practices, and through several design iterations, Herr Industrial developed a space-efficient plan using a parts handling loop of power-and-free conveyor for stop-and-release transport. The design places most of the paint line on an underutilized area of shop floor elevated 42 inches above grade—"unfriendly" for the material handling needs of fabrication. This freed up 5,000 ft2 where body welding operations have since expanded.
The new system was installed over about eight weeks in late 2009, working through holiday shutdowns and around the production schedule of the plant. The line consists of approximately 200 ft of power-and-free conveyor running at a transport speed of 50 ft/min and a production rate of 12 carriers/hr. The conveyor passes through an indexing, stainless-steel, three-stage washer, convection dry-off oven, downdraft prime booth and flash section, downdraft top-coat booth with flash section, followed by a convection cure oven and exit. The line also includes a batch booth. The system is controlled by an A/B PLC with 10-inch color touch screen.
Parts loading and unloading take place in the same area. Carriers capable of holding a variable number of parts up to 750 lbs are released at a rate of about one every 5 min, resulting in an average cycle time of 45-55 min through the system. Parts more than 48 inches long or requiring special paint or processing are flagged at the loading station. The operator presses a ready-to-release button and the carrier enters the first stage of the washer when the next position is available.
The wash cycle time is selectable up to 180 sec. In the first stage of wash, manifolds of fixed nozzles reciprocate and spray the parts with an iron phosphate cleaner for about 3 min, followed by a 1-min drip, 2-min water rinse, then another drip cycle. The final stage applies a chromium-free sealer formulated for improved paint adhesion and corrosion resistance, followed by a drip cycle and dry-off oven. Up to two carriers can reside in dry-off for up to 10 min.
The conveyor exits the dry-off oven and turns 90 degrees before passing a station where carriers can be stopped for unloading so that flagged parts can be moved to the batch booth. One of the keys to the system's efficiency and flexibility to handle rush parts is the batch booth. The primary system is sized to handle the most common part shapes and sizes. Large parts or those requiring special treatment are primed, painted and allowed to cure in the batch booth. "The offline capability of the batch booth adds great flexibility for us beyond painting the 5-10% of our parts we consider large," says Paint Shop Foreman Mark Vanak. "It allows us to handle anything out of the ordinary, but particularly quick repaints or rush parts needed to get a vehicle finished. Rush parts used to take 8 hours to get painted, dried and back to the production floor. Now, it's two hours or less."
Carriers not flagged for the batch booth continue and turn 90 degrees again into the prime booth for manual painting with up to 5 min residence time in the booth. The Downdraft paint booths allow the painters (one per booth) 360-degree access to the parts. Air pulled from the paint booths is filtered for solids and then exhausted to a stack. The booths use a raised-plenum design to eliminate the need for a pit in the floor.
With prime complete, the painter pushes a ready-to-release button and the carrier automatically releases and advances to first flash position, "de-dogging" to stop behind the carrier in the flash zone. Two carriers can reside in the primer flash zone for up to 5 min at ambient temperature. After time-out, the carriers automatically advance to the top-coat booth, if a position is available. After about 5 min residence time in the top-coat booth, the painter releases the carrier to advance into the flash zone, and finally to the cure oven, where four carriers can reside for 20 min at temperatures up to 250°. After cure, parts exit the oven, and turn 90 degrees to a stop/hold position until the unload/load position is vacant.
As part of the system upgrade, KME incorporated Graco ProMix proportional mixing systems and IWATA LPH 200 HVLP guns, Vanak added. The company sprays several hundred different colors, with heavy use of black for frames and green for military work—not just the colors traditionally associated with emergency vehicles. The paint system is PPG's Delta low-VOC catalytic polyurethane, targeted for a thickness of 3.5-4.5 mils.
The new paint line is so efficient, Vanak says, that it processes about five times as many parts per day as the old line. "We have significant capacity right now, and can easily support an increase in our company's requirements, which was one of our key goals," he adds. "We averaged about 100 parts per day on the old system, but recently did 600 in one day on the new line—still with just two painters. The new line handles all our production needs and has room to increase if needed. We hope to add work from other KME departments to fill the capacity, and we're also considering contract finishing to increase our utilization."It’s no surprise that Salinas admonishes investing in BTC. As a prominent Bitcoin evangelist since 2013, his Twitter bio describes himself simply as a "Mexican businessman and Bitcoin holder."
In the interview, he also declared that he first bought BTC at $500 in 2013 through Grayscale, saying that by 2018 it was one of his "best investments ever." He has also tweeted in favor of Bitcoin remittances, tapping into a potential $40 billion market for Mexicans sending cross-border payments to the United States.Silver Alert System is a system similar to the Amber Alert System, which will provide for the rapid dissemination of information regarding missing seniors and other individuals over 18 years of age, who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other cognitive or intellectual impairments which place them at risk.
The County Sheriff’s Department in conjunction with the various town and village police departments established a Silver Alert System, develop guidelines and set up procedures for issuing a Silver Alert, and maintain a database of media organizations and other outlets to be notified when a senior citizen or other individual over 18 years of age suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other cognitive or intellectual impairment is reported missing. The establishment of this data base will be a proactive, collaborative effort between the Sheriff, Police and community based organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association, Jawonio, ARC or other organizations which are dedicated to the service of these “at risk” persons with special needs. Information and photographs will be obtained and stored in advance, whenever possible, so that they can be broadcast without any delay in case of an emergency.[NEWBIE] Song suggestions?

My dad was a huge John Prine fan, and he just passed on the 15th anniversary of my dad’s best friend John’s passing. My dad picked up guitar after John died to keep the music going and continue playing the John Prine songs that his friend John introduced him to. Needless to say, my dad is really struggling. He gifted me a beautiful Martin guitar a few years ago that I never fully picked up until just a couple days ago. I want to learn some easy songs that will brighten my dad’s day. I’ve been trying to think of songs that I have heard him play so I can learn them. 

So far I have Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Friend of the Devil, Blowin in the Wind, and Uncle Johns Band. Any songs that are relatively simple in this same vain? Partial to Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, John Prine, and the like.With a job interview looming on the horizon, most of us would feel a little (or a lot) nervous as the big day approaches. The best way to conquer your anxiety is to be as prepared in advance as possible – so there are no surprises on interview day and you can focus your energy and attention on making a great first impression.
I encourage you to watch the video above. In this clip, social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success. Amy Cuddy shares a great technique to use just before a job interview.
Here are a few ways to prepare in advance for a job interview, so that you can look and feel your professional best on interview day.
Choose your outfit days ahead of schedule
Nothing builds stress like tearing through your wardrobe for professional attire on the morning of an interview, only to find that nothing looks or fits properly. Instead, choose your outfit in advance – leaving at least a few days in case a suit or jacket needs to be dry-cleaned, tailored or mended.
Spend time carefully weighing your choices, making sure that you land on an outfit that is very professional and properly matching, leaving additional time to consider accessories. Ask for a second opinion from a friend or family member to make sure the outfit works – and to look it over for any stains or tears you may have missed.
Buy thank-you cards
Writing a thank-you card to every