What’s an Artificial Lift?

Artificial Lift

An artificial lift is a device used in the oil and gas industry when there is insufficient pressure necessary to lift fluids from a oils well to the surface in already-drilled wells or in new wells, to increase the flow rate above what would flow out naturally.  You can see what an artificial lift looks like in the picture to the right.

Hydraulic cylinders are used in the valve systems of artificial lift systems to move fluids in and out of the process. An explosion-proof transducer is the perfect choice for mounting inside the cylinders for valve control, as it is a Class 1, Division 1 Certified unit that can be used in these potentially explosive environments (pictured at bottom).

 Artificial Lifts are replacing on shore “Horse Head” pumps (a.k.a. nodding donkey, thirsty bird, pump jack or grasshopper pump), and is the overhead drive for a reciprocating piston pump that is used to move liquid out of a well if there is not enough pressure to move it out naturally to the surface.  Approximately 5 to 40 liters of liquid is moved with each stroke of the horse head pump (different sized pumps will move different volumes of fluid).

 

For more information on explosion-proof transducers, click here.

 

Balluff TA12 Explosion-Proof Transducer

”Well Jack Me Up!” – Error Proofing a Car Jack Kit

Picture this scenario.   You, your spouse, or one of your kids happens to be riding one night in the middle of nowhere when a tire blows on the car.  First, we can only hope that your loved one remembered the lesson they received on how to change a flat tire in a pinch (if we gave it to them in the first place), because on this particular night, there’s no cell coverage where they’re at, AAA isn’t going to get to them very quickly, there isn’t a can of Flat Fix in the trunk, and there isn’t much traffic on the road they’re traveling on for a good Samaritan to likely show up any time soon (the scenario is extreme, but not impossible).  The jack kit sitting under the spare tire is going to seem pretty doggoned important, don’t you think? 

We take a lot for granted these days and for those of us who have been involved in the world of factory automation for many years, getting to work with customers to help solve Error-Proofing challenges on the plant floor is like one big “Class Trip” every single day!   It’s kind of like providing our customers with “toys for adults”.  And it’s a real hoot.  We get to see how stuff is made, get the opportunity to help manufacturers build better products through our Error-Proofing sensing technologies and learn over time which end products to buy and which ones to shy away from!  We also quickly realize the extreme importance of the DETAIL!  Like the components in the emergency jack kit!  What if the main handle was missing when you or your relative went to jack up the car?  What if there wasn’t any grease on the main lift shaft threads and the car couldn’t be raised?  What if other parts were missing from the kit? Not a good scenario.