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60+ Years of Experience

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Month: September 2017

How Hallmark Nameplate Can Make Your Company Safer

Working with Hallmark Nameplate can have numerous safety benefits for your company. These benefits come in many forms. We can provide you with properly labeled control panels that will prevent you and your employees from hitting the wrong buttons, which could cause injury. The device we make are thoroughly tested for quality, so it is very unlikely that a malfunction could possibly cause an injury. The electronics we make allow the possibility of automation of manual functions. Manual functions, especially in industrial situations, can be dangerous for the workers. Our circuit boards are available with lead-free solder, which removes the chance of negative health effects caused by lead. Outsourcing manufacturing to us removes some of the most dangerous activities that your employees may have to engage in and leaves them to seasoned trained and experienced professionals. To learn more about the safety benefits, read on.

Properly Labeled Control Panels at Hallmark Nameplate

One of the most important safety benefits that using our products can offer is proper labeling. This benefit is often overlooked, but it can be significant. Poorly laid out and labeled control panels can cause employees to press the wrong buttons. The device they’re controlling could perform an unwanted action, which may lead to an injury. We will work with you to label our custom control panels in the most be easy to understand way possible to prevent this from happening.

Quality Equipment That Won’t Malfunction

As previously mentioned, everything we make is tested and held the highest of standards. This means it is very unlikely that it will malfunction. A variety of equipment can be dangerous when is malfunctioning, including electronics. A lesser chance of malfunctioning means a safer workplace for you and your employees.

Automation of Manual Functions

The circuit boards and electronic assemblies that we make can allow you to automate some previously manual functions. If you have a machine doing the work while a human oversees, the human is in less danger than if they were actually dealing with moving parts themselves. Not only is this safer for your employees, but it is also less stressful and more efficient. This means that your company will be a healthier working environment both physically and mentally for all of your employees. Mental health is often overlooked, even in this day and age, but the mental health benefits of working with Hallmark Nameplate should be taken into serious consideration.

Lead-Free Solder

Another safety benefit Hallmark Nameplate offers is the use of lead-free solder. If you are safety-conscious, we will use lead-free solder, although we can also use leaded solder to save your money. It’s totally up to you. As you know the no doubt already know, lead has a variety of negative health effects. The amount of lead in solder is quite small, but if you want to remove any risk to yourself and your employees lead-free solder is a good choice. Simply let us know when you’re placing your order if you want lead free solder and we will accommodate this request for you.

Outsourcing Your Manufacturing

Manufacturing is one of the most dangerous business activities, especially if you and your employees are not specialists in this field. At Hallmark Nameplate, our employees are properly trained and experienced in the science of manufacturing devices safely. If you outsource your manufacturing needs to us, you and your employees will be safe and the work will be taken care of by people who know how to do it in a healthy way. If you let us handle the manufacturing, you can focus on marketing, selling, and shipping your products. Not only will this help your company be safer, but it may also help improve your bottom line.

Taking Advantage of These Safety Benefits

All you have to do to take advantage of these safety benefits is to start working with Hallmark Nameplate. We can make control boxes, nameplates, graphic overlays, and much more. Contact us today to get more information about our services from our representatives. When you have worked with our representative to figure out exactly what you need, we will give you a quick free estimate. Once you have given us the go-ahead to start work, our highly trained and experienced professionals will make your device with great care and check it thoroughly once they’ve finished. At this point, we will ship the device to you and you can reap the safety benefits and other benefits.

What Kind of Control Panel Do You Need?

Even though it may seem counterintuitive, many devices that could use control panels do not come with them as standard. Hallmark Nameplate can make a control panel for any application you might have. These control panels are made to the highest standards in our full-service manufacturing process, which includes displays, controls, and interfaces. Our design professionals can even help you with the graphics and the color of the panel. Even if you already know that you need a control panel, you have to figure out what kind you need. The kind of control panel you need is based on the application that you have. To learn more about different applications and the control panels they require, read on.

Panels for Telecommunication Applications

Many telecommunication devices currently on the market today could use better control panels. For example, a home security system is considered to be a telecommunication device. A better control panel for your tablet home security system could give you better ergonomics and allow you to customize your systems for your customers.

Transportation Control Panels

Many heavy transportation vehicles, like fire trucks, ambulances, and garbage trucks can benefit from a control panel in the cockpit. Any vehicle that has a wide variety of powerful functions that the driver must control is a good candidate for one of our control panels. Our panels give your vehicles more driver-friendly options for lighting, hydraulics, indicators, and more.

Computer Peripheral Control Panels

If you make computer peripherals, especially for commercial or industrial use, your product could benefit from a control panel. Computer peripherals that we commonly manufacture control panels for include printers, projectors, commercial speakers, and Industrial displays. Of course, control panels are available for just about any computer peripheral you might have, as we can custom-make control panels for your needs.

Food Service Panels

Many of our clients are in the foodservice industry. Climate control is especially important when it comes to food service. Not only do you want your customers to be comfortable, but you’re also going to need to keep an optimal temperature to keep your food fresh. We can make control panels for both climate control and refrigeration needs. These control panels will be made specifically to survive cleaning chemicals and cold temperatures. Our Food Service control panels are also made to prevent employee or customer tempering. Finally, we can create a centralized control panel that will allow you to take charge of multiple different functions in your business. Greater control over your refrigeration and room temperature can save you money on your electricity bills.

General Industrial Controls

Hallmark Nameplate manufacturers many control panels for industrial use. These applications often include machines in factories and other manufacturing businesses. Our industrial control panels are made to survive chemicals, vibration, and other harsh conditions. We also make industrial control panels for construction equipment, such as cranes and bulldozers. No matter what your industrial application is, the control panel includes motor branch circuit protective devices and disconnect means. The control panel casing will also be made of metal or very strong plastic to suit whatever industrial need you may have. All you have to do is let us know the specific industrial application, and we will work with you to come up with the right design for your needs.

Outsource a Control Panel for Your Product

If you are manufacturing a product in one of the categories listed above or even a part of that does not fall into any of these categories, contact us about making a custom control panel for you. You could try and make one yourself, but Hallmark Nameplate has the experience and expertise to create custom control panels quicker and more cheaply than many companies can in-house. Also, we can work with you to gain a greater knowledge of your product and customize a control panel that will offer added functional functionality to the users of your product.

Everything You Need to Know About a Box Build

If you are in the market for a custom circuit board, you’ve no doubt heard the term “box build.” Box builds are the metal and plastic boxes used to house circuit boards and other delicate electronics. Oftentimes, these boxes are purchased from a different company than the one who actually made the electronics. However, it may be more convenient to purchase both components from the same company. Box builds are custom-made based on the dimensions of the electronics, and they require a variety of different parts such as injection molded plastic and sheet metal. These boxes are subject to extensive quality control procedures before being shipped to the buyer. To learn more about box builds, read on.

Protecting Delicate Electronics

Box builds are manufactured primarily to protect delicate electronics. As you no doubt already know, circuit boards and associated parts are very sensitive to vibrations, liquid spills, and many other dangers. Custom circuit boards are not cheap, so protecting them properly is vital. A custom-made box build is the best way to do this.

Purchasing a Box Build from the Company Making the Electronics

As previously mentioned, many box builds are purchased separately from the electronics. However, Hallmark Nameplate makes both custom circuit boards with associated electronics and box builds. Taking advantage of this service will save you time and money. You don’t have to worry about getting your electronics and then waiting to get the box necessary to protect them. You can get the completed assembly all at once. Not only can you save time and money, but the box will fit more precisely if the company making the electronics designs the box around the exact dimensions of these parts.

Designing the Box

For a company to design a box build, they need the exact dimensions of the parts and they need to know information about how the electronics will be used and where they will be installed. If you have the same company make the electronics and the box, they will likely already have all this information. If you indicate that you would like a company like Hallmark Nameplate to make the box at the same time as you place the order for the electronics, the entire process will be streamlined to make it quicker and more effective.

Parts Required for a Box Build

As previously mentioned, several parts are required to complete a box build. The main parts are sheet metal fabricated pieces and injection molded plastic. These make up the majority of the box material. However, they are not the only parts of the box. Cable assemblies and PCBs are also necessary to build a proper box. There may be other parts required, as well. This depends on the specific build. A special type of glue is often required for these boxes. Hallmark Nameplate uses only specially made glue that will not interfere with the operations of the electronics in any way, shape, or form.

Quality Control

Reputable manufacturers, such as Hallmark Nameplate, put everything they make through rigorous quality control procedures. A custom box build is not cheap, so you want it to work perfectly right away. All of Hallmark’s box builds are inspected using Auto Optical inspection as well as x-ray testing. Our X-ray testing uses state-of-the-art Yestech devices to inspect every circuit board and array. Everything is also hand-inspected by trained quality control professionals. Only after the equipment has passed all these checks does it go out to the customer. This ensures a very low failure rate for items we manufacture.

Vertically Integrated Manufacturing from Hallmark Nameplate

Hallmark Nameplate offers fully integrated manufacturing services. This means we can take your prototype from the design stage to the circuit board to full visual electronic testing to box build. We can do everything in-house, which saves you time and money. It also reduces the amount of effort you have to put into getting that device you want. We have a complete ISO9001: 2008 operation, which means everything is up to the latest and most stringent industry standards. Of course, we also have extensive and highly advanced quality control checks that are always applied after the manufacturing has been completed.

Electronic Components and the Environment

Electronic components can be harmed by environmental conditions and they must either be made to withstand those conditions or an effective maintenance program needs to be developed to keep the components clean. Among the environmental conditions that can negatively affect electronic components are moisture from humidity and dust particles. Here is a brief discussion on how each of these conditions affects electronic components and what can be done to relieve those conditions.

Humidity

Humidity can adversely affect electronic components because of high moisture levels. Moisture can develop inside the component if it undergoes rapid temperature changes either by the component heating up after extended periods of usage or because the ambient temperature changes when a component is moved from a cold setting to a warm setting like when a laptop is taking from a cold car in the winter into a heated office setting.

The rapid temperature change can cause moisture droplets to develop inside the components. The droplets, when it gets on the circuit board, can cause a circuit board to short-circuit and burn out. If this happens, the electronic component will fail and need to be repaired or replaced.

The solution is to control the amount of moisture inside the electronic component. The moisture can be controlled through the proper design of the components. Since condensation develops when the temperature inside the components is different than the ambient temperature outside of the component, the design of the component has to incorporate methods to either equalize the temperatures or make the temperature inside the component higher than the outside temperature to prevent condensation from building up inside the component.

This can be accomplished in several ways. For example, a heat exchanger can be installed to absorb the heat and move it away from the circuit board. Proper ventilation of the component is also used to move moisture away from the circuit board to keep it safe.

Dust Particles

Dust particles can enter into electronic components that are not completely sealed off from the surrounding environment. When the dust particles settle inside a component, the dust covers the electronic components and cause them to overheat. The electronic component can either start to run slowly or not at all. The heat inside the component can become so hot that the insulation on the wires inside of it can change colors. This occurs most rapidly when the ambient temperatures start to warm up when the seasons move from winter to summer.

Fans are often used to cool down the inside of an electronic component and it is the action of the fan which pulls dust particles into it. One way to determine if this is happening to you is that the fan will start to get louder as it works harder to cool down the central processing unit (CPU) inside of your computer. CPUs and other chips typically have a heat sink that acts as a heat exchanger. Heat sinks are metal blocks that have fins that the cool air blows on. The heat sink transfers the heat from the CPU and an internal case fan then blows the heat out of the component. If the fins on the heat sink fill up with dust particles, the component will eventually overheat and fail.

The method is to counteract the buildup of dust is not done by a design alteration. Instead, you will have to take action to remove the dust particles from inside the component. The best way to do this is to get a can of compressed air. You will usually have to take the casing off of the electronic component to reach the areas that need to be cleaned. Take off the casing and blow the air onto the heat sinks and fans to remove the dust. You must be careful to not blow the dust onto other components like laser beams found in DVD players. You should set up a regular maintenance plan to clean the inside of your electronic components that use fans to cool them down. Components should be cleaned at least once a year under normal dust conditions, but if the component is used in heavy dusty conditions, it should be done once every six months or so to ensure the component functions as intended.

If you have any questions on how environmental conditions affect electronic components, call us a Hallmark Nameplate. We can answer any questions you might have.