Belden Blog | Belden Universal Joints

Key Considerations for Universal Joint Selection

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/27/2020 - 08:49

Carefully specified universal joints not only ensure proper fit and function but can prevent scores of machinery problems further down the road. Joint selection should start with assessing the operating conditions, with all relevant factors communicated to your sales representative. Environmental exposure to fluids, abrasives, extreme temperatures or pressure, for example, may necessitate special materials, finishes or design modifications.

Manufacturing 4.0: The Ground Level Perspective

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Thu, 06/27/2019 - 10:26

It reminds me a little of the old “Summer of Love” in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco when I was a kid, or maybe the grunge music scene in Seattle in the early 90s; two hot, trendy and uber-newsworthy movements that, by the time the academics had gotten around to naming them, by the time the media had begun covering them, and by the time they’d wormed their way into mainstream consciousness, those at their epicenter had long-since moved on to the next big thing.

Manufacturing 4.0: Or Life as We Know It

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Sun, 05/19/2019 - 10:16

It’s referred to as Manufacturing 4.0, the latest in a long line of wrinkles in our ever-changing world of heavy and light industry, a seismic marriage of technology, automation and computerization that is causing more and more manufacturing functions once done by human hands to be performed by sophisticated machines.

I will write more about Manufacturing 4.0 in the weeks ahead, especially from a human perspective. But today I’d like to offer one quick take on the concept as a whole. And to do that, let me first take you back a few decades.

Manufacturing 4.0: A Rising Tide to Float All Boats

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Sun, 02/03/2019 - 09:23

We’ve heard the horror stories. Manufacturing 4.0 will be a nightmare. It will destroy everything good about American industry (if not our country itself and our vibrant working class), all in the name of progress. And it will be an industrialized version of some creepy Orwellian place where workers are rendered unneeded by an army of heartless and soulless (but not mindless) robots, and where – fueled by increased production and slashed costs – both unemployment and corporate profits suddenly rocket skyward.

SkyART: Mining for Genius in the Inner City

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Wed, 01/09/2019 - 10:02

It’s not like Tim Cook is running Apple into the ground. For the time being anyway, the company is more than holding its own. But let’s never forget, Tim Cook remains a classic right brainer. Tim Cook is not a creator, or a visionary, or much of a dreamer. As he’s proven time and time again since the death of his almost mythic predecessor, Tim Cook is one who likes to color within the lines, and Tim Cook is a man who focuses on things he can see, touch and, in particular, tally.

An Open Letter to the Class of 2018

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Tue, 06/05/2018 - 10:45

Fifty years ago, in the movie The Graduate, a recent college grad named Benjamin Braddock is wallowing in uncertainty and unsure what to do with his life, when a family friend comes up and offers him a word of advice. “Plastics,” the middle aged man confides to the young one with a mix of smugness and middle-aged certainty. Mike Nichols, the director, and Buck Henry, the screenwriter, meant the moment as one of irony at both the meaninglessness of many adult pursuits and the wide gap between the priorities of the two generations.

Thank You, Mr. President

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Thu, 03/22/2018 - 10:47

There may be no American presidency in my lifetime more polarizing than that of the Oval Office’s current resident, Donald J. Trump. Similarly, no sitting president has ever demanded so much of his people, or challenged or demeaned their most hallowed institutions, to the extent he has. That’s why, like it or not, even for those who remain patently dumbstruck by some of the crude and hateful things our sitting president continues to say and do, we will likely all owe Mr. Trump a huge debt of thanks at some point in the not too distant future.

On Energy, Policy and the Wisdom of the Marketplace

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Wed, 02/28/2018 - 15:32

There are any number of things that decades in manufacturing have taught me, not the least of which is the inherent wisdom of the marketplace. In fact, for a guy whose political bent, sense of environmental responsibility, and pro-social conscience can tilt proudly left at times, my belief in the absolute wisdom of the marketplace is as far right as right can be. That is especially true in matters of energy.

Hard Lessons for the Old Boy Network: Nothing Wrong with US MFG More Women Wouldn’t Fix

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Wed, 11/29/2017 - 15:32

Understand, my best friend in the world is a woman – and she’s been at my side through nearly five decades. What’s more, together we have a daughter, a beautiful and talented young lady who every day blows me away with the wise, witty and deeply insightful things she continues to say, do and believe. So I clearly come at this issue with a unique and, perhaps, particular bias. But it’s hard for me to read a newspaper or watch the news these days and not feel sickened by the number of disturbing items that have at their core the mistreatment and objectification of women.

Four Ways President Trump Can Help U.S. Manufacturing

Submitted by Perry Sainati on Fri, 05/05/2017 - 12:49

I am not an economist. I don’t even play one on TV. I’m just a small business owner who’s spent his life in the most important sector in this economy.I am, in other words, a manufacturer.Yet when I hear President Trump dusting off the Laffer Curve, trafficking in 80’s-era supply-side rhetoric, and proposing tax reforms that recall the days of trickle-down prosperity and “voodoo” economics, it gives me real pause.

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