Edmonton Valve & Fitting Blog

These five topics proved the most popular for the past year

A lot of our posts come with some great (free) downloads. We look back at our top customer downloads for 2018, including the Hand Tube Bender Manual - did you get your hands on all of them yet? 

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Some of the greatest resources on our website are the many downloads you can get for free. Fill out the form, click the "download" button, and you get tons of useful information at no cost.

A few of the most popular downloads are old favorites. There's no greater classic in fluid systems than the Swagelok Tube Fitter’s Manual. Author Joe Callahan had a 42-year-career at Swagelok. In fact, he started before the company was called Swagelok, and ended up as president, chief executive and chairman.

The Swagelok Tube Fitter's Manual balances theory and practical examples, making it a must-have reference for fluid system engineers, designers, and technicians, as well as students. Each of its 11 chapters covers a different aspect of a tubing system, including fittings, tubing, installation, and more.

The other classic is our Hand Tube Bender Manual.  Bending tubing by hand is often the fastest and simplest way to bend tubing. The Hand Tube Bender Manual explains step-by-step how to prepare, measure, and calculate, to perfectly execute the bends every time. Once you've learned how to do use it properly, Swagelok hand tube benders provide consistent, high-quality bends in tubing made from most materials used with Swagelok tube fittings.

Special subjects

But people also loved a couple of less-common items. Among them are our VCR & VCO Face Seal Catalogues. The VCR line is our metal gasket face seal fittings. In the catalogue you'll find typical VCR assemblies, pressure and temperature ratings, testing and cleaning information, and more. VCO is a line of O-ring face seal fittings. The VCO catalogue is likewise packed with technical data and testing information.

Visitors to our site also found the Swagelok Special Alloys PDF desirable. When you need parts made of titanium, 6-Moly or any of 10 other alloys, this is the place to start sorting through your choices. Swagelok has the industry knowledge, metallurgy expertise, quality reputation, layers of support, and skills in both design and manufacturing to assist with your job requirements. 

Expert advice

For a broad range of expert advice, our Training & Education page proved very popular.

Whether you need in-depth courses taught by expert instructors or training videos and online classes, Swagelok training equips your team to work safer and smarter. Topics include:

• Swagelok Essentials: Learn to build and maintain dependable systems, taught by Swagelok-certified trainers at locations and times convenient to you.
• Sampling System Training: Three courses that will help you diagnose, troubleshoot and eliminate sampling system design flaws.
• Advanced Tube Bending: Learn different methods of tube bending for both simple and complex offset bends with hand and bench-top tube benders.
• Tech Tips Videos: A wide range of Swagelok expertise at your convenience with our video library, with topics from tube bending assembly to regulator applications.

Are any of these downloads missing from your collection? This is a great time to fill in the gaps.

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Get quick, tailored advice

In a hurry or have a question? Please get in touch (we respond fast):

Comprehensive training in tube fitting installation with Swagelok's Total Support Training Seminar

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To learn more about our Swagelok training classes, download a copy of our free training catalogue and find the class that suits your team's development.

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In 2018 we trained approx. 249 students in our Swagelok Total Support Training (STS) full-day course, and the year isn't over yet! Plus that doesn't include all of the students that participated in our "mini" training sessions held off-site at customer locations. 

This STS seminar emphasizes the importance of choosing the correct tubing and fittings for your specific job, along with training on the proper handling, preparing, and installation of those components. 

Theoretical vs. practical 

The ISO certified class is broken down into two sections, first theoretical and then practical. In the theoretical portion there are seven lessons that breakdown the history of the tube fitting, installation procedures, leakage, the dangers of intermixing and interchanging parts, installation tools, and more. 

The practical portion allows the students to get hands-on with a tubing system where they demonstrate bending and proper tube fitting installation techniques. One of the more exciting parts of this section is where students install both an end cap and reducing union on a piece of stainless steel tubing and put it in our 'burst chamber' to test how well it performs under pressure. 

What's included

The full-day course comes complete with a comprehensive work book, installer pocket guide, tube bender manual, inspection gauge, gripper pad, and marking device. Morning snacks and lunch will also be provided. After successful completion of the course the attendee will receive a certificate of completion (valid for 36 months).

2019 Training Dates

Below are the dates for the 2019 class offering for Swagelok's Total Support Training:

• January 10, 2019
• February 5, 2019
• March 7, 2019
• April 2, 2019
• May 2, 2019
• June 6, 2019
• September 6, 2019
• October 1, 2019
• November 7, 2019
• December 3, 2019

Don't see a class time that works for you? Do you have have a large number of employees looking to take the class? We can accommodate on-site training courses if you meet the requirements. Contact us today to get the process started. 

 

Back by popular demand, this two-day course will help you maintain your sampling systems peak performance

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The two-day training course, held in Edmonton Valve's training centre, will cover aspects of a sample system, from process line and tap through transport lines, steam switching, sample conditioning, analyzer and disposal.

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We are excited to be once-again hosting the Sample System Problem Solving and Maintenance Training (SSM) in the new year, on January 29th and 30th here in Edmonton, Alberta. This course is designed for Sampling System Technicians and Maintenance Personnel to gain knowledge in troubleshooting inaccuracies and inefficiencies in your fluid systems.

Experienced Swagelok instructor

This year we are bringing in a new face to teach the course, Mr. Phil Harris. Harris has worked in research & development, product development, and online analytical instrumentation for over 30 years. Along with teaching the SSM two-day course, he currently teaches internationally a five-day course on Process Analyzer Sample Systems (PASS) with Swagelok and Tony Waters. So, if you have any questions on sample systems, Harris is 'the' guy to answer them!

What to expect

Over the two-day period, you will be learning both the basics of sampling systems and getting that hands-on experience with the equipment. This includes:

Day 1 - Fundamentals: classwork and basic exercises

• Performance review of sample systems
• Diagnosing and fixing time delay problems
• In-depth look at system components

Day 2 - Sample conditioning techniques

• Design of field stations and fast loop systems
• Troubleshoot systems
• Group projects
• And more!

Included in the course fee covers all provided course materials, snacks, lunch, and beverages. 

Swagelok’s Sampling System Training (SSM) teaches both the fundamental and advanced practices in analytical instrumentation operation and maintenance. Register for the two-day course today to be empowered in your job for maintaining your sampling system with minimal error and with greater system integrity. Registration deadline is December 31st, 2018.

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Have a question before you register, send us a message!

 

Up to 50% of skilled workers could retire withing the next 10 years - we can help relieve that pressure

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Building an effective training program can help maintain the skills of your experienced workforce and assist your new staff in getting up to speed. Let us help with our free resource, “Three Steps to Building an Effective Plant Training Program."

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Did you know last year alone Swagelok helped train approximately 40,000 individuals on their plant’s fluid systems? If you weren't one of them, we can assist you today. 

Building an effective training program

Not sure on where to start in building an effective training program for your plant and operations? Here is a quick overview on our free download:

• How to meet the varied needs of your labour force
  (Step 1: "Don't leave anyone out")
• Questions to ask when looking for a training provider 
  (Step 2: "Look for experienced instructors")
• The proper follow-up for your people after training
  (Step 3: "Manage the 'forgetting curve' ")
• Bonus tips for each step

Learn more about our training offerings, get in touch today. 

Additional resources:

• New Training Centre Has Plenty Of Room For Learning
• Swagelok Services Relieve the Other Kind of Pressure
• Seek Suppliers That Help You Prepare for Recovery

 

Acquire the skills that will save time, save money and increase system efficiency

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Edmonton Valve has been offering a variety of courses over the years, from teaching about fitting installation to improving sampling system performance, we've got you covered. Download our free training catalogue today and find a training class to suit your teams development.

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What do valves, fittings, gauges and most other Swagelok components have in common? They need tubing in order to be of any use in a fluid system. Without tubing, all you'd have is a pile of parts.

It's vital, then, to understand how to handle tubing, plan a route for it, cut the correct length of tubing and bend it accurately.

There's not need to learn by trial and error. There's no need to wonder if your co-workers are passing along any bad habits if you rely on them to show you want to do. Rely instead on Edmonton Valve & Fitting. Our four-hour Tube Bending Essentials class on tube bending will show you what you need to know. With guidance from a certified expert, you'll learn how to consistently make optimal tube bends, and do the work efficiently.

What we cover

We start at the beginning: How to handle tubing without damaging it. We'll show you how to properly cut and debur the tubing as well as how to bend it. You'll learn how to calculate the length of tubing you need to get from Point A to Point B. That's especially important when you are using expansion loops and offsets, which we'll also cover.

Good craftsmanship not only saves money by reducing the amount of expensive scrap, it also improves fluid system performance.

The course has hand-on exercises as well as classroom instruction, so you'll be able to practice what you just learned. 

Who should attend

Anyone who has to install tubing can benefit from this course: fabricators, contractors and technicians. But it's also valuable knowledge for people who design fluid systems: engineers and draftsmen. Anyone responsible for inspecting or maintaining a fluid system also needs to know if the job was done right: quality control personnel and safety engineers.

Tube Bending Essentials is only one of many classes that we offer. You can contact us through the linked page to sign up for the next class in our new training center, or we can bring the class to your location. If you prefer to talk with a live person, we're at 780-437-0640.

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Additional resources

• New Training Centre Has Plenty Of Room For Learning
• Keep Your Sampling Systems At Peak Performance
• Burst Chamber: Classes Teach Safe Installation of Swagelok Fittings

An attempt to set a new land speed record inspires students in the classroom

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 Swagelok is partnering with a Northeast Ohio school district to bring access to BLOODHOUND-themed STEM education programs, watch the video here.

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Teachers in Hudson, Ohio, have a great tool for pepping up math and science lessons for fourth-graders: a supersonic car called the Bloodhound.

The Bloodhound is a British-built attempt to set a new land speed record. Swagelok parts are crucial in the car's hydraulics, and especially the brakes. (Good brakes are important in any car, but especially one designed to reach speeds of up to 1,600 km/h.)

So two years ago, Swagelok approached Hudson Superintendent Phil Herman to see if the district would be interested in exploring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) content available through Swagelok's work on the Bloodhound. Through a series of meetings and brainstorming session, the school decided that fourth graders would make an ideal audience.

High-powered learning

“We examined the Bloodhound STEM content through the lens of project-based learning and then reflected on what essential questions could be posed to incorporate the content,” says Christina Wooley, PK-12 curriculum coordinator, Hudson City School District.

Throughout the 2016-2017 school year, two teams of fourth-grade teachers have integrated Bloodhound lessons across a wide range of subjects: earth, physical and life sciences; physics; chemistry; language arts; social studies; and English. The program ends with the students designing, building and racing Bloodhound model rocket cars.

Take a look

You can see the excitement in the kids' faces in this five-minute video from Swagelok

"The education side of the project is paramount. If we build the car and just went racing but didn't inspire anybody, I don't think the project would have the value that it has now," says Tony Parraman, sponsor liaison with Bloodhound SSC.

The Bloodhound gives the students' imaginations a big boost. As curriculum coordinator Christina Wooley put it, a typical science lab would give the students a series of steps to follow, and that's that. With the Bloodhound as a focus, students can explore in many different directions.

They also get to see how problems are tackled in the real world.

"I liked the design and building part, how you can design something on paper, and then if it doesn't work you can start over," says one student in the video. In other words, making mistakes is a normal part of learning, and it's not a reason to give up when tackling a problem.

Inspired learning at East Woods School 

“We are so grateful to Swagelok for bringing Hudson students this inspirational learning opportunity,” says Phil Herman, superintendent of the Hudson City School District. “I’ve seen first-hand how our students light up with enthusiasm when they’re solving a STEM challenge tied to Bloodhound.”

Swagelok's role on the car

The gigantic Bloodhound is more than 13 meters long and weighs 7.7 metric tons. It has three engines generating a combined 135,000 horsepower: a jet engine, a rocket engine, and a V8 just to run the fuel pump.

Swagelok components will be relied on to open air brake doors after the rocket car reaches its top speed, and for final breaking below 600 km/h. The company’s products will also play a vital role in the safety of the fueling system and re-fueling rig. Swagelok products on the car include 60 series ball valves and RL series relief valves, QC and QF quick connects, tubing, gauges, hoses, and tube fittings.

You may not be working on a supersonic car, but Edmonton Valve & Fitting can still help get your next fluid system project up to speed. Set up an appointment through our website or call us at 780.437.0640.

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Additional resources

• Swagelok Parts Help Keep Eco Car Competitive
• Swagelok's 60 Series Ball Valves Cover a Wide Range of Applications
• Quick-Connect Fittings Make Maintenance Easier 

We've doubled our seating capacity, and there's even room to serve lunch

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As Edmonton Valve & Fitting continues to expand our training offerings we have also needed to expand our space. The lecture room, pictured above, is just one of the improvements found at the new facility. Sign up for one of our upcoming training sessions and check out the new training centre.

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Training classes have long been an important service of Edmonton Valve & Fitting. Even the best components can't do their job well unless they are installed and maintained properly in a well designed fluid system.

Originally we conducted training right in our headquarters office. Eventually we needed more space, so for the past few years we have been renting a place down the block. Lately even that hasn't been big enough, so this year we built out a new venue specifically designed for our training classes.

Plenty of room

Our new training centre can handle up to 24 people at a time. We outfitted it with dual projection screens and two glass whiteboards for presentations. All of the tables have built-in power outlets, so attendees can charge a smart phone or plug in a laptop computer without hunting for a wall outlet.

In addition to the main training area, we have a board room and two offices up front. We can have our sales meetings there even while training is being conducted in the other room.

Until now, everyone had to come back to our headquarters when we stopped at mid-day for lunch; now we can serve them right in the training centre's lunch room.

We also have a "hands on" room (pictured below) we can use for teaching people how to bend tubing. That means we can conduct two training sessions at once.

Light and airy

For too many people, attending a training class means being stuck in a stuffy, cramped room all day under dreary fluorescent light. We wanted to create a space more conducive to learning. We went with an open-ceiling concept and bright LED lighting. So it's environmentally friendly as well as being more comfortable.

For our first session in the new building we scheduled our Swagelok Total Support training for Sept. 7. We have many more classes in the pipeline, including the two-day Sampling System Problem Solving & Maintenance course in November. Check out our Training and Education page, and then get ready to learn in a bright new setting.

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Additional resources

• A Customer View on Edmonton's Tube Fitting & Installation Training
• Burst Chamber: Classes Teach Safe Installation of Swagelok Fittings
• Keep Your Sampling Systems At Peak Performance

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In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640.

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Knowing how to troubleshoot your fluid system reduces expensive downtime

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At Edmonton Valve we have the resources to help you design effective sampling systems. From hands-on training and Evaluation and Advisory Services, our experienced experts are here to help you. Watch this video highlighting some of the ways Swagelok can help you.

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Some kinds of pressure are good, like maintaining reliable pressure in a fluid system. Other kinds of pressure are bad, like the kind you feel when your fluid system isn't working as it should.

You already know that Swagelok components are great for dealing with the first kind of pressure. But Edmonton Valve & Fitting can also help with the second kind with our training, education, evaluation and advisory services.

Take a few minutes to look at this short video (which just happens to include an appearance from our own field engineer Stacey Phillips), and you'll learn a little about what we can do for you.

Pressures mount

As Phillips says, customers today are under more pressure than ever from increasing safety regulations and pressure to make more profits. At the same time, a lifetime of knowledge walks out the door each time a longtime worker retires.

That's where our training classes can add a lot of value. We make sure that your engineers, buyers and installers understand that good design, operation and maintenance goes way beyond "I just need a valve." When your installers are properly trained on tube fitting safety, you'll have fewer leaks. When your trained technician is troubleshooting, they'll recognize the symptoms and quickly narrow down the areas that require attention.

If you need more expertise than you have on site, we can come out and look over your fluid system. We can do the troubleshooting, but we also can help you evaluate some of the things that might need to be done to improve the system. When you have a well-designed system, you get better reliability, and your maintenance crew isn't tied up dealing with day-to-day problems.

An increase in throughput means an increase in productivity, which translates to an increase in profitability.

 

Edmonton Valve & Fitting offers so much more than components. We have expertise to share. Tap into it by calling us at 780-437-0640 or contacting us through our website. 

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Additional resources

• Keep Your Sampling Systems At Peak Performance
• Losing Steam? Send For Our Swagelok Energy Advisors
• Seek Suppliers That Help You Prepare for Recovery

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Our two-day Sample System Maintenance Course will cover operations and troubleshooting

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Teaching you to trouble shoot a variety of common sampling system issues, from the process line through sample disposal. Join this two-day course on November 14th and 15th, 2017, sign up now to attend.

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Your analytical instrumentation system can't give reliable results unless you give it a reliable sample of the fluid in your process line. Assuming the sample is properly taken at the tap, it may fall victim to a host of problems:

• Deadlegs or dead spaces that create a “static leak,” where fluid from an old sample might bleed or leak into the new sample
• Contamination, permeation, or adsorption
• A phase change that upsets the balance of chemicals
• A chemical reaction

The most common cause of inappropriate response is a simple delay. If it's taking more than one minute from tap to analyzer, you may have problems.

How can you work to prevent problems and fix those that do appear? Take our two-day Sample System Maintenance Course.  We've scheduled it for November 14 and 15 at our brand new training center.

The basics and more

Leading the course this year is Swagelok expert Stephen Jacobs, owner and president of Jacobs Process Analytics Inc. Over more than 25 years he has designed, installed and maintained hundreds of analyzer and sampling systems for applications ranging from safety monitoring to closed-loop process control.

We start out by reviewing sampling basics: Why you take samples and how to take them properly.

Sampling systems come in a variety of designs, especially when you compare those designed to handle liquids and those designed to handle gas. We will look at all types of systems, the typical best practices and the typical mistakes that people make. That starts with the system design itself, making sure that it uses the proper size of tubing, proper filters and other components.

The goal is to send you back to your company with enough knowledge to walk through your systems and spot problem areas.

You'll spend time taking lecture notes, but you'll also get your hands on the equipment. We'll put students into groups and give them some problems to solve from real-life case studies. We'll explain the issue, and then it will be up to the teams to discover the cause and come up with a solution. Each group will then present its project to the rest of the class. 

Lunch too

We'll provide all the materials you need, including a workbook you can take home with you. Those who pass the course also will go home with a certificate of completion. We'll even serve you lunch on both days.

But we have a limited number of seats. That's why we're letting you know so far in advance. Mark your calendar now and sign up today.

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Additional resources

• New Classes Offer Hands-On Training For IPT Fittings
• What a Smart Idea: A Sampling System with a Brain

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In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640.

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Each year we help students and experienced workers learn new skills

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Edmonton Valve is well known by the instrumentation students of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology; from the Swagelok classroom, to social events our relationship with NAIT is continually evolving.

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Our commercial customers aren't the only ones who benefit from Edmonton Valve & Fitting's training classes. Every year we also send a team into classrooms at colleges and universities in the region to give some real-world insight into the configuration and assembly of fluid systems.

Our biggest university and college engagement is with the Instrumentation Training Program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. This nationally accredited program teaches a comprehensive course of studies in industrial measurement and control.

Each year Edmonton Valve & Fitting teaches over 250 students and apprentices within this program about tube fitting safety and installation, and tube bending.  While we have only a small part to play in the two-year course, we know it's an important one.

We've a special connection to NAIT. Not only have we been conducting the classes for more than two decades, we have an alumnus heading the program.

"This was something that I picked up in my early years as a pet project," says Chris Horne, one of our Account Managers. "I was president of the student association when I left the college. So when I came to Swagelok, I took this on."

Strong demand

Over the years, our university and college engagement program has grown and evolved to keep pace with changes in technology and in the workplace.

There was a time when a lot of learning took place in the field, with old hands passing along their expertise to new arrivals. Today, companies have put a higher priority on formal training to make sure they put the right people in the right spots.

Likewise, technology continually improves. Instrumentation skills have become much more specialized since the 1990s.

Even Swagelok's classic tube fitting has benefited. The fitting itself has the same four components it has had since 1947, but improved materials and techniques of manufacturing today produce a fitting that performs better and lasts longer.

Back when we started working with NAIT, the instrumentation program had only a few classrooms and labs. Today it's one of the largest instrumentation programs in the world with one of the finest training facilities of its kind anywhere.  The Spartan Center boasts 11 instrumentation labs featuring $6.5 million of new equipment, smart classrooms wired to take advantage of the latest technologies and wireless capability in the common areas.

We also sponsor the Brian Clarke Award for achievement in instrumentation workshop practice.

Other outreach

NAIT isn't the only campus where you will find Edmonton Valve & Fitting in the classroom. We instruct the Alberta Pipe Trades in our area in the same type of course. While these people are already working in the field, they are being asked to stretch beyond their experience with piping. We train them on tube fitting and tubing systems

We also work with the University of Alberta, Lakeland College and MacEwan University.

We like introducing people to the components and processes they will encounter in their careers.

"On a daily basis we have people come through our doors who have been through our training," Horne says. Many of those former students tell us how great it was to get their first industry perspective from us in the classroom.

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Additional resources

• Bringing Swagelok to NAIT's Instrumentation Students
• A Customer View on Edmonton's Tube Fitting & Installation Training
• Burst Chamber: Classes Teach Safe Installation of Swagelok Fittings

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In a hurry or have a question? Please click here to get in touch - we respond fast! Or call 780.437.0640

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