What does 35 years of practicing engineering get you? Thousands of projects (and some gray hair). EME, founded by Don Reilly and me, is celebrating its 35th year of service to our many clients. Over those years we performed over 3,000 projects varying from a few hours of consulting to major engineering efforts requiring detailed analysis. [...]
People Matter - Alan J. Spisak Alan Spisak is the President & CEO of EME, joining the business in 1987 after completing his degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology at the Pennsylvania State University. He is a life-long resident of Pittsburgh, growing up in the South Hills. In addition to his role as President of EME, Alan’s [...]
EME was contracted to determine how high some large motors could be uprated. We determined an uprating of over 50% could be achieved provided the motors be rewound with minimum insulation thickness thereby maximizing the copper while at the same time reducing the thermal impediment for getting heat out of the coils. The manufacturer [...]
Passing The Baton – Alan J. Spisak, P.E., President/CEO How do you fill the shoes of a legend? As a young engineer fresh out of college, I joined EME. Like many individuals transitioning from the role of an engineering student to that of a professional, I wasn’t certain what ‘being an engineer’ meant. I had interned [...]
742, 5.7L Hemi Engines; that's how many it would take to power the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. For nearly 30 years, EME has supported the electro-mechanical rotating equipment at NASA facilities across the nation, providing services ranging from small project consultation to large design and analysis efforts. One of the most challenging of these projects [...]
End-Turn and Phase Lead Vibration Generator end baskets on large turbine generators present unique design challenges for generator manufactures and service organizations. End baskets are comprised of individual end turns, which are integral to the end basket support structure through their arch binding with other structural components. This electrical and structural system made of [...]
Customer Collaboration – In the practice of engineering we are fundamentally problem solvers. Our education, training and vitally our experience, are all brought to bear when helping a customer to resolve or understand an issue. When presented with an issue we quickly move into “Given, Find, Assumptions, Solutions” mode; transitioning as quickly as possible to [...]
Many large hydro-generators have baffle plates on the rotor spider. The baffle plates induce and control airflow in the unit to cool the rotor rim, pole windings and primarily the stator. EME recently investigated a unit with a rotor of approximately 300 inches in diameter, which had 8 spider arms, and a span between [...]
People Matter - William V. Loffredo Bill Loffredo (Alfredo Sauce) is a Mechanical Engineer who joined EME in the Spring of 2014. Originally from New Jersey, he pursued the study of Mechanical Engineering after being exposed to the art of machining in his Uncle’s precision components manufacturing business. As a student at the Pennsylvania State University, [...]
Recently a generator experienced an overspeed (approximately 4,739 rpm) event. Typically for a 60Hz generator the rotor is designed for stresses at 20% (<4,320) overspeed. As a result, EME was asked to evaluate portions of the generator rotor (radial studs, retaining rings, forging, & wedges) to determine the stresses that existed at 4,739 rpm and [...]
