Hey, Job Shops: Time to Automate! March 25, 2020 Robots and job shops have not typically been talked about together. After all, everyone knows that automation is only suitable for high-volume production, and the typical mom-and-pop operation is anything but—its schedule filled with orders for high-mix, low-volume, and often highly complex work.
Automated Metrology in Manufacturing March 26, 2020 Modern manufacturing is a data-driven endeavor. The sheer volume of data available to be collected and analyzed is staggering—and something that couldn’t have been envisioned even 20 years ago.
Process Control by Analyzing Metal Temperature Gradients with Fixed Thermal Imaging November 22, 2019 Producing metal products is one of the most energy intensive industries. Improving both energy and production efficiency, as well as ensuring product quality is at the top of any manufacturers to do list. Engineers should consider using fixed thermal imaging cameras to optimize their manufacturing process.
Hurco Forms Preferred Partnership with BMO Automation December 18, 2019 Hurco Companies Inc. has partnered with BMO Automation to provide customers a tested automation solution that requires minimal integration, according to the companies.
Servopress 101: A Basic Guide January 8, 2020 Servomechanisms are at the heart of 21st century automation. The basic elements are a servomotor; a device to convert rotary motion into linear motion; a suite of sensors to provide the required feedback; a controller to convert feedback data into command signals; and enabling software.
Metals Testing Requires Escalation-Based Strategy August 14, 2019 At Cary Rosenberg’s company, Watts Water Technologies, validating material properties to ensure they are composed of the correct elemental composition is an important part of their work.
Bringing Intelligent Automation Tech to the Broad Engineering Market August 1, 2019 Amid vigorous growth in their industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) software developers are exploiting the cloud and machine learning to manage data and enhance the users’ experience.
Securing OT in the Energy and Utilities Sector August 15, 2019 Convergence-enabled cyberattacks—where criminals exploit traditionally isolated operational technology (OT) devices through their new connections to the IT network—may be motivated by the desire to hijack and demand ransom for services, steal trade secrets through industrial or national cyberespionage, or commit cyberterrorism or engage in cyberwarfare.
Hybrid Additive/Subtractive Tech Changing the Face of Design and Manufacturing September 10, 2019 Some of the key trends in manufacturing are brought about by convergence of the design and manufacturing industries. With manufacturers under more pressure than ever to deliver better products faster and at lower cost, the need to connect and automate design and manufacturing processes to reduce iterations, errors, and delivery times is becoming critical.
Continuous Insulation Resistance Testing Boosts Motor Productivity September 11, 2019 For decades, plant personnel have performed insulation resistance tests with handheld megohmmeters to prevent motor failures that lead to costly unplanned shutdowns, failure-to-produce penalties and rewinding repairs. However, these tests only provide a “snapshot” of motor health. In a matter of days, motor windings and cables exposed to moisture, chemicals, contaminants or vibration can be compromised and fail at startup.
