It can feel like you can do anything with your smart machines today thanks to the near infinite potential of data, connectivity and IoT technologies. But one thing can still hold them back: their computing assets.
Food and pharmaceutical makers can better protect the integrity of their products using new hygienic industrial control hardware from Rockwell Automation. The new Allen-Bradley Kinetix VPH hygienic servo motors and a new stainless-steel version of the Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus 7 graphic terminal both help minimize contamination during production and ease compliance.
Significant business growth challenges can be turned into growth opportunities with careful planning and use of Canadian government funding programs.
The other day I came across an interesting article that takes us back to some early innovations regarding the use of electric motors in manufacturing facilities. The article titled “The Electric Motor in Factories”, and was published in Science by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1889.
Modern 5-axis and multi-tasking machines as well as high-precision machining centers for micro-cutting enable continuously new and improved machining concepts. In addition to the cutting edge, the choice of the tool clamping device is the main key to success. The range of technologies is correspondingly large. A systematic comparison helps to define the optimum clamping technology for the respective machining process.
The savings keep coming when you use a variable frequency drive (VFD) with synchronous bypass and transfer capabilities. It can help reduce up-front capital costs and long-term energy and maintenance costs in various motor-control applications. And along with the cost savings, the VFD can help you increase efficiency and achieve more flexible process control.
What do NBA sportsmen like the world champions from Toronto, The Raptors, and the workings of their teams, have in common with system technology from Rittal and Eplan? More than you might expect. In short, both operate on an “all for one and one for all” basis. Both demonstrate how coordinated systems that link together can tap into unimagined potential.
This June the Pepperl+Fuchs road tour made its way through Ontario and Quebec, visiting several automation providers and manufacturing facilities. During one of the stops at a manufacturing facility in southern Ontario I was able to tour the mobile exhibit with Richard Krawczyk, Account Manager of Factory Automation in Canada.
With the growth of e-Commerce, comes major changes in global retail and logistics. Because of this, companies are seeking automated warehouse solutions to meet this growth. New automated technologies are providing these companies with the capabilities they need to optimize their use of resources. By minimizing operational space, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) enable retailers to not only maximize their resources but also ship products faster and more efficiently.
This April, while attending the Hannover Messe Trade fair, Drives and Control Solutions had the opportunity to spend some time at SEW-EURODRIVE’s impressive booth with Jochen Sauer, Head of International Marketing for the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions.
A Massachusetts-based municipal water treatment facility needed to upgrade their aging 350HP 18-pulse drives. They turned to a local Yaskawa drives distributor, who recommended a reliable, compact, and cost effective retrofit with Yaskawa’s U1000 Industrial Matrix Drive.
In any automotive body shop, transferring subassemblies accurately and efficiently from Point A to Point B is critical. But achieving optimal throughput is not just a matter of speed. It requires a conveyance strategy that can accommodate downtime in some systems without slowing production in others.
It goes without saying that materials transport in industries like consumer electronics, automotive electronics and semiconductor manufacturing can get complicated. To enable small-volume, high-mix semiconductor production, for example, wafer cassettes must be transported in complicated orders with precise timing.
Do you have a countdown for when your critical assets are expected to fail? What could you do with one? What if, rather than scrambling to resolve asset failures when they happen out of the blue, you could see them coming and make plans to address them? You would probably herald in greater peace of mind, with less agonizing over surprise failures and the unplanned downtime that comes with them. You would also most likely realize financial savings by reducing your spending on maintenance and replacement parts.
Do you have a countdown for when your critical assets are expected to fail? What could you do with one?
What if, rather than scrambling to resolve asset failures when they happen out of the blue, you could see them coming and make plans to address them? You would probably herald in greater peace of mind, with less agonizing over surprise failures and the unplanned downtime that comes with them.
Innovative machine design is integral to the success of any machine builder. Smart machine design serves innovators with the reward of optimized space on the plant floor, considerable savings on components and installation, inherent safety by design and oh yes, it must meet the functional needs of the ever changing application. One machine will have multiple different speed and load requirements. A sound understanding of the components used in machine design is fundamental, knowledge of current machinery safety standards as well as an understanding in the desired outcome of the machines function.
This project is funded [in part] by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet est financé [en partie] par le gouvernement du Canada.
