News, application stories, product information and research covering the latest trends and technologies affecting the discrete manufacturing engineering community. Coverage includes mechatronics, embedded systems, intelligent devices, machine safety and other topics affecting industrial and mechanical engineering professionals. en-us http://www.controleng.com/community/Machine+Control/48517.html?nid=4169 2008 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:20:18 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6577604.html?nid=4169 Few things today would disrupt society more than if barcode scanners stopped working. But what is a barcode and how does a barcode scanner work? Tutorial Webcasts explain. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6577174.html?nid=4169 Control Microsystems has introduced USB storage devices, including flash "thumb drives" for data logging in SCADA applications. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6575600.html?nid=4169 Videos from various sources can provide instruction for machine builders and system integrators. Links are provided to the following ... Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6575587.html?nid=4169 A new drives technologies plant is under construction in Elgin, IL, adding 300 jobs (see photo); TÜVRheinland acquires Unified Testing Services of Woodstock, IL; and OMAC changed its name to expand. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6575581.html?nid=4169 As ISA is offering a CD full of process safety references, Rockwell Automation released a new white paper examining the holistic approach to safety (see photo). Also read... Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574637.html?nid=4169 Strong economic growth in Asia and Eastern Europe has boosted the programmable logic controller (PLC) market in 2007, says ARC Advisory Group. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574642.html?nid=4169 Economic outlooks for industrial automation and the electroindustry might be classified as red, white, and blue. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574129.html?nid=4169 Less-is-more approach may help robot dress packs preserve cables for a longer period of time. Smooth, uninterrupted cable movement is key. (See photo.) Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574076.html?nid=4169 Website offers resources for taming one of your largest energy costs. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574690.html?nid=4169 Applications that demand self-contained power supplies are growing with the wider deployment of remote and wireless devices. Many alternative sources of energy are emerging, and batteries still represent a reliable and inexpensive method. Battery types have characteristics suited for specific applications. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574710.html?nid=4169 If you are on the fence about particular safety technologies, knowing which ones are currently safeguarding the most machines could help you make a decision about what specific technologies you might want to consider installing on and around machinery. Findings in “Global Markets for Machine Automatic Safeguarding Components and Equipment,” a new white paper from Venture Development... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574698.html?nid=4169 The operators of the Bellingham, WA, wastewater treatment plant are constantly seeking new ways to improve production to serve a growing population base, without dramatically increasing operating costs. In late 2006, they undertook an upgrade that helped them make a major advance. Constructed in 1974 with a secondary plant upgrade in 1992, Bellingham’s current wastewater treatment plant ... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574706.html?nid=4169 Leading technical representatives from the machine vision industry met in Pilsen, Czech Republic, last April to discuss progress on two industry standards, GigE Vision and GenICam. The four-day session was a success with the drafting of the GenICam module: GenICam Transport Layer (GenTL), which defines image and data transfers. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574703.html?nid=4169 4 topics covered in a June 25 Webcast include what machine vision can do for control systems, when machine vision is appropriate, how to incorporate it into control systems, and results others have obtained. www.controleng.com/webcasts 3rd quarter 2008 is when AuthenTec expects to have products incorporating the acquired (in April) software assets of EzValidation, including EzPassport fingerpri... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574719.html?nid=4169 Adept Cobra s800 Inverted IP65 SCARA robot from Adept Technology for the packaged goods market is a high-performance robot system for mechanical assembly, material handling, packaging, machine tending, and other operations requiring fast, precise automation. The model saves space, is impervious to dust, dirt, and liquid, and provides cost-saving expansion capabilities with Adept SmartServo. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574713.html?nid=4169 The microcontrol unit (MCU) populates end-market products from automobiles to Smart Cards. The 16-bit and 32-bit+ MCUs are key products in high-end consumer products, automotive applications and industrial control hardware. MCUs’ broad application base and wide range of embedded memory and other technology contribute to their steady unit and revenue growth. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574699.html?nid=4169 Given that the bulk of electricity generated in the U.S. comes from burning fossil fuels, electric power consumption of any kind causes emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs). Wastewater facilities use electricity in all parts of the process, including offices, but the largest consumers are electric motor-driven pumps. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574696.html?nid=4169 For 40 years intrinsic safety (EX i) has meant limiting the amount of electric power to less than 2 Watts in dangerous areas, for fear any spark could ignite an explosion. As a result, an entire industry of companies has developed that supply isolators and barriers to provide this type of protection. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6574693.html?nid=4169 The convergence of mechanical, electrical, and software engineering is changing the face of motion control design and development. This tutorial shows how. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PST http://www.controleng.com/article/CA6573578.html?nid=4169 White papers on safety are among those available in the Control Engineering Resource Center. Most recently, these include... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PST