The SaaS-ification of PTC

Stephanie Neil — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 20:25:26 +0000

PTC has been building out its Internet of Things (IoT) and

PTC’s pending acquisition of Onshape will add a cloud-based Software as a Service product development platform to the company’s CAD and PLM portfolio.

News

Emerson Releases Asset Monitoring Edge Device

Dave Greenfield — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 19:37:59 +0000

One of the more notable product release announcements at the 2019 Emerson User Exchange was the introduction of a new edge analytics device, the

The new AMS Asset Monitor edge analytics device is designed to increase asset visibility and provide predictive analytics.

News

OPC Robotics Specification Released

Dave Greenfield — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 14:25:16 +0000

Much of the focus around Industrial Internet of Things implementations has targeted discrete devices, such as motors, drives, and controllers, even down to sensors.

The OPC Robotics Companion Specification lays the foundation for the integration of industrial robotic systems into the Industrial Internet of Things.

News

Machine Tooling System Unveils Dramatic Productivity Increase

Fillipo Riello — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 15:45:00 +0000

Technological advances in automation continue to pave the way for dramatic increases in productivity, as manufacturers are finding new ways to integrate more sophisticated systems on the plant floo

A new machine tooling system for Strausak’s U-Grind machines uses an integrated robotic arm with pinpoint encoding technology to increase production capabilities.

Case Application

Water Scarcity Drives Industrial Reclamation Efforts

Fillipo Riello — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 16:45:00 +0000

Water scarcity affects every continent on the planet. Even in developed regions, the ability to find enough good, clean water is becoming much less of a sure thing than it once was.

‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ is not a mantra only for saving space in landfills. It has become an increasingly necessary push for water management in industrial operations. Here’s why you might need to reconsider your water usage.

Feature Article

The Machine Economy is Upon Us

Stephanie Neil — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 17:47:57 +0000

We are on the verge of a major shift in the way we do business.

The IOTA Foundation has been working on an IoT communication protocol that will enable machines to autonomously conduct transactions in a fee-free, secure, and trustworthy exchange.

Perspective

Technology Startups to Watch

Fillipo Riello — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 16:35:00 +0000

Breaking into an established industry, especially one as focused as industrial technology, can be a feat that many smaller organizations find nearly impossible.

The industrial technology market has grown rapidly over the past decade due to the entrance of several new companies. In this article, we take a look at eight startups making a significant mark in industry.

Feature Article

Aveva Integrates EPC Software for Collaboration

Lrodriguez — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 16:45:00 +0000

With the release of its newly integrated engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) software suite, Aveva claims the entire manufacturing process can be traced, tracked, and linked as a compr

Aveva's integrated portfolio of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) software is designed to help customers streamline the way that capital-intensive process industry projects are engineered and executed.

News

Partnership Connects Analytics and Shift Reporting

Lrodriguez — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 16:45:00 +0000

TrendMiner, a provider of self-service industrial analytics, and Eschbach, a digital plant process management (PPM) supplier, have developed a partnership to integrate their TrendMiner and Shiftcon

TrendMiner and Eschbach announce a global partnership to integrate their analytics and shift reporting tools to enhance operations in the manufacturing and process industries.

News

Machine Learning Applications Multiply

Dave Greenfield — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 14:00:00 +0000

Last year at the Ignition Community conference, Inductive Automation’s Kevin McClusky (co-director of sales engineering) and Kathy Applebaum (senior software engineer) explored the various ways in

At the 2019 Ignition Community Conference, Inductive Automation highlighted four companies applying machine learning to address production issues, as well as its own recently released libraries and templates designed to ease the use of machine learning directly within Ignition.

News

Cobots Address Skilled Welder Shortage

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 14:31:21 +0000

Two factors are having a big impact on metal fabricators today: a nationwide shortage of skilled welders and the difficulty of producing quality parts quickly in small runs.

Hirebotics creates a collaborative robot system capable of arc welding using Universal Robots UR10e arm.

Case Application

Emerson Launches Digital Tool Site

Lrodriguez — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 17:11:30 +0000

With the launch of MyEmerson, users will have access to a digital enviornment designed to help accelerate the digital transformation of their business.

As automation becomes less analog and more digital, Emerson opens access to MyEmerson—a suite of online tools to help organizations digitize work processes.

News

Handheld RFID Reader Can Read Multiple Tags at Long Range

Peter Cleaveland — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 01:39:04 +0000

The unit offers great flexibility for RFID in both close and long-range applications in addition to 2D barcode scanning, and is equipped with a high-speed processor, which allows for expeditious re

Balluff’s BIS U-890 Ultra High Frequency (UHF) handheld RFID reader simplifies mobile data collection.

Product

Production Cockpit Analytics Software

Peter Cleaveland — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 01:32:33 +0000

The Production Cockpit analyzes the live production process, compares its progress to historical production runs and displays diagnostics, quality status, and predictions to production operators or

TrendMiner 2019.R3 introduces a “production cockpit” that provides the processing engineer multiple ways to visualize and track plant production.

Product

Small Machine-Vision Cameras Offer High-Speed Data Transfer

Peter Cleaveland — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 01:19:25 +0000

Built around Teledyne e2v’s 16M Emerald image sensor, the cameras feature affordability and ease of use, and are designed for industrial imaging applications that require high-speed data transfer.

Teledyne’s CL M4160 and C4160 are the latest in the Genie Nano Camera Link series.

Product

Ventilated Stand-Up Distribution Transformers Meet Latest Federal Energy Efficiency Standards

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 23:19:10 +0000

These dry-type 3-phase distribution transformers are open coil/core ventilated, NEMA 3R (outdoor enclosed) rated that offer significant energy savings and environmental benefits.

The HPS Sentinel G series from AutomationDirect meet DOE 2016 and NRCan 2019 requirements.

Product

Load Sensing by Light

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 23:04:03 +0000

SKF Fiber Optic Sensing uses optical fibers to measure forces in real time in difficult environments and without electronics.

Product

DIN Wireless Gateway Supports Network Connectivity of Wireless and Wired Sensors

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:58:13 +0000

The unit features two digital Inputs, two digital outputs, three analog inputs, and an optional gateway output module with eight analog and two digital outputs.

SignalFire’s DIN Gateway V2 is a 900 MHz wireless gateway with an integrated I/O capability for easy network connectivity of wireless and wired sensors, integrated Ethernet and built-in automation.

Product

Motion Failure Alarm Facilitates Commissioning and Configuration

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:53:41 +0000

It thus acts as an early warning system for a plant’s machinery, alerting users to potential problems before they occur or develop into something more serious.

The Sitrans WM300 (MFA) motion failure alarm from Siemens detects changes in the motion and speed of rotating, reciprocating, or conveying equipment.

Product

Medium Voltage Service-Oriented Drive

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:47:37 +0000

Equipped with the company’s EcoStruxure Asset Advisor, the unit helps to optimize the operation and maintenance of installations.

Schneider’s Altivar Process 6000 (ATV6000) can help optimize businesses by enabling process optimization, improving energy management, enhancing asset management, and providing a tailored engineering solution.

Product

Virtual Appliance Provides Entry Point for Small Deployments

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:42:17 +0000

The appliance helps save time and money when virtualizing applications in two key ways. First, it avoids the potential pitfalls of a do-it-yourself virtualized architecture.

The VersaVirtual appliance from Rockwell Automation provides all the computing, networking and storage capabilities needed to deploy and maintain up to 15 virtual machines in one ready-to-use appliance.

Product

Economical High Resolution and High Repeatability XYR Alignment Stages

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 20:33:26 +0000

The stages feature X and Y axis linear resolutions of 0.25µ (micro-steps per step motor driver in use). The repeatability of each is 1.5µ, positional accuracy is 5µ, and backlash is 2µ.

The XYR-01-01 and XYR-01-02 alignment stages from OES offer high precision and repeatability for industrial, medical, semiconductor, research, and laboratory applications.

Product

Active Vibration Control System for CNC Machine Tools

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 20:26:54 +0000

The system further helps increase productivity by maximizing material removal rate (MRR) and can also provide valuable real-time feedback for predictive maintenance purposes.

NUM’s accelerometer-based active vibration control system virtually eliminates tool head vibration.

Product

Voice Coil Motor with Internal Shaft and Bearing Providess 63.9 lbs of Continuous Force

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 20:21:25 +0000

The linear voice coil motor (aka linear DC motor) is guided by a long-life plain bearing that can allow side loads up to 3 lb (13.5 N), while the precision ground 0.236-inch (6.0 mm) diameter shaft

The GVCM-095-089-03 from Moticont features a continuous force of 63.9 lbs (284.1 N) and 202.0 lbs (898.4 N) of peak force at a 10% duty cycle.

Product

Mounted Bearings Meet Hygienic Design and Clean-In-Place Criteria

Peter Cleaveland — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 20:16:26 +0000

Developed for high-moisture food applications such as poultry, beef, and pork processing, the bearings incorporate the company’s Poly-Guard IP69K Sealing System that provides the next level in sani

Stainless-Steel Stand-Out mounted bearings from KML meet the strict sanitary requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Product