Digital Twin Technology Highlighted with Excavator Demo

Dave Greenfield — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 18:34:10 +0000

The digital twin concept has been gaining a lot of traction over the past couple of years due to its potential in a number of industrial applications—from virtual commissioning and energy efficienc

To illustrate the possibilities of digital twin technology and make it more broadly accessible, PTC created a simulation of an excavator to demonstrate the operational insights digital twin technology can provide to industrial end users.

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Improving Material Handling Capabilities

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 13:33:25 +0000

Advances in motion control technologies having been changing the game in material handling across industries.

Increased collaboration among mechanical, electrical, and software engineers at machine builders has led to a number of advances in material handling automation technologies, like Beckhoff’s XTS linear transport system.

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Best Practices for Your Network Upgrade

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 20:50:35 +0000

Like most technologies in the industrial automation sphere, networking technologies are typically installed for the long haul. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Industrial networking technologies and the cyber attacks they face have evolved dramatically over the past several years. As a result, greater attention to network upgrade best practices is becoming increasingly critical to all industry verticals—not just critical infrastructure.

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Combining IIoT and AI to Elevate Machine Health

Stephanie Neil — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 19:29:40 +0000

Every manufacturer wants to avoid unexpected downtime in the plant, and that starts with proactively monitoring machines to keep them up and running.

Augury’s Halo platform—a turnkey offering that combines sensors, artificial intelligence, and vibration experts—can diagnose the “acoustic footprint” of a machine, flagging a problem before it impacts performance.

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Air Products Extends Business with Cloud-Based Services

Dave Greenfield — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 14:03:11 +0000

As a global supplier of industrial gases and related equipment and services, Air Products & Chemicals has long built its operations on diverse business models targeting customers in to a range

By connecting equipment in the field to to its own ProcessMD platform using Siemens Mindsphere, Air Products has been able to deliver its expertise to customers to help them reduce downtime and energy costs.

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Understanding IoT Cybersecurity Risks

Stephanie Neil — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 16:32:17 +0000

Cybersecurity is on every manufacturer’s mind these days as more machines are connected and more

Deloitte and Dragos share the top threats to organizations and the need for a secure-by-design approach to the Internet of Things.

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Assessing Open Source Software for Industrial Use

Dave Greenfield — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 16:10:26 +0000

For many people in industry, open source software remains a bit of an enigma when it comes to its use in production operations.

The “Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered” podcast gets insights from Benson Hougland and Terry Orchard of Opto 22 about the practical realities of using open source software for SCADA applications.

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FAQ on OPC UA Over TSN

Aaron Hand — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 18:30:48 +0000

Q: What exactly is the performance of OPC UA over TSN?

John Kowal, director of business development at B&R Industrial Automation, provided this FAQ on OPC UA over TSN. B&R is a 'committed contributor' to the 'OPC UA including TSN down to the field level' initiative.

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Public Perception of Manufacturing Appears to Be Changing

Stephanie Neil — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 20:48:53 +0000

There is a massive movement underway as the manufacturing community works to change its reputation as a dark, dirty, and dangerous place.

The latest survey from Leading2Lean discovered that Gen Z is more interested in manufacturing as a career than Millennials, signaling the start of a new workforce.

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Automation Hack: A Safer Way to Save Your Motors

Dave Greenfield — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 15:30:12 +0000

Motors are at the core of nearly every industrial automation system.

Measuring voltage is an important aspect of diagnosing unbalanced voltages in motors—but it can also be dangerous. Here’s a safer way to get the information you need to monitor motor unbalances.

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Wireless Networks and Industrial Mobility

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 15:00:24 +0000

Though predominantly used in applications that either are difficult to wire or mounted on rotating equipment, the use of wireless networks is growing across industry.

The “Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered” podcast gets insights on industrial wireless technology from Justin Shade at Phoenix Contact to better understand the technology's real world application potential, as well as its security, speed, and connectivity issues.

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Industry 4.0 with a Pharma Focus

Dave Greenfield — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 17:36:06 +0000

During a well-attended Open Factory April 10-12 at its Pianoro headquarters plant outside Bologna Italy, pharmaceutical packaging machinery specialist Marchesini Group (

Knowing that IoT software and services in pharma are expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2020, this builder of pharmaceutical packaging machinery is rolling out a robust Industry 4.0 program.

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OMAC Tackles Machine, Operator Efficiency

Aaron Hand — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 12:37:19 +0000

As you look at how your machines are operating on the plant floor, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) provides a great means of evaluating how truly productive they are.

Providing updates at the Automation World Conference & Expo, group leaders outline efforts to provide guidance on line-level OEE implementation and machine interface standards.

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Ethernet’s Impact on Network Topologies

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 13:36:29 +0000

For the past several years, industrial networking terms have been the number one source of traffic to the Automation World site.

In the second episode of the “Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered” podcast series, we explore the different types of industrial network topologies and how Ethernet and wireless networks are affecting them.

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Understanding What a Digital Twin Could Do for You

Aaron Hand — Thu, 30 May 2019 04:01:27 +0000

Digital twin is a term often bandied about around increasingly digital industrial environments.

From virtual commissioning to performance modeling, digital twin technology can provide a wide array of benefits. It’s important to decide first what you want from it to know what you’ll need to put into it.

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Delta Systems Pushes the Boundaries of Automation in Packaging

Stephanie Neil — Thu, 30 May 2019 00:31:08 +0000

Implementing Industry 4.0 technology does not happen overnight. It takes a series of adaptations to accommodate an ever-evolving environment.

Using Schneider Electric’s PacDrive3 architecture and EcoStruxure Platform, the machine builder is able to scale intelligence and capabilities of integrated packaging systems while keeping it simple for operators.

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The Future of Industrial Networking

Stephanie Neil — Wed, 22 May 2019 20:54:20 +0000

There’s still a lot to understand about industrial networking, especially since Ethernet is now “everywhere,” from the enterprise to the factory floor.

During the Automation World Conference & Expo, a panel of technology experts discussed how advanced networking technologies will lead to open, standards-based communication from the sensor to the cloud.

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Partnership Essential to Build Your Automation

Aaron Hand — Sat, 18 May 2019 01:21:23 +0000

As a trade magazine focused on automation technologies in manufacturing, we have a tendency to zero in on the benefits of this technology or that.

Even more than the technology itself, a tier-one automotive supplier found how important it was to have a responsive automation supplier when trying to build a new plant in Indiana—and reduce machine control costs by 25 percent.

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Thinking Through Remote Access Cybersecurity

Stephanie Neil — Thu, 16 May 2019 02:56:53 +0000

Manufacturers are often in need of help when it comes to deploying a new automation project or managing and maintaining existing machines on the plant floor.

A systems integrator/cybersecurity analyst outlines the risks associated with letting third party partners—and internal engineers—into the manufacturing network, and the things that can be done to avoid trouble.

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Wearables Improve Troubleshooting Through Live Streaming

Aaron Hand — Wed, 15 May 2019 22:34:23 +0000

Wearable technologies—Google Glass, HoloLens and more—have been a hot commodity at user group meetings lately or shows like the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), where automation suppliers are

Keeping it relatively simple, adhesive maker H.B. Fuller is finding great value in giving its field workers Google Glasses in order to video stream issues to remote experts.

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Implementing Robots Throughout Manufacturing

Aaron Hand — Tue, 14 May 2019 22:13:29 +0000

Though the automotive industry has long been at the forefront of robotics in manufacturing, 2018 saw a significant change in the robotics market.

Robotics are not just for the automotive industry anymore. With a wave of innovations in dexterity, vision, mobility, connectivity and safety, robots are finding a place in a wide range of industries that are becoming increasingly aware of their benefits.

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The Pros and Cons of Smart Instruments

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 07 May 2019 13:25:51 +0000

In the first episode of our newly launched podcast series—Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered—we sought out answ

Automation World has launched its new podcast series aimed at answering reader questions. The first question addressed in the series focuses on the difference between smart and traditional instruments, as well as concerns about smart instrument cybersecurity.

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CPGs Want OEMs to Be Strategic Partners

Stephanie Neil — Mon, 06 May 2019 23:44:46 +0000

At PMMIs’ Executive Leadership Conference last week in Palm Springs, a panel of packaging experts from three

Between workforce issues and pressure to modernize operations, the old ways of doing business won’t work anymore. In the future, manufacturers and machine builders will need to collaborate way before the factory acceptance test.

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Finding the Human in Technology

Aaron Hand — Fri, 03 May 2019 16:35:37 +0000

This article originally appeared on May 3, 2019.

Calling it Humanufacturing Tech, Comau introduced several new technologies at Automate 2019, including an exoskeleton, a digital assistant for manual operations, and an interactive IoT platform.

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Shop Floor to Top Floor Workflow

Dave Greenfield — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 13:12:08 +0000

One of the principal characteristics of most workflow management software packages is their design for specific applications.

ServiceNow’s workflow management platform aims to connect front office and plant floor workflows around one system that can connect with any MES or ERP system.

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