Industrial Automation Services Reference Materials

Description: Industrial intelligence is moving to the edge, where real-time decisions drive significant return on investment (ROI). But what will the edge look like by the end of next year? ...

Description: Businesses are constantly seeking ways to streamline operations, reduce costs, and boost productivity. Automation has emerged as a key driver of these improvements, offering a powerful means to ...

Description: With DIMA, WAGO presents a new, manufacturer-indepen dent solution for automating modular systems which significantly reduces plant engineering and facilitates future system modifications. DIMA links ...

Description: A Windows-based Human-Machine Interface (HMI) is typically used when your application requires advanced functionality, greater flexibility, or integration beyond what embedded or basic HMIs can offer. ...

Description: Powering an HMI (Human-Machine Interface) correctly is crucial for reliable performance across various applications. The power method depends on the HMI type, environment, and installation setup. ...

Description: Lower costs while simultaneously increasing quality: As in any other economic sector, this maxim applies to the automotive industry as well. In order to offer customers the optimum price/performance ...

Description: Along with a mid-model design change, this automotive interior trim maker saw their production target triple. Already struggling with some quality concerns, they met with Visumatic to review the ...

Description: Every day, the incoming goods department at the automotive supplier Continental logistics center in Regensburg, Germany, receives up to 400 individual parcels and countless pallet consignments. These ...

Description: Modern automation systems generate more heat and endure greater mechanical and environmental stresses. ...

Description: AGV systems are a proven solution for lowering labor costs, reducing damage, improving safety and control of material movement in a facility. But these benefits are critically dependent the quality of ...

Description: Enable fully remote and continuous monitoring by digitizing your substation automation systems ...

Description: This white paper highlights the importance of WAGES (Water, Air, Gas, Electricity, Steam) monitoring for manufacturers and explores the benefits of implementing an advanced monitoring solution. It ...

Description: Digital twins and edge computing are powerful on their own. But when you put them together, you unlock even more possibilities. ...

Description: Satisfied hospital staff often means happier patients and better outcomes. Read our blog to learn how automation improves clinician satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is at the forefront of today's ...

Description: A conveyer/motor company enlisted a contract design manufacturer (CDM) to spec a new motor. The CDM was searching for solutions and a protocol partner to help support integration. The CDM needed a ...

Description: The auto-pour process is a pivotal component in foundry operations, automating the precise pouring of molten metal into moulds to create castings. It involves specialised equipment, temperature ...

Description: A couple of factories and 20 years later, automated fastening continues along for this electrical lug manufacturer. ...

Description: In material handling, efficiency matters. The industry’s latest technologies—from cobots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to automated storage and retrieval systems—prove just ...

Description: Asset utilization has an important impact, especially in asset-heavy manufacturing businesses. Improving asset utilization is an ongoing process that encompasses design, operations, and maintenance. ...

Description: Automation technology has changed the way we live and work – and has increased productivity, efficiency, and profitability for organizations and individuals the world over. Automation also has a ...

Description: This blog covers numerous topics on industrial automation such as operations & management, continuous & batch processing, connectivity, manufacturing & machine control, and Industry 4.0. ...

Description: The following discussion is part of an occasional series, "Ask the Automation Pros," authored by Greg McMillan, industry consultant, author of numerous process control books, and 2010 ISA Life ...

Description: While employee burnout varies on an individual basis, there are measures that leaders can take. These include working to reduce employee stress levels, removing roadblocks for workers and ensuring ...

Description: Automating advanced manufacturing systems is a complex process that requires careful planning and execution. The right time to automate will depend on several factors, including the nature of the ...

Description: An appliance manufacturer's in-house build group was looking to clear the bottle neck on their washing machine assembly line. Their kaizen plan was being held up by this agitator trunnion install ...

Description: Companies that make home appliances, often known as "white goods," are going through a profound shake-up. Long-established firms with commanding leads in the market are being challenged by Asian ...

Description: This comprehensive guide authored by the team at Tri-Mation Industries helps those interested in automation to build more efficient RFQ's. The result is better communication, more accurate quoting, ...

Description: Industrial automation (I.A.) is a complex and rapidly evolving field, and as such, the demand for high-quality and engaging blog content in this area is greater than ever before. With the help of ...

Description: Medical device manufacturers face a clear imperative to automate, yet they also have many unique requirements that can make choosing an automation partner challenging. Manual processes are ...

Description: While most companies focus on pay levels and benefits packages when considering ways to attract and retain employees, companies that use plastic assemblies and parts in their manufacturing operations ...

Description: Companies that make home appliances, often known as "white goods," are going through a profound shake-up. Long-established firms with commanding leads in the market are being challenged by Asian ...

Description: 2HN Automation provides advanced technologies implementation for industries across the board. Their control system strategies, remote, cloud-based monitoring and dashboard systems help them fulfill ...

Description: I love fun facts, especially those that disprove common misconceptions. Here are a few that should really screw with your head: the pterodactyl was not a dinosaur. In fact, dinosaurs didn’t fly ...

Description: It was 3:00 AM and I couldn’t sleep. My wife had made her way to my side of the bed and was pinning my arm down and snoring. I wanted to get up and read to see if that would help, but I knew ...

Description: A paper manufacturer in the Great Northwest using Allen-Bradley legacy MicroLogix™ Controllers was unable to connect a computer to their older equipment. They needed a speed signal transferred ...

Description: The Bellagio Hotel and Casino – modeled after the opulent Lake Como Resort in Bellagio, Italy, and known as the pinnacle of luxury in Las Vegas – had a big problem and a small budget with ...

Description: By implementing these five principles of flexible assembly line design, manufacturers can pursue lean manufacturing in their current operation while also building in capability to maintain or add lean ...

Description: What does it actually mean when you say "clean?"? ...

Description: While automation technology has evolved from waterpower and steam engines to the proliferation of electric cars, internet of things (IoT) technologies and the advanced computational abilities needed ...

Description: Fastener automation is an effective way to get more out of a process, while enhancing reliability and increasing tracking abilities. While some class of automation is an obvious solution, the question ...

Description: It's important to avoid the dispersion of microbial particles in hospital environments and cleanrooms that produce pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Compromised air quality can contaminate products or ...

Description: Know Your ABC's When it Comes to MSD's: ...

Description: Benjamin Franklin said, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and that certainly rings true today, especially in the processing industry where safety and efficiency are of the utmost ...

Description: Your industrial mixer will likely be with you 20+ years, so it's important to make a choice that will serve your production line long-term. If you've come from an industrial planning background, or if ...

Description: We often get questions from our customers about the use of agitator shafts and what works best for their application, so we performed an analysis of the features and benefits of agitator shafts to ...

Description: Let's say you're the lead configuration engineer on the automation portion of a green-field plant installation project, and you need to give your start-up guys a head start with a set of default PID ...

Description: New plant upgrades or expansion projects don't have to be late or bust the budget. With good planning and strong management, they can finish on time - or even early. ...

Description: Organizational hierarchy creates conflict in any workplace, but working in plants and factories with a high degree of automation presents unique challenges. Automation work is highly technical and ...

Description: When automation is inadequate or used incorrectly, it can cause serious incidents leading to loss of production, equipment damage, environmental releases, and harm to personnel. Here's how to prevent ...

Description: C-suite executives tend to delegate manufacturing strategy to the manufacturing experts and IT strategy to the technology experts. Historically, that was a good strategy. Now, with the emergence of ...

Description: This platform turns up in many places, and can do many things, but there aren't many that really understand it. Here is a quick guide to explain the basics. ...

Description: Frequently Asked Questions about the Continental Rollo-Mixer ® Batch Mixer ...

Description: Today's innovations in industrial automation are largely focused on interconnectivity. Powerful new technologies provide industry professionals with unprecedented abilities to "see" what is happening ...

Description: This white paper is the first in a series to outline a new epoch of industrial automation. All aspects of control system reliability, security and lifecycle cost have been rethought from first ...

Description: This white paper is the second in a series to describe a new epoch of industrial automation. All aspects of industrial control system (ICS) reliability, security and lifecycle cost have been rethought ...

Description: Let's explore how a new, high-end sorting system was experiencing vibration, which increased the risk that packages would fall off the conveyor. ACE miniature shock absorbers put a stop to this ...

Description: Recent advances in the internet of things (IoT) have resulted in an explosion of new products and applications for automation, including smart homes and cities, autonomous vehicles, fastening ...

Description: The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a network of intelligent systems and computers that are connected to the Internet in order to share and collect data. A 'thing' can be any physical object or device ...

Description: Qube Bulk, a division of Australia's largest provider of import and export logistics services, manages more than 22 million tons (20 million mt) of bulk product shipments per year, which now includes ...

Description: JOHNEX manufactures the explosive using a custom designed 30 ft (9 m) high carousel in which 12 tubes are filled with one of two grades of Buttbuster explosive. Delivering each grade of powder from a ...

Description: a problem-free way of transporting ground coffee," Di Ruocco notes. "Any other conveying option would entail higher cost with no additional benefit. When a machine works as well as this one does, ...

Description: Kaneka North America LLC needed an efficient, dust-free method of re-packaging PVC modifiers to replace manual methods in place since 2003. ...

Description: There are many considerations when dealing with parts to be assembled. One overriding goal however, should be to automate as much of the process as possible. While most designers focus on the ...

Description: There was a time not too long ago when corrugated printing meant adding blue or black logos and text to the plain cardboard box a product was shipped in. Or adding to the front of a pizza box the ...

Description: If you work in manufacturing, chances are you've heard about "The Internet of Things." As defined in this Forbes article, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the concept of connecting to the ...

Description: As defined in strategy+business magazine, Industry 4.0 is the combination of innovations in digital technologies-advancements such as robotics and artificial intelligence, sophisticated sensors, cloud ...

Description: Often machine designers and builders are tasked to develop a work cell that solves a single problem on their customer's manufacturing floor. However, the factory of the future is flexible and uses ...

Description: In The Future of Manufacturing in the United States, pre-visualization of new products, having a flexible factor floor, and collecting and using factor floor data are just three of many aspects of the ...

Description: Pick up or browse any industrial publication and you can read multitudes of opinions that the United States is on the brink of the next Industrial Revolution. This may all be hyperbole, but since the ...

Description: In its article, "Booming Boards, Big Growth," the July 2016 issue of FLEXO Magazine addressed this trend in packaging, stating: "Sustainability is no longer a just nice to have, but is now seen as a ...

Description: Oy Saab-Valmet Ab is a major car manufacturer in Finland. In the 1980's they put on-line a computer controlled spraying system. After evaluating Norcross and several other viscometers, Norcross was ...

Description: Automatic viscosity control with Norcross systems in the flexographic printing industry is so commonplace, that it's hard to visualize news from a flexopant. The instalation at Cryovac Canada, Ltd., ...

Description: Test results from International Paper. The Wilmington Ohio plant conducted some tests. The ink supply to the press was controlled and delivered at a 17 Zahn Cup second. This resulted in less variation ...

Description: Figure 1 shows the two surfaces with a uid between them. A force is applied to the top surface and thus it moves at a certain velocity. The ratio of the Shear Stress / Shear Rate will be the ...

Description: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) Program, the University of Tennessee (UT) Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies, and Western Michigan ...

Description: When one of our customers was experiencing issues with liner weight consistency, they asked us to help evaluate their situation. During our discussions they revealed that they saw variations from ...

Description: We cut our teeth in the automotive industry and still, these places are pretty big. Big enough that, in extreme climates like the south and the west, it would be cost prohibitive to air condition them ...

Description: The flood of advanced materials developed over the last 20 years has created changes in virtually all of the products that we see and use every day. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the ...

Description: As the welding industry continues its broad transition into automation, one process in particular stands out from the rest: hybrid laser arc welding (HLAW). According to Ed Hansen, welding automation ...

Description: New advances in spiral conveyor technology offer significant productivity and operational benefits in a wide number of industries and applications where pace for material handling systems may be ...

Description: In 1993, Fleischer's moved to a new 42,000 square foot plant on a six acre site, providing ample room to grow if sales continued to increase. Since they were in the wholesale industry, producing more ...

Description: Avtron offers several solutions for mounting encoders on motors with brakes. Since the brake typically mounts on the accessory flange used for many encoders, we offer: ...

Description: Each step up in the classification increases the durability of the encoder, its ability to withstand contaminants and abuse, and the ability to withstand bearing load (or elimination of bearings ...

Description: The sensor/rotor gap was extremely small, often less than 0.010", requiring precise adjustments and mounting. Old magnetic encoders were subject to "sensor crashes". Avtron's Wide-Gap technology in ...

Description: Whether modernizing an existing crane control system or commissioning a new crane, Avtron's crane industry solutions can help you maximize your crane productivity. Avtron crane control and crane ...

Description: Avtron has been providing innovative solutions to the Pulp and Paper Industry since the 1950's. Our solutions have helped paper customers improve productivity, reduce downtime and improve paper ...