Machine Building

Brakes and clutches: the defining element

Brakes and clutches are often the defining element in the operation and productivity of driven machinery. However, they are frequently taken for granted, so here, Mike Hemming, Engineering Manager at Matrix International in Scotland redresses the balance.

6th March 2015

Offline coding to the rescue for FMD compliance

Thousands of pharmaceutical manufacturers and packers across the EU face the rather costly prospect of re-engineering their production lines to satisfy the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD). Systems that carry out coding and inspection offline could be one way of easing the compliance burden. Richard Pether, Director, Rotech, explains further.

6th March 2015

Adhesive dispensing with high repetition accuracy

Traditional pressure-time adhesive dispensing systems are suitable for many automated bonding and sealing applications, but they are not a good choice where an exact amount of product needs to be applied regardless of ambient temperature or viscosity. This is why Henkel has introduced a comprehensive range of LOCTITE dispensing systems based on the principle of volume change, a process which ensures consistent dosing.

5th March 2015

Backing British growth: UK food producers need to automate

Food and drink manufacturers are this week backing calls to boost UK food production following reports that the nation's self sufficiency is on the slide and within a generation over half of the UK's food will be imported. Dennis Allison, Managing Director of Pacepacker Services, comments.

26th February 2015

Top 5 problems with HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces)

Food industry at robotics tipping point

In the last 12 months there has been a noticeable uptake in robotics in the food processing sector. Although way behind the rest of the EU and US markets in terms of sales, global food security, volatile commodity prices and the much reported grocery price wars are all driving manufacturers towards the same conclusion; efficiency is paramount and introducing robotics provides that all-important competitive edge.

25th February 2015

Why bother fitting a torque limiter to a machine?

Whether you are designing a new machine or you are responsible for the operation and maintenance of a plant or piece of equipment, keeping costs down is always at the forefront of your mind. To be competitive you must always try to save money, or perhaps more specifically you must aim to spend your money in the wisest way possible.

25th February 2015

Save time by eliminating manual scanning from your warehouse

Charlie Brackley of Harland Simon (Vero Solutions) describes how organisations can improve efficiency by eliminating the need for manual scanning of pallets and locations in warehouses.

21st February 2015

Offline coders for high-end dairy desserts

According to Mintel, the chilled desserts segment was the only part of the desserts category to grow in both value and volume terms over the 5-year period from 2008 to 2013, reflecting the continued migration towards chilled from ambient and frozen desserts. Within the chilled desserts segment, single-serve, premium offerings are leading the charge. Many of these high-end desserts come in sophisticated pack formats such as stemmed sundae pots and ramekins. Whilst these shapely new designs add shelf appeal, they can cause headaches for the sleeve coding operation.

20th February 2015

PCB-based options are mighty minis for motor control

If you're looking for high-performance control of DC brushed, brushless and stepper motors across multiple axes, the typical enclosed DIN-rail mounting box might be your first thought. But INMOCO's Gerard Bush argues that in many general purpose automation applications, as well as in areas such as life sciences equipment, scientific automation and robotics, PCB motion cards, amplifiers and motion/amplifiers might well provide a better option.

16th February 2015