Machine Building

Faster cycle time for PROFINET

The new PROFINET cycle time of 31.25 microseconds is barely tangible, and opens up many new opportunities. No matter what the future holds in terms of development, the communication technology needed for it is already here

23rd October 2012

Medical equipment ergonomics vital in healthcare sector

Southco explains how technological advances in portable medical equipment is placing increased pressure on design engineers to meet challenging ergonomic requirements

15th October 2012

How to read codes and text on moulded components

Stemmer Imaging says it has a product that enables text and codes to be read on moulded components, where traditional 2D vision systems usually cannot cope.

14th October 2012

Monitoring the condition monitoring system

Dirk Schulzer, Service Manager, Industrial Aftermarket Marine, Schaeffler, discusses the growing importance of automated, online condition monitoring (CM) systems for marine vessels and why it is critical to ensure that the CM system's health is monitored at all times

1st October 2012

Clean air is vital for efficient manufacturing processes

SMC is calling for compressed air users to take a deep breath and wake up to the benefits of using clean air in the manufacturing process

27th September 2012

PoE is a powerful tool for industrial applications

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a technology that allows devices to accept and transmit power through standard Ethernet cables. This allows the costs of investment and operation to be substantially reduced. Advantech's Industrial Automation Group provides industrial-grade PoE switches which have been adopted around the world

27th September 2012

Working towards a merger of ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061

A joint ISO/IEC technical committee is currently working towards a unified machinery safety standard to replace ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061. Meanwhile, the VDMA in Germany has proposed a file structure for component safety data that could help in merging the two existing standards.

21st September 2012

Value-driven automation systems without sacrificing performance

This article explains how machine builders can create automation systems that are both fit for purpose and excellent value in terms of purchase price, running costs, return on investment and whole-life costs.

21st September 2012