Machine Building

Ergonomics and the new Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC

This article outlines the ergonomic requirements in the new Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, lists the relevant Harmonised Standards and provides a link to the ErgoMach website from where useful Information Sheets can be downloaded.

30th January 2011

New legislation mandates minimum efficiencies for motors

This article from Baldor explains the need to prepare for new legislation that mandates minimum efficiency levels for electric motors across the EU from June 2011.

29th January 2011

Overcoming problems with silicon oil-filled pressure sensors

Sam Drury, Sales & Marketing Director at Impress Sensors & Systems, explains how the latest generation of pressure sensors overcomes the problems traditionally encountered with silicon oil-filled pressure sensors.

5th January 2011

Advantages of mechanical torque limiters over electronic types

Techdrives offers advice on how to select the right mechanical or pneumatic torque limiter for a given applications, and explains the advantages over limiting torque using electronic devices.

17th December 2010

Causes of bearing failure in agricultural equipment

In this article, Schaeffler discusses the various modes of premature bearing failure on agricultural machinery and recommends way to avoid them.

21st November 2010

Regenerative inverter drives - applications and how they work

Jeff Whiting of Mitsubishi Electric explains how regenerative inverter drives can be applied in industrial environments to save energy and deliver additional operational benefits.

2nd October 2010

How to save energy in hazardous area control systems

This article from Burkert Fluid Control Systems explains how energy can be saved in hazardous ex environments by using smarter and more integrated systems comprising valves, actuators and positioners.

19th September 2010

SCADA system security - act now before your system is attacked!

As attacks on SCADA systems by the Stuxnet virus increase, Norman Data Defense urges automation specialists to review the security of their control system, as many will not currently be protected.

6th September 2010

How to select the best illumination method for machine vision

This article from Stemmer Imaging discusses the critical issue of illumination for machine vision applications.

23rd August 2010

Novel inductive sensors can be shaped to suit the application

Mark Howard of Zettlex Ltd explains how next-generation inductive transducers work and why they are being specified in place of traditional inductive devices, potentiometers, optical encoders and magnetic encoders.

19th August 2010