The word "automation" often conjures images of tangled cables, crowded control cabinets and layers of software, each performing a small part of a larger system. Yet as production lines evolve, this complexity can hold progress back. Here, Bradley McEwan, business development manager at Beckhoff, explains why simplifying control architecture can unlock higher performance, faster development and longer system lifespans.

Kollmorgen has released a new servo drive and motor, designed to simplify motion system development and speed-up time to market. The new Kollmorgen Essentials servo system, distributed in the UK by motion specialist INMOCO, includes a matched drive and motor combination with integrated absolute multi-turn feedback and single-cable integration.

A contract packaging facility is often home to multiple machines from different vendors all use different communication protocols. It would be simpler if one system controlled everything, says Bradley McEwan, business development manager at Beckhoff UK.

With decades of precision measurement expertise, HBK is helping robots "feel" and interact with their environment safely and intelligently. We spoke to Ryan Young, Global Head of Engineering - OEM Sensors, who heads up development of customised 6-DoF force/torque sensors for OEMs to find out more.

Achieving equivalent forces to hydraulic designs, electric linear actuators are more precise and reliable, and they're also less expensive to run. When upgrading to an electric linear actuator, accurate sizing of the existing application is crucial to achieve the most efficient and cost-effective specification, as Gerard Bush, engineer at INMOCO, explains.

By 2030, 35 per cent of large manufacturing companies will have fully autonomous facilities - according to Industry 4.0 solutions specialist, Intelligence Industrielle. Here, Mike Davies, managing director of EMS, explores how advanced motor technology is making this vision of the future of manufacturing possible.

In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape, functional safety is no longer just a regulatory checkbox - it has become a strategic success factor for machine builders, as the experts at Lenze explain.

The convergence of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) is now a reality - but for industry to benefit fully, all edge devices need autonomous operation and advanced cybersecurity, including the I/O modules that handle streams of data, as Ursula Barr, Offer Manager for PAC and Software, Schneider Electric, explains.

Significant improvements in measurement speed and accuracy of non-contact colour measurement sensors have led to their increased use in many different production processes, including surface finishing applications, says Glenn Wedgbrow, Business Development Manager at Micro-Epsilon UK.