Machine Building

Portable generator uses hydrogen fuel cell and supercapacitor

A team from Imperial College London has developed a hybrid power generator comprising a hydrogen fuel cell and supercapcitor, controlled using a National Instruments CompactRIO device and software written with Labview.

18th October 2015

maxon's low-noise brushed DC motor makes music

Low noise, no cogging, brushed DC motor with precision control. That was Shaun Daniels requirement in order to create a record player, incorporating the best features of yesterday's world-leading designs, along with the technology of today. maxon motor worked with the Sheffield-based audio consultant to fulfil his vision.

15th October 2015

First FANUC M410iC/185 robot in the field at Askew & Barrett

The first FANUC M410iC/185 universal palletising robot has been installed in the UK at pulse processor Askew & Barrett, where it has helped to boost productivity by 15-20 per cent and eliminated a potential health and safety risk factor by automating a manual palletising operation.

15th October 2015

Wireless weighing technology helps meet revised Solas regs

Shipping cargo handling operators worried by the implications of changes to legislation in container weighing will be heartened by news of an innovative, affordable and easy-to-retrofit weighing system that meets all of the requirements of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) amended Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) regulations.

15th October 2015

Automated wine-packing line guarantees next-day delivery

Automating the packing operation of their on-line wine business has enabled a UK supermarket chain to guarantee next day delivery. The line, installed by Endoline Machinery, has been ergonomically designed to meet health and safety standards, assisted the retail giant in meeting their recycling policy while achieving an output of over 16,250 cases per week.

12th October 2015

"˜Big Data' boosts production efficiency for manufacturers

The ongoing challenges within the packaging industry to boost productivity, improve quality and increase flexibility are driving ever greater requirements for increased throughput and maximised availability. As part of continuous improvement processes, it makes sense to tackle the biggest causes of downtime first, and progress steadily through the other problems that impact on productivity and availability.

12th October 2015

New ways to interconnect the PROFI-world

Automation engineers frequently need to bridge the gap between different protocols and networks used in a plant, but they also need to enable communication between equipment within the same network family. For example, in the PROFINET and PROFIBUS world, there are many devices and sub-systems that cannot necessarily communicate with each other. It may be necessary to connect different physical formats such as copper and fibre optics or couple/de-couple I/O data between two controlling networks. With their recently upgraded Anybus X-gateways, HMS Industrial Networks can offer ways to get heterogeneous PROFI-equipment connected.

12th October 2015

Cost-effective PLC+HMI creates new opportunities for theatre

The Eagle Theatre in Hammonton, New Jeresy partnered with Unitronics' distributor, Bayview Bearing and Supply to bring innovation to regional theatre. Using a Unitronics Samba PLC with integral 3.5inch colour touchscreen HMI and onboard I/O, the theatre been implementing motion control applications for increasingly complex moving sets that enhance the mood and themes of the productions.

11th October 2015

Global growth targets met with innovative automation system

Airdri has two elements to the company - they design and manufacture hand dryers and also elevator door detection systems and speech units, all of which are distributed across the globe. Both divisions of the business have seen rapid expansion since the company was founded in 1983, this being achieved through a focus on sound engineering practices coupled with a competitively priced product.

9th October 2015

Offline coder enhances food producer's efficiency and quality

The purchase of an offline RF2 coder from Rotech has transformed the sleeve-coding operation at Holt-based Heaven Made Foods, eliminating inefficiencies and quality issues. With the Rotech system, which typically runs off 80-100 sleeves per minute, date coding is done in 10 per cent of the time that it was taking.

8th October 2015