Machine Building

Coolers are IoT-ready thanks to Schneider Electric PLCs

Transtherm Cooling Industries' latest generation of dry air blast cooler and adiabatic cooler machinery benefits from PLCs and variable-speed drives from Schneider Electric that help the OEM to provide customers with equipment that is compatible with the Internet of Things, more energy-efficient and quieter.

28th April 2015

All-in-one PLC + HMI benefits manufacturer of boiler controls

Energy Plant Solutions has specified the Unitronics Vision1040 all-in-one PLC + HMI for its boiler controls, benefiting from simpler integration, reduced development time, free remote diagnostics and significant cost savings overall.

27th April 2015

Qdos dosing pumps improve "˜uptime' at aluminium coating plant

Aluminium powder coating specialist France Alu Color has reduced its costs for chemicals and further improved the reliability and safety of its surface treatment processes thanks to the adoption of Qdos dosing/metering pumps from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG). So successful has been the project that the pumps generated payback on the investment within 1 year.

21st April 2015

Microscan machine vision cameras in robotic inspection system

Microscan has been selected by Cross Company's Automation Group for an integrated robotic inspection system using the Universal Robots UR5 robotic arm and Microscan Vision HAWK Smart Camera. The vision-guided robot is a turnkey inspection system that provides final quality inspection of large components like automotive engines or large electronic sub-assemblies where multi-point inspection of the part is required in three dimensions. The system combines easy-to-use machine vision components with easy-to-use robotics, solving complicated inline inspection applications simply and safely for manufacturers.

16th April 2015

SKF Insight intelligent bearing technology trialled

SKF has begun to apply SKF Insight - its bearing health management technology - in several high-end industry applications. The technology, which uses a self-powered, intelligent wireless sensors in the SKF bearing to provide instant condition monitoring data via the Internet, is undergoing trials in challenging projects in the wind turbine and railway industries.

16th April 2015

Autonomous electricity generation in the desert

Wintershall, a subsidiary of BASF, has switched from a diesel-driven power plant to a gas turbine with a synchronous generator to supply electricity to its gas/oil separation plant (GOSP) at the Nakhla site in the Libyan Desert. The custom synchronous generator, including a matching instrumentation and control package, was supplied by international drive specialist WEG. The result is an autonomous power plant that uses associated gas from the GOSP, reducing environmental impact and boosting plant availability.

15th April 2015

Smart cameras for smart inspection systems in beverage industry

In the case of the LSIS 400i smart camera series, "˜smart' stands above all for clever functions and a wide range of interfaces for intelligent networking and for integration in control systems. Bernhard Voigt from Voigt Technology e.K. uses the LSIS 400i smart cameras from Leuze electronic to realise smart inspection systems for the beverage industry.

15th April 2015

Modular conveyor design enhances efficiencies

Manufacturing facilities are constantly seeking innovative ways to reduce costs and increase production efficiencies. So when RPC Containers Ltd won a substantial contract, the plastics manufacturer took the opportunity to enhance production processes in order to meet the increased demands, whilst reducing overheads at the same time.

14th April 2015

Bürkert helps to improve efficiency at UK car engine plant

When a system integrator working for Nissan in Sunderland (JEB Contractors) identified a control process within the engine casting plant that was in need of improvement, the team requested vital input from flow control specialist Bürkert. By designing and installing an electronic control system to replace the manually adjusted flow control valves, a significant improvement was made to efficiency and reliability of the process.

13th April 2015

DesignFlex pressure switches improve crop duster design

Technological improvements involving World Magnetics' DesignFlex pressure switches come in all shapes and sizes and nowhere are they better demonstrated than with the USA based crop-dusting innovator Earls' Flying Service. For nearly 40 years this small but dynamic Company has pioneered improvements in aerial spraying that have become industry standards such as advanced gate controller design for fertiliser economy and GPS guided spraying for improved farmland productivity. Its latest development was to find a better way to determine when the airplane runs out of fertiliser.

13th April 2015