Alexander Pavlov, general manager, Atlas Copco Compressors UK, offers his take on how companies can reduce both the production cost of compressed air and their carbon footprint

Benefits of using ‘Safety over EtherCAT’ in machine design projects outlined

Mechan Controls has launched its new, modular EM1/GM1 Safety Control Units. The goal set by the company was to develop an ‘intelligently simple’ safety controller that was expandable and (equally importantly), non-programmable

The time has come to convert to energy-efficient geared motors

This is a paper by Richard Driver, Technical Manager, Valves section at the SMC European Technical Centre based in the UK. He is a technical expert on the BFPA’s MCE18/5 and MCE 18/8 technical committees and contributes to the resulting standards. SMC says that as a leading pneumatic supplier in the UK and globally, it recognises the importance of getting involved in BFPA’s important industry standards development work

jbj Techniques has a well-proven range of hydraulic gearmotors. It has also published a comprehensive online resource on the subject that can be accessed 24/7 free of charge

Typically, a fifth of UK industry’s electricity bill is attributed to the production of compressed air, but it is a sobering fact that a substantial portion of the generated power dedicated to its production is actually energy wasted. This White Paper from Atlas Copco Compressors describes how savings can be effected

Design phase is critical to ensure top performance over many years

Bosch Rexroth’s Paul Hickman outlines steps that can be taken in packaging automation projects to eliminate or minimise waste

To make machines work efficiently and reliably, today’s OEMs have to embrace data. And lots of it. Mark Wood of Control Technologies UK discusses the subject

From 1st July this year, the new phase of the ErP directive will come into force for electric motors. With this ecodesign directive, Europe wants to encourage manufacturers to bring more energy-efficient products onto the market. This article, authored by Lenze motor expert Florian Breker, sheds light on an important milestone for machine and system designers, builders and integrators

When designing a machine for shredding and recycling applications, many challenges need to be overcome to ensure the machine performs at a high level over many years. Three of the most important are limiting downtime, eliminating contamination issues and achieving energy cost savings. Selecting the right drive technology from an experienced supplier is critical, says Jeff Kardell of KEB Automation

Systems accessories must meet the requsite standards

A new generation of electric actuators is focused on advancing linear actuation technology

Compression latches and other touch point solutions are often overlooked by end consumers, but these products play a vital role in the overall appeal of the application as a whole. Compression latches have the power to make a significant impact on the performance, ergonomics and security of an industrial product or application. With a wide variety of compression latching solutions available, how does a machine builder know if they are choosing the best product to fulfil the needs? Southco provides this white paper to help guide machine builders

Leuze is a founding member and technology developer of IO-Link. In this paper, the company explains the dual channel principle and shows real world practical examples of Industry 4.0 with optical sensors and bar code readers

Now the UK has left the EU, the transition period has ended and the two parties have established a new trading relationship, UK-based vehicle manufacturers have some clarity over what they need to do to serve three key markets: Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), the EU and Northern Ireland

There is no need for a heated discussion about it as maxon’s motor expert Andrew Gibson offers a view on the subject

As OEMs strive to develop more mobile and compact machines, the trend is forcing miniature motion control manufacturers to maintain pace. In this article, Gerard Bush of INMOCO explains how miniature motion technology is moving towards decentralised control

Hold-Tech Files has just published a review of the post-BREXIT picture for machine builders, featuring answers to questions that will undoubtedly be common to many of us at the moment