A reader of Control Engineering recently asked, “When I hear the sound of a ball screw that’s beginning to fail on a CNC milling center, I have to wonder: Isn’t there a better way to get that kind of linear movement? Are there other technologies?” We put that question to John Meyer at Siemens Motion Control Group, and he suggests linear …
For more than a decade now, the trend in manufacturing information technology has been to push increasing amounts of plant floor data up into the enterprise systems for better decision making by corporate executive and financial officers.
Control system software development is usually performed by a small group. However, techniques commonly used by large groups can also be used effectively by small groups. For example, if you are using a waterfall development method, or the SCRUM (www.scrumalliance.org) and Agile (www.agilealliance.org) methods, there …
Industrial networks options are many. If modifications are desired beyond the commercially available industrial network, suppliers offer commercial products that support protocols. In some cases, open source options may be a more viable option.
The challenges facing safe automation are reflected in the trends. The market wants overall, compatible solutions from the sensor to the actuator. Ethernet is gaining ground as a universal communication system. As a result, the worlds of information technology and automation are growing closer together, which brings new challenges not …
Rockwell Automation has embedded Ethernet device level ring (DLR) technology into its Integrated Architecture system for high-speed, high-performance applications needing resilient networks, and for machine builders looking for flexible, reliable, low-cost network solutions for their real-time EtherNet/IP applications.
According to the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the former and current owners and operators of a chemical facility in Addyston, Ohio, Lanxess Corp. and Ineos ABS USA Corp., have agreed to pay a $3.1 million civil penalty to resolve violations of multiple environmental laws. In addition, Ineos will sp…
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are asking: What if an engine could be programmed to harvest the best properties of both gasoline and diesel fuel sources at once by blending the fuels within the combustion chamber itself?
Three National Instruments leaders offered U.S. business leaders advice about how to thrive as the country moves out of recession. The engineering-minded executives also suggested ways U.S. policymakers, economists, and financial wizards might avoid future economic disasters, in an Aug. 4 discussion.