IDEC Corporation announces the release of its WindEDIT Lite app for iOS and Android devices, providing two-way access to its family of MicroSmart FC6A PLCs. The app provides much quicker, simpler and easier connection as compared to browser-based access. With the WindEDIT Lite app, users can monitor any PLC parameter, and change set points and […]
Industrial Automation
New EL3783 EtherCAT I/O provides monitoring, diagnostics of alternating voltages to 690 V AC
Beckhoff has announced the release of the EL3783 oversampling EtherCAT Terminal for power monitoring for standard control systems. Conventional automation and power measurement technology are increasingly converging, and with the integration of the EL3783 I/O terminal, high-precision grid analysis becomes available for a range of power-generating systems. Most importantly, three-phase AC voltage systems up to […]
New warehouse automation and logistics reliant on conveyors: Catino of Interroll explains the trend
One trend in the area of logistics is tighter integration of warehousing and assembly — a trend that’s especially evident in the automotive industry but on the rise elsewhere too. That’s according to Maurizio Catino, industry sales manager at Interroll, a material-handling technology supplier. “Traditional facilities have a warehouse (from which parts originate) and an […]
Connect with Bosch Rexroth’s latest automation innovations at ATX West 2018
Rexroth will demonstrate the Active Mover transfer system in booth 4201 at ATX West. Bosch Rexroth will showcase its most recent technology for connected automation in booth 4201 at ATX West 2018 in Anaheim, Calif., February 6 to 8. Featured demos show the benefits of connectivity throughout the factory, from manual to fully automated assembly. […]
SERAPID Group (lift and transfer-system supplier) launches new website
SERAPID Group — a leading supplier of lifts, quick die change, and horizontal transfer systems — has launched its new website at www.serapid.com. “We are proud to provide customers with a new and improved website,” said SERAPID Group Chief Operating Officer Guillaume Davies. “With this new site we aim to create an exciting experience for visitors […]
Interroll exhibiting conveyor solutions for hygienic food processing and dynamic storage
One of Interroll’s key exhibits at the IPPE will be the DM0080 drum motor platform. This innovative motor platform is to be predominantly used in modern conveyor belt systems in manufacturing, food and beverage, distribution centers and airports. It features a completely modular design and offers both synchronous and asynchronous drive solutions. Initially, motors with […]
HMI basics video: Human-machine interface communications, GUIs, and more
A human machine interface — or HMI for short — is a control terminal on machinery to let operators monitor machine functions and adjust them as needed. This interaction is through a graphical user interface — GUI for short —that allows communications to and from supervisory controls and machine HMIs. HMI hardware takes the form […]
Networking and IoT to support automated warehouse for e-commerce
The Internet has changed human life around the world, and one major way has been in the form of e-commerce. Annual U.S. retail e-commerce sales now exceed $320 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. It’s even sustained 15% year-over-year growth, and retail e-commerce sales now account for more than 10% of total sales. […]
POSITAL in launch of BiSS Association: New organization promotes open-source interface technology
POSITAL FRABA his participating as a founding member of the BiSS Association — a new organization dedicated to encourage the use of the BiSS family of open-source industrial communications protocols. BiSS communications protocols were developed by the German company iC-Haus GmbH as an efficient and feature-rich digital interface for communications between industrial sensors, actuators and […]
Application example: HMI on medical-device manufacturing equipment
Most hospitalized patients receive an IV soon after admission … and sometimes insertion of the needle is painful. But once placed, discomfort subsides — as the plastic tubing that connects the IV bag to the arm is shaped to smoothly glide into veins and remain comfortable during use. Equipment made by Silverstone Automation — the manufacturer’s […]
