A couple months ago, my esteemed collegue Mary Gannon forwarded me an issue of a Machine Vision eNewsletter she gets from Pete Kepf, an AIA-Certified Vision Professional and consultant based in Louisville, Tennessee. I highly recommend his stuff: His advice to plant and design engineers on how to apply machine vision to get good results is very […]
Networking + IoT
Interview: Rockwell and Design World talk IT/OT convergence
Recently, I got the chance to attend the 2014 Automation Fair in Anaheim, California. One of the big topics was the convergence of information technologies and operational technologies – IT and OT. The idea? Integrated platforms that connect enterprises (and their IT and OT) can boost productivity and product quality, especially for manufacturing and industrial […]
New VeriSens vision sensors from Baumer for color inspection
Baumer has expanded its VeriSens XC series vision sensor line to include models capable of color identification and inspection. Setup is simple and reliable with the new Color FEX assistant. The new VGA and 1.2 megapixel models are ideally suited for automation tasks in packaging, pick and pack, assembly monitoring, product encoding and quality assurance […]
New Moog slip rings: What they mean for packaging engineers
At the recent PackExpo in Chicago, I saw several dozen new motion-control products of note … including a new slip ring from Moog Components Group, a division of Moog Inc. Moog Inc. is a manufacturer of control systems for military and commercial aircraft, satellites and space vehicles, launch vehicles, missiles, automated industrial machinery, wind energy, […]
Centralized or decentralized: Which motion architecture is best?
Decentralizing servo technology can lower costs in packaging and food and beverage applications. But centralized motion control has its advantages too. Sometimes the answer to which is better is neither one … but both. By Dr. Arne Linder | Product Management • Kollmorgen Decentralizing servo technology can bring machine and plant construction savings during installation. […]
Keep Your Machines Healthy by Taking a Look Inside
By Mary C. Gannon • Diagnostics monitoring programs can prevent lost hours, production and money by alerting maintenance personnel of potential failures in their motion control systems. Machine uptime is critical in any automation system, whether it be a CNC machine tool or a miles-long conveyor system used in mining. If a machine fails unexpectedly, it […]
Putting Cameras in the Loop
by Christian Fritz, Sr. Product Manager, Advanced Machine Control, National Instruments, Austin, Tx. For decades the adoption of machine vision technology has been a growing trend in the automation industry. Applications like quality inspection, robot guidance, pick-and-place operation and part sorting experienced a quantum leap in performance through the adoption of image acquisition and processing. […]
BEI Sensors Launches New Website
BEI Sensors announces the launch of its fully redesigned website that features improved navigation and functionality. Visitors can easily access an extensive product portfolio with detailed information on optical and magnetic encoders, potentiometers, Hall effect sensors, and a variety of other related position sensing products. The website provides visitors several ways to quickly find product […]
The Next Step in Non-contact Sensing
by Eric Mueller, Sensor Magnets Product Manager, Dexter Magnetic Technologies, Elk Grove Village, Ill. Non-contact linear and rotary position measurement is attainable with robust multi-pole magnets Today’s machinery and motion systems have an increased need for accurate, repeatable and reliable measurement of linear and rotary position. The evolving history of position sensing ranges from simple electromechanical […]
High-speed Synchronization with EPOS3 70/10 EtherCAT
The digital positioning controller EPOS3 70/10 EtherCAT meets the highest demands in real-time positioning of synchronized multi-axis systems. Extremely compact in size, the EPOS3 possesses a wide nominal power supply voltage range from 11 to 70 VDC and delivers a continuous output current of 10 A, during acceleration and deceleration even up to 25 A. […]