If you build control panels, assembling terminal strips may well be your least favorite job. Even in a modestly sized panel, it’s not unusual to have dozens or even hundreds of terminal blocks for field connections. You have to mount those terminal blocks on DIN Rail, then label them. It sounds easy but it’s time consuming, mind-numbingly boring and there’s plenty of room for making mistakes!
Felipe Costa, Product Marketing Manager for Networking & Cybersecurity at Moxa and an ISA/IEC 62443 instructor, introduces industrial control systems (ICSs) and their three main deployment challenges and offers advice for overcoming them with advanced industrial managed Ethernet switches.
For smaller municipal utilities and co-ops, it can be a challenge to upgrade and automate existing distribution substations and support infrastructure due to constraints in space, budget, labor, technical skills, and system compatibility. Many still have not installed SCADA systems for the remote management and control of multiple substations.
With the EPLAN Engineering Standard, new and seasoned users alike can access example data and templates that facilitate using standards in projects. These include guidelines for installing the EPLAN Platform, standardized basic templates and macro project templates, project planning and design templates for typical tasks, and sector-specific best practices.
If there’s one aspect of the material handling industry that is complicating workflows for warehouses and distribution centers across the country, it’s how difficult it is to predict and plan for sudden increases in the number of parcels in the pipeline. Peak parcel volume can happen at any time, and challenges like labor shortages and increased operational costs only muddy the water material handlers have to cross in optimizing their sorting and distribution processes. A flexible and versatile industrial automation ecosystem can help material handlers accommodate these shifts quickly and efficiently.
Backfeeding is a physical process that is highly desirable in many applications, such as electric vehicles, for the purpose of energy recovery. However, in an industrial setting, backfeeding can be a problem and lead to costly system downtimes if the power supply units fail. In this blog article you will learn how power supply data can help you to identify those backfeeding events and take measures.
For a period beginning in the late 1990s, Windows CE was a popular choice as a lightweight operating system for industrial control automation platforms. Now, with the industrial internet of things (IIoT) revolution upon us and new generations of embedded technologies available and rapidly emerging, many end users are in search of a path forward for their legacy systems such as those based on Windows CE. If you can relate, the good news is there are options!
A good electrical engineering design process can help your department reduce operational costs, increase efficiency and improve product quality. In this article, Paul Goleniak of EPLAN USA will discuss with you some key points for consideration and best practices for optimizing your design engineering process.
Horton Automatics, a manufacturer of premium access solutions, is pleased to announce its continued support of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in the construction of a groundbreaking semiconductor manufacturing plant in Phoenix, AZ. This collaboration signifies Horton’s commitment to supporting technological advancements and driving the growth of the semiconductor industry in the United States.
Electricity costs already account for 20 to 30 percent of operation costs and are rising. Driving new efficiencies in how electricity is used and managed will have a massive payoff for mining operations. Mine energy efficiency begins and ends with the site’s power infrastructure and management. Using their field-proven solutions, Eaton can help you improve the bottom line while reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions, and keeping people and equipment safe.
Integrating autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) into your facility can optimize materials transport thanks to the robots’ ability to navigate autonomously, adapt to changing environments, and perform a range of tasks. However, successful AMR implementation requires careful consideration of several key factors: space analysis, floor conditions, and environmental factors, among others.
Optimized Processes and Coordinated System Solutions for Greater Efficiency in Wire Processing – Control cabinet builders face many challenges: international competition, the shortage of skilled workers, and financial considerations such as increasing labor and material costs. While panel shops have little influence over these external challenges, they can find ways to streamline in-house processes and structures.
Automation has been a game-changer in the packaging industry thanks to its significant impact on the efficiency, speed, and accuracy of the packaging process. As packaging companies adopt these new solutions, they’ll be increasingly capable of adapting quickly to meet changing customer demand and withstand the impact of stressors like the COVID-19 pandemic. This article will explore a few of the biggest automation trends in packaging.
July 17, 2023 Human-machine interfaces (HMIs) are a crucial component of industrial control systems, as they allow operators to interact with and monitor the performance of industrial equipment. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in touchless technology, which eliminates the need for physical contact between the operator and the interface. This technology…
Thermal management helps control the temperature within a sealed enclosure to prevent electronic components from overheating. Although individual manufacturer’s specifications vary, most electrical distribution and control equipment operates longer and more effectively under ambient air conditions ranging from 104° – 122°F [40° – 50°C]. Temperatures that exceed this range can damage electronics, causing outages or permanent failure.
All electrical designs start with an initial assessment of your customer’s desired outcomes. How do you, the panel builder, and your customer both agree that what they asked you to design is what you are going to produce for them? When your engineers work without tightly defined specifications, they can produce designs that are essentially workarounds, rather than optimized systems. This costs you time and money.
