Nonprofit health care system UCHealth is known for its innovative and state-of-the-art facilities where staff provide care to more than 1.9 million unique patients each year. Encore Electric has been privileged to work with UCHealth on several complex and demanding projects and is now building a new inpatient tower at the University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
System integrators create throughlines that allow automated systems to more efficiently communicate with each other and with operators. Many industries, especially those that rely on information technology, computer networking, and automated machinery, implement system integration to achieve more efficient processes. Integrating your systems also helps make devices compatible with the Internet of Things (IoT).
Variable frequency drives (VFDs) are electronic devices that manipulate electrical current in specific ways. In industrial settings, VFDs are used to funnel AC power, convert it into DC power, and temporarily store converted current until it is needed. VFDs are also an important component in IGBTs (insulated-gate bipolar transistors). In these devices, VFDs allow the rapid modulation of incoming and outgoing current.
In the logistics industry, it’s always a race to be the fastest company to get deliveries out the door while also maintaining a standard of impeccable accuracy at the lowest possibl cost. With heated competition all around, it’s no wonder that next-generation technologies are essential to becoming a trendsetter in this industry. Let’s take a look at four major technology trends that are currently transforming the logistics industry.
Molex recently released the results of a global survey of decision makers from telecom carriers exploring the “state of 5G” and the significant transformational opportunities it presents, along with its impact on deployment progress, current delivery challenges and emerging business prospects. Overall, carriers are optimistic: more than half of those surveyed expect to deliver substantial end-user benefits within two to five years while 47% reported that users already are seeing value or will within one year.
Not so long ago, when you wanted to take a road trip, you had to break out a map and plot your route manually. You could not account for the wealth of variables that could seriously disrupt or even derail your journey. There was no way to anticipate road construction, accidents resulting in long delays or detours, weather-related occurrences, or missed turns yielding delays in arrival.
Behind every electrical engineering project are many individual components and thus a whole collection of data: 2D/3D CAD data, data sheets, type sheets and certificates are all part of any decent documentation. “Comparatively more time is spent on article research and the collection, conversion and storage of related documents than on the design itself,” says Andreas Wedel, Director of Digital Transformation at the HARTING Technology Group.
First, let’s clarify that ‘Industrial Ethernet’ is a blanket term covering Profinet, Ethernet/IP, Modbus TCP, EtherCAT, and any other industrial fieldbus utilizing Ethernet as a physical layer. Industrial Ethernet is inherently resistant to EMI, as the standard twisted-pair cable used for transmission cancels out most differential-mode noise between the conductors. Transformer coupling on the Ethernet card itself cancels out most common-mode noise as well.
Mid-Atlantic Controls Corporation (MACC) installs, services, and repairs control systems for a range of applications and clients, including building automation for national operations centers (NOC). When a major national bank needed centralized monitoring capability for their building automation portfolio, they turned to the experts at MACC. Leveraging their in-depth knowledge of the Niagara Framework, MACC presented Tridium Vykon as the solution that would meet the client’s needs.
Putting processing power as close to the point at which data is generated/used is what Edge computing is all about. “Close” can mean on the factory floor, in the distribution center, or out at sea; wherever data is being generated and critical processes are happening. Proximity helps data-heavy applications connect and interact with machines and provide analytics. By bringing computing near the point of use, Edge deployments open bandwidth, minimize storage costs, and offer real-time insights.
In response to the devastating winter storm that hit Texas and other parts of the United States a few weeks ago, Southwire’s Project GIFT provided a tractor trailer filled with pallets of water to Houston Food Bank, an affiliate of Feeding America. According to the Texas Tribune, the state faced record-low temperatures, snow and ice that made roads impassable.
Schneider Electric recently announced a group of EcoXpert partners to achieve Master Level status in Critical Power & Substation Automation for 2021. These companies represent the most innovative Schneider Electric partners who leverage the latest in IoT-enabled technology to deliver digitized solutions for management and control of electrical power systems.
A DC current shunt is a specialized resistor used to measure high currents. The shunt is wired in series with a heavy load, such as a DC motor, battery charger, heater, plating bath or smelter pot line. A DC voltmeter is connected to the shunt in a 4-wire (Kelvin) configuration. The shunt has bolt holes or studs for the heavy wires and small terminals for the meter connections.
There are plenty of burning questions in the manufacturing industry. “How do we increase flexibility?” “How can we ensure consistent quality and accuracy throughout?” “What’s the best way to minimize the impact of recalls?” And the the big one: “What will the factory of the future look like?” In this globalized era, we need to take on a global perspective when discussing any aspect of manufacturing.
If you want to truly understand a language, you must first understand the vocabulary of that language and how it is used to convey information and ideas. As with any aspect of industrial enclosures, there exists a unique and important vocabulary in climate control and the products and services required to ensure industrial enclosures are adequately protected.
According to ISO 13849-2, the main goal of verification and valiation is to confirm that the design of a control system’s safety-related parts (SRP/CS) meets the specific safety requirements for a machine. The first step is to design a validation plan that will combine analysis and functional testing under any foreseeable conditions with respect to the final system.
