Featured Articles

How RFID Technology is Expanding Manufacturers Traceability Capabilities
|

How RFID Technology is Expanding Manufacturers Traceability Capabilities

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology has been making great strides in expanding the capabilities that manufacturers have in Traceability. Due to its industry-proven, robust, short, and long-range design to identify, track, and trace products and carriers, RFID offers solutions beyond optical barcode reading. It can also be easily integrated into automation platforms using standard Network protocols like EtherNet/IP.

IP or NEMA: Which Enclosure Rating is More Important When Designing Electric Vehicle Charging Stations?
|

IP or NEMA: Which Enclosure Rating is More Important When Designing Electric Vehicle Charging Stations?

A recent update from the Biden Administration revealed that there are more than three million EVs on the road in the U.S., and more than 130,000 EV charging stations currently in use. The President’s goal is for EVs to make up 50% of all new car sales by 2030, and this benchmark also calls for a nationwide network of more than 500,000 EV charging stations. IP and NEMA ratings certify an enclosure’s capacity to perform in harsh environments, but the unique nature of EV charging stations can leave designers a little unclear as to which rating system carries more weight for this kind of application.

What Is the Meaning of the IP Ratings for Power Supplies?
|

What Is the Meaning of the IP Ratings for Power Supplies?

The IP rating indicates to what extent an electrical device is protected against the penetration of foreign objects and moisture. In this blog post, you can find out which IP codes there are, what the differences are between them and what you need to pay attention to when choosing a power supply. Environmental influences such as dust or moisture can prevent the electrical components in a power supply from functioning correctly. In addition, the interior of the power supply may need to be protected from penetration by foreign objects, such as tools, screws and wires, and from accidental contact by the user.

Eaton Invests more than $500 Million in North American Manufacturing to Support Electrification, Energy Transition and Digitalization across Industries 

Eaton Invests more than $500 Million in North American Manufacturing to Support Electrification, Energy Transition and Digitalization across Industries 

Intelligent power management company Eaton has announced significant investments in its North American manufacturing and operations to support rapidly growing demand for its electrical solutions. The company is expanding manufacturing and bolstering resilience to increase the supply of its solutions for customers in utility, commercial, healthcare, industrial and residential markets across North America. The majority…

Migration Strategies for Supporting Legacy Automation
| | | |

Migration Strategies for Supporting Legacy Automation

August 29, 2023 By Scott Martin, KCC Software When support for legacy systems fades away, there are options to keep them up and running. Experienced systems integrators are well-versed in up-to-date digital platforms to modernize operations with minimal effort. For a period beginning in the late 1990s, Windows CE was a popular choice as a lightweight…

2022 Sustainability Report
|

Southwire is Powering Transformation by Focusing on the Company’s Sustainability Goals

Southwire’s long-held commitment to sustainability has been evident throughout its history and was formalized with its first official sustainability report in 2007. Reflecting that commitment, the company recently launched its 2022 sustainability report. The report highlights all areas of sustainability at Southwire and showcases the company’s most significant impacts by focusing on its five core tenets – Growing Green, Living Well, Giving Back, Doing Right and Building Worth – which include actions to enhance safety performance, strategic initiatives, team member engagement, community involvement and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid when Implementing Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) in Your Facility

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid when Implementing Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) in Your Facility

As technology advances, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have emerged as valuable tools for improving efficiency and productivity in various industries. From warehouses to manufacturing facilities, these intelligent machines are revolutionizing the way manufacturers handle tasks and streamline operations. However, deploying AMRs successfully requires careful planning and consideration. In this blog post, let’s explore some common mistakes that people make when implementing autonomous mobile robots in their facilities and provide insights on how to avoid them.

Put to the Ultimate Test – Bending Tests

Put to the Ultimate Test – Bending Tests

In dynamic applications typical to mechanical and plant engineering or drive and automation technology, cables and wires are frequently subject to mechanical bending stresses. Although these stresses also occur in static installations, they are much higher in dynamic applications because the force and direction of movement are constantly changing. Such situations are pure stress for the cable. The wires, conductor insulation and jacketing material are squeezed on the inside and stretched on the outside, and the cable can tear. Degradation, up to and including cable damage, leads to faults and functional failures.

Recommendation for Automation: “Think big, start small.”

Recommendation for Automation: “Think big, start small.”

Modularisation, standardisation and automation – these topics will dominate again at this year’s EF|A – EPLAN Forum for Automated Engineering. The need for action in machine building and plant system engineering is higher than ever, which also helps explain the great interest in the run-up to this international event, with participants from more than twelve countries. In practice-oriented presentations, companies will be showing the next steps they’re taking on the pathway to automated engineering. Their motto: Think big!

Thinking Outside the Box: Why Energy-Efficient Enclosure Climate Control Units Are Important For Food and Beverage Manufacturers
|

Thinking Outside the Box: Why Energy-Efficient Enclosure Climate Control Units Are Important For Food and Beverage Manufacturers

Poultry has been one of the food and beverage industry’s biggest growth areas in recent years, and projections indicate this growth shows no signs of slowing down — in fact, a recent report estimates the poultry market will grow by more than 6% annually through 2028. This is just one example — pet food and plant-based foods being a couple others — of why food and beverage producers need to unlock new levels of productivity and efficiency to meet customer demand and seize opportunities in new or emerging markets. With this in mind, let’s look at a couple of reasons why design engineers should consider energy-efficient enclosure climate control units when designing an automation infrastructure for food and beverage manufacturing sites.

8 Factors for Panel Builders to Consider When Choosing a Thermal Management Supplier
| | | | |

8 Factors for Panel Builders to Consider When Choosing a Thermal Management Supplier

By: Kooltronic August 18, 2023 Building electrical enclosures presents many challenges. Considerations such as ingress protection, mechanical strength, component costs, National Electrical Code (NEC) compliance, and thermal management are equally important when building safe, reliable, cost-effective control cabinets. Panel builders may also face challenges related to the availability of materials, the complexity of the design,…

Terminal Strips: Easier Than Ever
|

Terminal Strips: Easier Than Ever

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!

SCADA Master Serves as Data “Hub” for Enterprise Software Integration
|

SCADA Master Serves as Data “Hub” for Enterprise Software Integration

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.

Getting Projects Started Faster and More Efficiently

Getting Projects Started Faster and More Efficiently

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.

How A More Connected Ecosystem Can Help Material Handlers Process More Parcels

How A More Connected Ecosystem Can Help Material Handlers Process More Parcels

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.