Bearing Design Considerations in Medical Technology
Features 6/17/2013 2 comments Pharmaceutical, dental, and medical device applications present many challenges for bearings. These include high speeds, low noise, long service life, and resistance to harsh environments or aggressive chemicals or fluids.
Improving Machine Processes & Plant Automation
Features 6/14/2013 1 comment Leading companies are embracing mechatronics, and they are experiencing the rewards of the cost savings and operational benefits of an integrated and synergistic approach to machine design.
How Standards Help Shape Tomorrow’s Products
Features 6/14/2013 2 comments Although most design engineers have an opportunity to design hardware and/or software for new products, some also get a chance to shape the industry standards to which tomorrow’s products must conform.
Bolt-On Motion Systems
Features 6/3/2013 Post a comment PC-based motion offers higher performance capabilities for on-the-fly trajectory control, multi-axis synchronization, and integration of custom sensors and scanning systems.
DFAA: Design’s Acronym for Efficiency
Features 5/30/2013 6 comments As manufacturers rush to install the latest productivity-boosting equipment, engineers are being challenged to master the skills of DFAA.
Fully Integrated Motion Controllers Power Mobile, Social Robots
Features 4/5/2013 6 comments While advanced controllers have exponentially increased the number and kind of tasks industrial robots can accomplish, mobile robotics brings a new set of challenges to motion control that favors the compact, increasingly integrated motion control systems.
Embedding Robots Into the Process
Features 3/27/2013 6 comments Robots are increasingly being integrated into manufacturing systems by combining off-the-shelf mechanical solutions with programmable robotic safety zones.
Changing the Look & Feel of Factories & Industrial Environments
Features 3/22/2013 3 comments When plant managers evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of wired versus wireless networks, they need to consider cost savings, maintenance issues, ease of installation, and configurability, uptime, and security.
Slideshow: Vending Machines Undergo a Complete Overhaul
Features 3/7/2013 9 comments Exciting changes are coming to vending technology, from telematics and new user interfaces to mobile payments and high-precision automation. Coke, Best Buy, and Starbucks are already on board.
Human-Like Bipedal Walking Robot
Features 1/16/2013 10 comments In the world of robotics engineering, there are two primary ways to view how a robot walks. The trick has always been keeping a dynamically walking robot upright.
Influence of Position Measurement on Accuracy in 5-Axis Machining
Features 11/30/2012 2 comments Due to complex shaping of implants, medical technology is one of the largest fields of application for 5-axis machining and a prerequisite for the economical manufacturing is machines with high-accuracy position measurement.
Micro-Motion Systems Enable New Technology
Features 11/2/2012 7 comments Tiny focus modules, using sophisticated micro-motion systems, are enabling faster, more accurate detection systems for biometrics and DNA testing.
Building a Solid Foundation
Features 10/11/2012 2 comments The OPC-80N is providing consistent, repeatable torque in places few humans have ever seen.
The Evolution of Packaging Controls
Features 8/28/2012 17 comments The OMAC Packaging Workgroup initiative puts focus on HMIs with a common look and feel and easier access to on-screen machine diagnostics to improve operator effectiveness.
The Force Behind Formula 1 Wings
Features 8/24/2012 6 comments The Lee Co.'s three-way solenoid valve helps control the movement of the active rear wing, which had long been banned on F1 cars.
Robots Promote Safety & Productivity in Wood Industry Apps
Features 6/29/2012 6 comments Use of programmable, reliable, and predictable robots is a growing trend in manufacturing where they can be used to remove workers from unsafe conditions and inherently force safer methods.
Rib Spreading Tool Gets Robotic Update
Features 6/26/2012 7 comments One advanced technology company is taking on the challenge of developing handheld, automated surgical instruments to help patients hurt less and heal faster.
Top 5 Roadblocks to Digital Factory of the Future
Features 10/24/2011 29 comments The digital factory of the future faces challenges of cost, compatibility and programmability as PLCs and PACs lurch towards a fulling integrated production cycle.
Design News 2011 Salary Survey: Best News in Years
Features 8/10/2011 7 comments The results of our annual salary survey show solid improvements in pay, as well as overall satisfaction with the engineering profession, despite rising stress levels and a still-tight economy.
Hardened, Robust Switches & Routers
Features 7/5/2011 3 comments Industrial networks can use upgraded technology to address concerns about temperature, redundancy, data creep, security, and software standards.
Strategies for Energy Monitoring
Features 6/29/2011 5 comments Standard Ethernet networking and PAC technology, new software tools, and demand-response programs team up to identify energy savings and reduce consumption.
Miniature Motion in Medical Devices
Features 6/24/2011 4 comments Solutions offer more compact, mobile, low power, and lightweight motion control to help spur advances in medical device design and development.
Lunar Crane Design
Features 6/3/2011 18 comments Designing a robotic tool changer for use on the moon not only means dealing with the vacuum of space and moon dust, but also the changing scope of requirements for the device.
A Strategy for Better Test Equipment Management
Features 6/3/2011 4 comments At the heart of advanced product innovation and development speed in the aerospace and defense industries lies the improvement of test equipment utilization rates.
Integrated Safety Moves Beyond Outlier Status
Features 6/2/2011 4 comments Though still considered a heretical idea by some engineers, the integration of safety and machine control on one controller is gaining increased acceptance with the help of new safety standards and the never-ending push for greater productivity.
Drone Design
Features 5/31/2011 4 comments As unmanned drones play an increasingly important role in defense strategies and tactics, the demands on the electronic control systems in these vehicles include extreme portability, ruggedness and safety. Every component in these systems carries with it the weight of mission success or failure - all the way down to the switches.
Unified Components and Controls for Robot Kinematics
Features 5/31/2011 1 comment With the automotive industry employing 95 percent of the robots in use for industrial purposes, this industry's robotic trends points the way toward future robot designs, which increasingly involves modularization, reduction in the number of assemblies and elimination of proprietary hardware.
Simplifying the Complex in High-Risk Duty Robots
Features 5/26/2011 2 comments With the right design strategy going in, the creation of a robot using high-torque, compact motors and rugged design does not necessarily negate the creation of an economical, lightweight bomb-disposal robot.
Putting Physics into Human Modeling
Features 5/25/2011 1 comment Using complex mathematical models, predictive dynamics and a sprinkling of robotics technology, the Santos digital human modeling software is helping the U.S. military and large manufacturers test quality, safety and ergonomics factors in a virtual world.
Lab Innovation Based on Toy and Material Handling
Features 4/25/2011 Post a comment How a flat-panel TV handling system and the simplicity of the Etch-a-Sketch resulted in the design of a miniature, automated, two- axis laboratory sample handling system.
Pile Driving Machine Design
Features 4/21/2011 Post a comment Sixteen precision 112.5-degree gearboxes regulate timing for the Octa-Kong pile driver that is being used to build the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in China.
The Pneumatic-Electromechanical Connection
Features 4/21/2011 Post a comment Flexible pneumatic technology offers multi-position, force control and industrial network support for distributed architectures to bridge the abilities of standard pneumatic and electromechanical actuators.
Choosing Electric, Hydraulic or Pneumatic Drives
Features 4/18/2011 1 comment Understanding how electric, hydraulic or pneumatic drive systems function is critical to comprehending their affects on machine performance, ease of use, flexibility and reliability.
Applying Lean to Product Development
Features 4/15/2011 Post a comment Rather than mapping lean manufacturing principles directly to product development, engineering teams need to consider information flow and knowledge capture to truly reduce inefficiencies and optimize the process.
IEC61131-3 as an Integration Tool
Features 4/14/2011 Post a comment Understanding the benefits of IEC61131-3 and why its programming methods are becoming preferred for mechatronic designs.
Designing Systems for Remote Access
Features 4/14/2011 Post a comment Using standard industrial Ethernet technologies, forward-thinking machine builders can leverage an array of enterprise technologies that allow for their machines to more easily be used by partner service organizations increasingly relied upon by manufacturers of all sizes.
UK-based Plastic Logic and French company ISORG have created what the pair tout as a first in flexible printed electronics: a large area, conformable, organic image sensor printed on plastic.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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