It's amazing how Moore's Law is transforming the benefits of advanced automation control. A next generation line of controllers from Siemens basically offers high performance, enhanced security and the ability to integrate add-on applications such as safety within the framework of the single controller. More processing power=greater flexibility for automation engineers to implement advanced solutions. It will be interesting to see moving ahead what types of additional applications (condition monitoring, for example) end up becoming widely implemented because of these continuing increases in fundamental processing power.
Even if the chips are locked, you are only delaying theft marginally. De-capping chips is a fairly easy, practiced, and documented procedure for getting at the data. If it is worth it to a person, they will go through great lengths to obtain the data.
The company that I formerly worked for manufactured equipment with the majority of the machines going to China. We dared not to ship any machines with unlocked PLC programs, as the IP theft stories were not just rumors....
The levels of protection on the "blocks" raises a big question. How rampant is design theft or tampering on the assembly line? Or is this specifically for keeping the same revision current across the design chain?
It's exciting to think that corporate espionage tactics are at play somewhere. A James Bond style thief, under the guise of a machine operator, houses a micro computer in his jacket. When no one is looking, he copies the memory card with a card reader in his sleeve. The process a mere five seconds. Completed, and in a magicians like grace, he turns puts the original card into the production machine. No one ever knew.
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.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
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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