Recent Articles

Prefabricated cables with plug‑in connectors for machinery and plant engineering

Prefabricated cables with plug‑in connectors for machinery and plant engineering

Increasingly, classic control cabinet applications are installed in the field and equipped with communicative components. This increases the complexity and quantity of the cabling. Prefabricated and tested cables enable time savings of up to 75 percent and simplify installation in difficult plant conditions. To cater for these requirements, Weidmüller offers high-quality plug-and-produce solutions for IP20 and IP6x environments.
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Servocontroller featuring machine learning, analytics and WiFi

Servocontroller featuring machine learning, analytics and WiFi

The intelligent TITAN servomotor controllers from Arcus Servo Motion (represented by Dynetics GmbH) support the Servo 5.0 standard, which was designed for applications in the field of Industry 4.0, Smart Factory and Industrial Internet of Things.
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Mecademic started its 2019 world tour with ATX West

Mecademic started its 2019 world tour with ATX West

Less than three years after the Meca500, the probably smallest and most precise industrial robot arm, was introduced to the market, more than a hundred manufacturers in the electronics, medical device, and automotive industries use the robot to automate various testing and production operations.
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Detect temperatures using direct media contact

Detect temperatures using direct media contact

Balluff is expanding their range of sensors for media-contacting temperature detection, in hydraulic power units for example. New are a temperature sensor with display, a temperature transmitter as well as a PT1000 sensor.
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Interference-free transmission with the Ethernet media converter

Interference-free transmission with the Ethernet media converter

The new FL MC EF 660 SCRJ media converter from Phoenix Contact enables the connection of cost-effective polymer and HCS/PCF fiber technology.
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Field-attachable connectors

Field-attachable connectors

The increasingly decentralized automation requires flexible and individual wiring in certain areas directly in the field and at the machine with field-terminable connectors in various connection technologies.
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Rackmount Systems for demanding environments: Kontron’s new KISS series

Rackmount Systems for demanding environments: Kontron’s new KISS series

Kontron's rackmount systems are designed and tested for challenging environments, and are therefore the perfect fit for extreme temperature and mechanical stress conditions.
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These robots crawl into every nook and cranny

These robots crawl into every nook and cranny

It started as a project by two engineers who were close to retirement. Today, the modular inspection robots by Canadian company Inuktun are successfully in use all over the world – defying even the most adverse conditions.
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Components for mechatronics

Components for mechatronics

Dynetics offers an extensive range of motion controller modules, worm gear motors, servo motor controllers, stepper motor drives and controllers – all suitable for complex mechatronic applications.
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Push-pull connectors ‘Made in Germany’ for future-proof industrial applications

Push-pull connectors ‘Made in Germany’ for future-proof industrial applications

Yamaichi Electronics highlights three push-pull connectors for future-proof industrial applications. The three connectors are manufactured in Frankfurt/Oder.
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Enterprise Linux versus Embedded Linux

Enterprise Linux versus Embedded Linux

Linux is one of the most widely used open source operating systems and is available in many different variants. This wide set of choices can make it confusing and challenging to determine the right version for a given use case. Wind River's article offers an introduction to Linux for the enterprise and Linux for embedded products.
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Extended Ultrasonic Sensor Portfolio

Extended Ultrasonic Sensor Portfolio

The more compact the machine and plants, the greater the demand for small sensors. If these devices also involve short blind zones, they soon become the universal tool for restricted spaces. Turck has therefore added ten more miniature sensors to its RU ultrasonic sensor series. Twelve new types were added to the RU-Eco series with devices made from highly resistant liquid crystal polymer. This comprehensive portfolio enables the automation specialist to offer the right ultrasonic solution for...
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Smart optimization rather than investment

Smart optimization rather than investment

Numerous companies are sceptical, hesitating to take the step to digitalization. As an industry pioneer in the area of I4.0 grippers and real-time simulation, Zimmer Group is ready to convert the few remaining doubters and naysayers. The company now offers their customers integrated solutions (“digitalZ”) that are tailored to the software platforms of the customers.
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Components for automation technology from Panasonic

Components for automation technology from Panasonic

Panasonic Industry is well known for its extensive automation technology portfolio with industry-leading innovations and components. With this article, WA3000 Industrial Automation reports about Panasonic's core competencies in the areas of safety technology, energy management and efficiency.
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IO-Link master modules in the IP20 and IP67 degree of protection

IO-Link master modules in the IP20 and IP67 degree of protection

IO-Link is considered key technology for implementing industry 4.0 and IIoT concepts. For this technology Weidmüller provides IO-Link master modules in IP20 and IP67 degree of protection. Plug-in connectors and pre-assembled cables for the bus connection as well as sensor/actuator cabling complete the product portfolio. The parametrisation and configuration of IO-Link devices can be performed with a web‑based configuration tool that contains an interface to the manufacturer‑independent...
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Balluff SmartCamera: Intelligent data management contributes to stable production processes

Balluff SmartCamera: Intelligent data management contributes to stable production processes

Industry 4.0 – the smart, adaptive factory with short retooling times and decentralized control – aims to generate the most comprehensive data possible within a highly automated process in real-time and provide the most varied instances possible. This status information in the form of process data for control and monitoring of sequences and product data for traceability and quality verification form an objective basis for making decisions in order to take early measures for process optimization.
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Unbeatable Goalie Machine: Can Neymar and Messi score against RoboKeeper?

Unbeatable Goalie Machine: Can Neymar and Messi score against RoboKeeper?

Is there any goalkeeper who even footballers of the World Cup class like Neymar and Messi fail against? Yes, there is one, and its name is RoboKeeper. The computer-controlled football robot was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML). A modified industrial PC of the Kontron KBox series serves as the hardware basis.
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Digital twin cloud services

Digital twin cloud services

Siemens and Bentley Systems announced the introduction of PlantSight at the Bentley Conference Year in Infrastructure 2018. PlantSight is a digital solution to benefit customers through more efficient plant operations. It enables as-operated and up-to-date digital twins which synchronize with both physical reality and engineering data, creating a holistic digital context for consistently understood digital components across disparate data sources, for any operating plant.
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Programmable DC power supply series delivers 5 kW output

Programmable DC power supply series delivers 5 kW output

With a maximum output power of 5 kW in a 1U-19-inch rack-mount housing, the first member of the new generation of TDK Lambda's successful laboratory power supply family GENESYS+™ sets new standards in the power supply market. The new series delivers the highest power density currently available on the market in a 1U-19-inch rack weighing less than 7.5 kg.
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Magnetically coded position measuring system with IO-Link interface and condition monitoring

Magnetically coded position measuring system with IO-Link interface and condition monitoring

The new BML SL1 absolute measuring system from Balluff is the right choice wherever positions and end-of-travel need to be determined with high accuracy, fast and precisely over travel distances of up to 8 meters. Regardless of whether the task involves linear or rotary motion, distance or angle measurement, format changes, short or long distances.
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IP67-RFID-INTERFACE with OPC-UA-SERVER

IP67-RFID-INTERFACE with OPC-UA-SERVER

Wireless-based identification using RFID is one of the key technologies for smart production processes suitable for Industry 4.0. Turck provides a powerful tool for this with its BL ident RFID solution. A new addition to the portfolio is a robust RFID module with protection class IP67, which makes the connection of factory automation to the IT world much easier due to an integrated OPC UA server.
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Update Capabilities for Medical Devices

Update Capabilities for Medical Devices

Regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) frequently adopt regulations aimed at optimizing solutions for patient care and life-saving systems to make medical devices safer. The article shows which solutions Wind River proposes to meet regulatory requirements with integrated safety & security features. The solutions can also be used for industrial automation applications.
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Hybrid plug-in connector for single-cable interfaces between drives and motors

Hybrid plug-in connector for single-cable interfaces between drives and motors

Hybrid plug-in connectors save space and are easier to install. When they are designed and used correctly their EMC properties are just as good as dedicated cables. Circular connectors have already become established on the motors side. Weidmüller has developed the OMNIMATE® hybrid plug-in connector for single-cable interfaces on drives in the control cabinet. The article describes the technical background, and the considerations that went into the design.
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New Grippers with steel and aluminum linear guides

New Grippers with steel and aluminum linear guides

The Zimmer Group has added a new pneumatic model range to its technology-leading 5000 series of premium grippers – in addition to the existing models with steel linear guides, versions with aluminum linear guides are now also available.
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