The speed of a conveyor system is heavily dependent on the application of the conveyor. Some conveyors move the average speed of a person walking, while other applications require a much faster speed; for example, a high-speed bottling line.    Figure 1. A fast bucket conveyor. Image use

Once the decision has been made to replace or retrofit your plant's or facility's control system, it's time to start a crucial part of the process: designing and planning. This stage must be completed diligently and methodically, as a poorly designed or planned control system will&

To characterize is human. With the myriad of industries and manufacturing facilities in the world, and new ones being developed each year, it is useful to characterize them. This way, common problems can be addressed across a large swath of industries, and perhaps contrasted with industries in anot

RTU stands for remote terminal unit. An RTU is a control device typically installed in a remote location as part of a large system. The main purpose of an RTU is to monitor and control field devices, such as valves, actuators, sensors, and more. RTUs are essential components of supervisory control

The convergence between programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and remote terminal units (RTUs) is relatively new. In terms of the installed base, PLCs have long overtaken RTUs and have been dominating the market for decades, practically becoming commodities.  Driven by this growth, many vendor

Milton Guerry, president of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) based in Frankfurt, reflected on the 2020 “robotics wave” during the association’s virtual forum, noting that the pandemic’s low points occurred at staggered times across regions. “Order intake and production in China’s manuf

According to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), North American companies placed 9,928 robot orders in the third quarter of 2021, totaling $513 million. These figures represent a 32 % rise in units and a 35 % increase in value compared with the same period a year earlier, marking the thir

OnRobot, the leading provider of application‑focused collaborative robot hardware, has introduced WebLytics – its first software product. WebLytics is a production‑monitoring, diagnostics, and data‑analytics platform that tracks the performance of multiple collaborative applications in real time. By

The Motoman Robotics division of Yaskawa America, Inc. has unveiled the SPI‑67 interface, a turnkey hardware and software solution that seamlessly connects six‑axis Motoman robots to horizontal injection molding presses. Prior to the SPI‑67, operators had to choose between an expensive

ATI Industrial Automation, a trusted leader in robotic tooling, has unveiled the QC‑29 – a standard tool changer designed for smaller six‑axis robots across all major brands and most other manufacturers. The QC‑29 brings ATI’s heavy‑duty technology into the 25‑35 kg payload class, featuring a sleek

Yaskawa’s Smart Pattern software streamlines the programming of six‑axis robots for repetitive pick‑and‑place tasks. Designed for Smart Pendant V2.0.4 or newer, the intuitive interface guides users through creating patterns for single parts, 2‑D and 3‑D grid arrays, and stack operations.

HowToRobot.com, founded in 2020 in Denmark’s robotics hub, debuted in the U.S. this week at the ATX East trade show in New York City. The platform positions itself as a “digital marketplace” that helps manufacturers accelerate automation projects by simplifying supplier discovery and proposal evalua

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) released its 2021 World Robot Statistics, revealing a dramatic acceleration in global robot adoption. Robot density—defined as the number of industrial robots per 10,000 employees—rose from 66 in 2015 to 126 in 2020. Geographically, Asia/Australia now l

The Wittmann Group, headquartered in Kottingbrunn, Austria, has announced that it will retire the Battenfeld name from all external branding. From 1 January 2022, the group will use the Wittmann logo for all advertising, product literature and digital channels. The transition will be fully complete

Recycling stories appeared on average five times per issue in 2021, alongside other sustainability topics such as renewable and biodegradable polymers. (Photo: ALPLA) As 2022 approaches, it’s tempting to review our 13 issues from the past year and anticipate the stories we’ll cover next. In this

Schunk’s Adheso Gripper harnesses Van der Waals forces through a patented polymer surface engineered with micro‑scale “hairs” ranging from 25 to 700 µm. These fine structures, bonded to a three‑durometer foam substrate, enable reliable adhesion on a wide array of materials without the need for addit

FANUC America, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, has broadened its SCARA robot portfolio to include six new models that deliver unprecedented versatility and performance. The lineup now features the SR‑3iA, SR‑6iA, SR‑12iA, and SR‑20iA, each available in 4‑axis configurations and offering payloads

When the pandemic shuttered restaurants across the U.S., rodents sought new food sources, creating a sudden spike in demand for mouse traps. Bell Laboratories, Inc., a seasoned manufacturer of rodent‑control products, capitalized on this shift, recording a 20% increase in sales over the past year.

At Fakuma (October 12‑16) in Friedrichshafen, visitors to Engel’s booth (Hall A5, stand 5204) will discover iQ motion control – the latest addition to our range of smart assistance systems for the viper series linear robots. iQ motion control enables the viper robots to perform a safe, early start a

At the upcoming Fakuma trade fair (Oct. 12–16, Friedrichshafen, Germany, Hall B1, Booth No. 1204), Wittmann Battenfeld will showcase the new Sonic 108 robot, extending the Sonic series launched at K2019. The Sonic 108 targets injection‑molding machines rated at 50 tons and above, filling the gap lef