Control & Automation Features

Vintage ride gets some 21st century treatment

Bakken Amusement Park in Klampenborg near Copenhagen is the oldest amusement park in the world and is home to one of the oldest roller coasters in Europe: the ‘Rutschebanen’, a wooden coaster built in 1932.

Precision robot and integrated vision system is able to pick stem cells

A dynamic British company has harnessed the precision of robots, the flexibility of machine vision and powerful laboratory automation software to push forward stem cell research.

The food industry addresses its automation needs

UK food prices have risen 12 percent in the last five years, while incomes have fallen 10 percent. There were seasonal shortages this year and experts are predicting worldwide food shortages by 2020. Efficiency and waste reduction are thus high on this industry's agenda.

Wireless developments: the editor's pick

Editor Les Hunt reviews some recent additions to the industry's wireless product portfolio.

More Control & Automation Features Features

Wireless transmitters prove effective leak detectors(11/02/2013)

Barking Power has installed smart wireless technology to help identify potential problems, improving plant availability and the efficiency of its combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station in London.
CNC retrofit rejuvenates ageing milling centre(11/02/2013)

When SPX Clyde Union needed extra line boring capacity for the production of a range of centrifugal pump cases, it decided that the optimum route would be to have an ageing horizontal boring and milling centre completely re-engineered and fitted with a new CNC system. The subsequent retrofit has given the machine a new lease of life.
SCARA triumphs over 'pick-and-place'(11/02/2013)

A leading automotive parts manufacturer recently asked the experts at machine builder, ALPHR Technology to automate the assembly of a moulded plastic spigot. Their requirements were simple – they wanted a system that would be cost-effective, compact, reliable and easy to access. However, the necessary processes to achieve these criteria were not so simple.
Researchers aim to create the 'MacGyver' robot(18/12/2012)

Robots are increasingly being used in place of humans to explore hazardous and difficult-to-access environments, but they aren’t yet able to interact with their environments as well as humans. If today’s most sophisticated robot was trapped in a burning room by a jammed door, it would probably not know how to locate and use objects in the room to climb over any debris, pry open the door, and escape the building.
Mitsubishi Electric improves PLC-based data logging(07/12/2012)

In the push for increased overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), reduced energy usage, improved traceability, analysis of key performance indicators and more, the vital ingredient is data. Barry Weller of Mitsubishi Electric discusses why data logging has become an essential feature of the modern production line and why it is often best performed within a PLC platform.