Dan Sussman

Alarm! Alarm! Your line is about to shut down

Since the 1980s, we have seen the rise of instrumentation that can provide maintenance departments with information on real-time conditions. These include vibration sensors for rotating equipment, corrosion monitoring, and the use of ultrasound and infrared sensing. Initially, maintenance personnel carrying sensing equipment gathered most of that data.

Micro PLC Key to CNC Overhaul

Tractor-trailers are highway behemoths, so it's somewhat ironic that tiny rivets play a major role in the manufacturing of these vehicles. But that was the case at International Truck and Engine Corp.'s Grove City, OH, plant where the semi-cab side and back panels for tractor-trailer vehicles are produced.

Motion Control, Networks Automate Baling Process

For most people—particularly those steeped in "heavy" industries, such as automotive—the words "manufacturing automation" don't immediately conjure up images of cotton-picking, baling, and storage. Nevertheless, the cotton industry wrestles with the same cost and efficiency pressures as any other manufacturing business.

Dedicated I/O Delivers Faster Communication

We are all aware of how important it is to choose the right combination of hardware and software to deliver optimal results in a manufacturing automation application in specific circumstances, even though we may not always apply it. Putting this piece of well-worn wisdom to the test, Metro Weighing and Automation (MWA) discovered that a new I/O based system with logic and communications perfor...