Machine Building

Welding techniques explained - plus tips for best results

Welding is essential in the manufacture of machinery, buildings, bridges, cars, aeroplanes, pipelines, power stations and a host of other structures and objects. There are four main welding techniques used in modern manufacturing industry and construction, as explained below.

9th October 2019

Is it still acceptable to use two-beam safety light barriers?

This technical article from Leuze electronic highlights the standard relating to safety light barriers for machine safety applications and explains why three-beam devices should be used and when two-beam devices are still acceptable.

1st October 2019

Improve energy efficiency with supply and regeneration systems

Many drive applications could benefit from the use of supply and regeneration units, whereby kinetic energy from braking or recirculating can be reused and fed back into the DC circuit through the drive or fed back onto the mains power supply line, says Mark Checkley of KEB Automation.

25th September 2019

Back to basics: standards, directives and laws in the EU

This 'Back to basics' article from Pilz explains harmonised standards, directives and laws in the EU, and how they relate to each other.

21st September 2019

HMIs, panel building and ergonomics

Paresh Kansara, Rittal's Product Manager for Industrial & Outdoor Enclosures, discusses how ergonomics can improve a machine through more user-friendly HMIs, and how clever design features on cabinets and enclosures can improve ergonomics for technicians undertaking assembly and modification tasks.

20th September 2019

Climate control maintenance is the key to efficiency

Karl Lycett, Rittal's Product Manager for Climate Control, explains why maintaining cabinet climate control systems is not a false economy - rather it is the key to efficiency.

20th September 2019

How to specify enclosures for environmental management systems

Industry 4.0 is the current buzzword of choice for engineers and marketing professionals across almost every market sector; and for good reason. Industry 4.0 describes the integration of digital communication with the industrial process to create a network of "˜smart' tools and components that can improve efficiency, quality, productivity and safety.

19th September 2019

How to use legacy equipment in an Industry 4.0 environment

It is very unlikely that you will use a piece of technology from 100 years ago, such as a typewriter or a gramophone, in everyday life. However, a town in California has hit the headlines for doing just that. Could manufacturers learn a lesson from holding on to older technology? Here Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director of industrial obsolete parts supplier EU Automation, discusses how new technology can bring legacy equipment into the fourth industrial revolution.

17th September 2019

How to configure a maxon EPOS4 positioning controller

Learn how straightforward it is to configure a maxon EPOS4 positioning controller using EPOS Studio.

16th September 2019

How "˜smart plastics' make maintenance intelligent

"˜Industry 4.0', "˜Internet of Things' and "˜Smart Factory' - these concepts are no longer a vague promise of what is to come. Instead of planning maintenance at fixed intervals or reacting to failures or faults, continually monitoring the health of a machine enables predictive maintenance. Repair or replacement is then only carried out whenever it is actually necessary. At the same time, unscheduled shutdowns and the associated costs can be eliminated.

13th September 2019