Safety guard interlocks help protect operators when working with rotating equipment and other high-risk machinery. However, interlocks are vulnerable to manipulation, putting operators in danger from unsafe machinery. To prevent this issue, David Dearden, Managing Director of Euchner UK, offers suggestions on how machine builders can prevent operator bypass.

Industrial automation (IA) is no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity. Something that more and more plant managers are now considering. Richmond Averill, Schaeffler UK’s Industrial Automation OEM Sales Engineer, discusses how emerging trends in IA are impacting Schaeffler and its OEM customers in terms of reskilling of labour and how robots can boost accuracy and productivity.

The European Machinery Directive and the Machinery Regulation that is replacing it require a risk analysis for every machine before being brought to market or after a modification. A key part of the risk analysis is the risk assessment. In addition to the legal fundamentals, various processes for the risk assessment are introduced, as the experts at Leuze explain.

As the summer months bring rising temperatures, it's time to pay extra attention to your IT cooling solutions. Even a few degrees of increased temperature can have a significant impact on your IT equipment's performance and longevity. The experts at Rittal explore the reasons why it's crucial to recheck your IT cooling solutions during the summer and the potential consequences of neglecting this essential task.

Open automation systems are transforming manufacturing, with their connectivity unlocking incredible efficiencies. But this also creates a vast attack surface for cyber threats. Stephen Hayes, managing director of Beckhoff UK, explores how companies can strengthen cybersecurity in open automation systems and safeguard their connected factories.

Simultaneous measurement of a shaft's torque and angular position or rotational distance is now possible thanks to a new development by Sensor Technology, a combined torque sensor and angular position encoder. The company's R&D Manager James Gilkes explains how engineers in various fields can use the new SGR523 to improve their machines and systems whilst reducing their workload and speeding up development cycles.

When specifying a non-contact confocal displacement sensor, several factors need to be considered including measuring speed, resolution, type of material and surface, the operating environment and whether thickness measurements are required, says Glenn Wedgbrow, Business Development Manager at Micro-Epsilon UK.

Utilising a simple idea of converting rotary motion to linear motion, leadscrews give quick, efficient, accurate and precise linear motion control with small to large lifting capacities. The biggest change in leadscrew technology over the years has been in how the thread itself is formed, as Moore International CEO Mark Moore explains.

Touch panel products for the European market must comply with European directives and be CE certified. An essential requirement is that these products meet the requirements for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). But which are these? We asked the experts at SCHURTER.

There are two series of British standards that might appear relevant when designing, building and installing machine control panels. Derek Coulson and Paul Skyrme of Safe Machine look at which you should use.