Machine Building

Metal detectors: the natural choice for food-on-the-go SMEs

Britain's appetite for food-on-the-go (FOTG) looks set to continue, with greater product innovations, clean and healthy eating, ethnic foods and artisan local produce driving consumers away from the daily sliced bread sandwich ritual. Fortress Technology's European Sales Director Phil Brown explores the implications that this has on the 6100-plus micro, small and medium sized enterprises who are catering to our more adventurous pallets and explains why metal detectors are the most cost-effective and popular route to protect FOTG suppliers from the most likely contaminant risk - metal.

9th January 2017

A closer look at Harmonic Drive's WavePlus technology

Sometimes, you only need one small innovation to make something revolutionary. Sliced bread, for example, simply took a stroke of inspiration for Otto Rohwedder to combine automatic bread wrapping equipment with cutting functionality. Here, Graham Mackrell, managing director of precision gearing expert Harmonic Drive UK, explains WavePlus technology, an innovative development in strain wave gearing.

4th January 2017

Computer-aided engineering drives hydraulics to new heights

A modern car is far more than an assemblage of components. To achieve the levels of speed, comfort, handling, economy and safety required, each component will have had its design refined multiple times. The way they eventually work together as systems and sub-systems is indicative of layer upon layer of careful optimisation. Jim Cairney, Engineering Manager of hydraulics company Oilgear UK, explains how the same dedication to technical processes can be applied to hydraulics systems.

30th December 2016

Industrial automation trends - predictions for 2017

As manufacturing facilities incorporate greater levels of automation, the demand for new technologies continues to grow. Recent years have seen several trends that have created a shift in the way the industry operates. Martyn Williams, Managing Director of industrial software expert COPA-DATA UK, examines three of the most prominent automation trends for 2017 and discusses how these will change manufacturing operations.

23rd December 2016

Interview: Jürgen von Hollen, President of Universal Robots

In October 2016, Jürgen von Hollen joined Universal Robots as new President. After almost 2 months full of work, time has come to draw an initial summary. We asked Jürgen to share some insights with us on his personal impressions, his vision and the Universal robots strategy.

22nd December 2016

Will collaborative consumption change manufacturing?

Everyone has at least one old piece of clothing that they can't bear to throw away. Believe it or not, the situation is similar with spare industrial parts. Manufacturers often keep a huge amount of spares, despite rarely accessing these stocks. Here, Robert Holloway, head of order fulfilment at EU Automation explores the effects of collaborative consumption on the manufacturing industry.

22nd December 2016

Ultraviolet considerations when specifying an enclosure

Specifying electrical enclosures for use in outdoor installations requires consideration of the possible effects of ultraviolet light, which can slowly degrade some materials. Chris Lloyd, Managing Director of Spelsberg UK looks at the issues and suggests some guidelines for selection.

21st December 2016

The six trends of Industry 4.0

The path to the fourth Industrial Revolution is not always clear. Many companies and industrial organisations have different views on the precise meaning of Industry 4.0. As a pioneering technology group, Harting has offerings for these rapid developments and, to make them more comprehensible, has grouped them into six recognisable trends.

17th December 2016

Proven ways to maximise spring life

Spring life is a very important factor to consider in the design and specification process because springs are often vital components within an assembly where failure may lead to significant consequences. Chris Petts at Lee Spring offers the following thoughts on the subject.

16th December 2016

Resistor liquid cooling boosts 3.3kV medium voltage loads

In motor-driven applications like cranes, lifts, hoists and conveyors, air cooled resistors are common, but in medium-voltage, high-power applications liquid cooling wins out. A medium voltage drive running off a 3.3kV supply to turn a 500kW motor will put a severe heating load on the application's power transistors - hence the need for water cooling, as David Atkins, projects director at Cressall Resistors explains.

15th December 2016