It was about 120 years ago that Mark Twain used the phrase “more than one way to skin a cat”. In the world of PLC programming, that cliché is still applicable today. Thanks to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), five standard programming languages have emerged as the most common, used for both process and discrete programmable controllers.

Every second of every day in any year around the world, Electrolux sells two of its products. This requires state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, such as the fully automated and flexible powder-coating facility for oven and grill cavities recently installed at Electrolux’s manufacturing plant in Dudley Park, South Australia.

Machine builders often find themselves in a contradictory situation. On the one hand they have to react flexibly to customer needs with customised machines, while on the other hand product standardisation reduces costs and engineering effort. Modular machinery design has the potential to serve both aims.

It was about 120 years ago that Mark Twain used the phrase “more than one way to skin a cat”. In the world of PLC programming, that cliché is still applicable today. Thanks to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), five standard programming languages have emerged as the most common, used for both process and discrete programmable controllers.

Industrial robots, once the preserve of large-scale manufacturers, are increasingly being seen in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Major technological advances have ushered in a new age of robotics, in which once-futuristic visions have either become realities or are on the horizon. Yet despite breakthrough applications in areas ranging from manufacturing to medicine, robots carry risk.

How do you handle the tiny components needed for constructing nanoscale devices? A European consortium has built two demonstrators that include microrobots equipped with microgrippers to automatically pick up and install carbon nanotubes thousands of times thinner than a human hair. They have even tackled that ever-present bane of nanotechnology - sticky fingers.

As the costs of fuels and consumables continue to rise, the ability to accurately measure the amount used in a process becomes significant in controlling costs and determining bottom line profits.

Shamic Sheetmetal has now become the first in Australia to sign for delivery and installation of a completely automated ‘lights-out’ materials handling system.

The ODVA EtherNet/IP network standard is gaining popularity as an industrial protocol, and wireless ethernet technologies have emerged that can now reliably reduce network costs while improving plant production.

Foodstuffs must be packaged precisely, safely and, above all, carefully. That final factor alone presents a particular challenge for packaging line manufacturers, whose machines need to meet increased standards when packaging delicate foodstuffs.

A compressed air auditing program developed by the Electricity Commission is set to play a significant part in achieving targeted energy savings of $2 billion a year for the New Zealand manufacturing sector within five to 10 years.

This article explores the challenges of developing telemetric SCADA systems and covers the seven most important features to look for in selecting a GPRS solution.

Along with the laws of physics, engineers have to be aware of the law of unintended consequences. Take, for example, something as simple as the 24 VDC power supplies that feed the control circuits in automation systems as a case in point.

Four high-definition precision plasma cutters used to help build new aircraft carriers for the British Navy use the latest in four-axis motion control.