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29 March, 2024

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Energy recovery system ‘can pay for itself in a year’

17 May, 2016

The German automation developer Lenze has unveiled a system for recovering braking energy, which separates the supply and recovery paths, allowing them to be designed and dimensioned individually for an application. The Smart Energy Recovery r700 modules have a claimed conversion efficiency of 98% and Lenze says that, depending on the amount of energy recovered, they can pay for themselves in around a year.


Precision hydraulic-pneumatic drive ‘can thread a needle’

13 May, 2016

US engineers have developed a new type of hydrostatic transmission system that combines hydraulic and pneumatic technologies and can be used, for example, to drive robot arms safely and precisely, giving them the delicacy to pick up an egg without breaking it. The transmission system has almost no friction or play, resulting in high enough precision for tasks such as threading a sewing needle.


‘Plug-and-play’ IO-Link system speeds machine set-ups

13 May, 2016

The German industrial connectivity specialist Murrelektronik claims to be the first manufacturer to implement a “plug-and-play” technology for IO-Link devices that, it says, will make it much easier and faster to set up machines and systems. The “IODD on Board” technology stores information about IO-Link-supporting devices, such as sensors and actuators, inside distributed fieldbus modules so that as soon as an IO-Link device is connected to the module, data about it can be accessed directly by PLC software tools.


‘World’s fastest’ elevator will hit speeds of 73.8km/h

11 May, 2016

Mitsubishi Electric claims to have developed the world’s fastest elevator. It has designed and built a system that will travel from the basement to the 119th floor of China’s tallest building, the 632m-tall Shanghai Tower, in just 53 seconds.


B&R enters the fray for linear motor transport systems

10 May, 2016

Austria’s B&R Automation is the latest company to offer a linear-motor-driven production transport system as a fast, flexible alternative to conventional conveyors. It has joined forces with Canada’s ATS Automation to offer a system called SuperTrak, which it demonstrated at the recent Hannover Fair.


CC-Link and OPC agree to collaborate on an interface

09 May, 2016

At the recent Hannover Fair, the OPC Foundation and the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) signed a memorandum of understanding under which they will cooperate to develop an interface specification with harmonised access. The interface will connect CC-Link networks and devices to the cloud, and allow users of CC-Link networks to exchange data with other systems.


Interface will simplify links between controls and the cloud

03 May, 2016

ODVA is to develop standards for gateway and interface technologies to move data between CIP-enabled industrial control systems (ICSs) containing EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet devices, and the cloud. The aim is to produce a specification for a “common industrial cloud interface”, based on open and interoperable standards supported by multiple vendors, that will allow cloud computing to support device management, process analytics, notifications, remote access, virtualisation, visualisation and – in the future – control. 


Remote monitoring of VSDs will help to plan maintenance

27 April, 2016

At the Hannover Fair, ABB has announced a remote condition-monitoring service for variable-speed drives that will use the Internet of Things to provide real-time information about drive events, and help to predict their maintenance needs, operational risks and possible system faults. The service will provide expert reports on a drive’s condition and e-mail warnings of potential faults or restricted availability. It could, for example, spot overheating which could interrupt production and eventually damage a drive. It will also prevent some semiconductor faults.


US Air Force sets new maglev record of more than 1,000km/h

21 April, 2016

The US Air Force has set a new world speed record for magnetically-levitated (maglev) transport by accelerating a rocket-propelled sled to a speed of 1,019km per hour (633 mph) at its Holloman base in New Mexico.


Smart sensors will cut downtime of any LV motor by up to 70%

19 April, 2016

At next week’s Hannover Messe, ABB will unveil a smart condition-monitoring sensor that can be attached to low-voltage motors from any manufacturer. ABB claims that the sensors – which link wirelessly to cloud-based servers – will cut motor downtime by up to 70% as well as extending motor lifetimes by up to 30% and cutting their energy consumption by up to 10%. ABB developed the device jointly with the Swiss chip developer, EM Microelectronic, which is part of the Swatch group and started out in the 1970s as a developer of low-power chips for watches.


Rockwell, Fanuc and Cisco use AI to optimise production

19 April, 2016

Fanuc, Rockwell Automation and Cisco are collaborating with a Japanese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up called Preferred Networks (PFN) to develop a technology that will link CNC (computer numerical control) machines, peripheral devices and sensors to robots, to deliver analytics designed to optimise manufacturing processes.


OPC, OMG, IIC and Industrie 4.0 announce strategy

07 April, 2016

Two industrial communications standards organisations – the OPC Foundation and Object Management Group (OMG) – together with the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and members of Industrie 4.0, have announced a collaborative strategy to achieve technical interoperability of their standards for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).


Robotic cocoon-spinner challenges 3D printing

06 April, 2016

The German manufacturer Festo has developed a technology that uses a robot to “spin” interconnected fibreglass webs to create 3D structures. The technology, called 3D Cocooner, is inspired by the way that insects spin their cocoons and is the latest in a series of nature-based technologies that Festo has developed in recent years. It will make its public debut at this month’s Hannover Fair in Germany.


Motors will act as sensors to analyse themselves

29 March, 2016

German researchers are developing intelligent motor systems that can monitor their own operation without needing any extra sensors. By transforming the motor itself into a sensor, the research team at Saarland University, led by Professor Matthias Nienhaus, is creating smart motors that can tell whether they are running smoothly, can communicate and interact with other motors, and can be controlled efficiently.


German plant is ‘first’ to combine Industry 4.0 and IIC platforms

22 March, 2016

A German plant producing hydraulic valves has become the first in the world to combine the technical standards of Germany’s Industry 4.0 platform with those of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC). The Bosch plant in Homburg is using the technologies to manage and optimise its processes to avoid consuming electricity at expensive peak times.


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