Articles and News

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com At Hannover Messe 2018, it was clear that many in the computing industry are focused on implementing a holistic cyber security approach, encompassing the entire architecture including cloud, enterprise, and edge devices. This article will explore some of these efforts and explain how they are shaping the future of cybersecurity in industrial automation.

By Robert Glass, ABB Recently, Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza opened the world’s first plastic-free aisle in one of its stores in Amsterdam. More supermarkets will likely follow. Will food manufacturers will need to rethink their food packaging materials?

Most managers in the process industries still look at maintenance only as a cost center, reducing operational costs in the maintenance department is often the first thing on their list. That puts a lo

A fault tree analysis begins with the "top event," which is the result of a number of basic events that contribute to, or initiate, the system failure.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation Collaborative robots, commonly known as cobots, make up just three per cent of all robot sales worldwide. However, awareness of their benefits for manufacturers is increasing and it’s expected that, by 2025, the sales of cobots will have jumped to 34 per cent of all robot sales.

At Hannover Fair 2018, the vision for a seamless architecture from edge devices to enterprise and cloud computing was a prominent theme. Numerous product demonstrations, announcements, and discussions promoted the combination of Time Sensitive Networking (TSN IEEE 802.1) with OPC UA messaging and data models to create a new manufacturing and production architecture

A nonlinear boiler model is simulated as OPC server and OPC client is used for closed loop model identification, and to design a model predictive controller (MPC). The MPC is able to control the NOx e

By Randy Blaylock, eFlex Systems The old model of OEE implementation was capital intensive and prohibited most small and mid-sized manufacturers from using a well-respected tool. The SaaS OEE is positioning itself as a game-changer by inviting ALL manufacturers to utilize these most needed metrics.

The common method of judging tuning is known as the "quarter wave decay" method. It has been shown if a loop is tuned so the oscillation decays with each wave being one quarter of the previous wave, i

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation Emerging smart cities are changing urban planning around the world. But, what is a smart city? This article explains how grid technology must change to build a smart city.

By Chris Johnson, SMB Bearings Behind the drawn factory doors of facilities across Europe, humans are working safely alongside a new kind of colleague; one that is stronger, faster and more efficient than ever before: collaborative robots. This article explains how to choose the right bearing for this new automation application.

Done properly, risk management allows project goals to be met and supports success. Consideration for project risk means that both parties, dthe client and the integrator, will look back on the projec

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com The world might not be able to eliminate the cyberthreat from existence, but today’s industrial businesses can take proactive action to ensure that they are able to effectively respond and recover if a cyberattack does come.

When implementing ANSI/ISA-18.2, Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries, engineers should consider all alarms, including basic process control, safety instrumented systems, fire and ga

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation Zoomorphism is the literary term used to describe the attribution of animal characteristics to inanimate objects. But, have you ever considered its potential to change the way humans innovate in the robotic sciences? This article explains how zoomorphism can teach us to make better industrial robots.

Nonincendive is allowed in Class 1, Division 2; Class 1, Zone 2, and Non-hazardous rated areas. Use in higher hazard areas, such as Division 1, Zone 1, or Zone 0 areas, is not allowed.

By Dr Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, IDTechEx Agriculture is facing major long-term challenges. Some forecasts suggest that world population is set to grow by 2.3 billion by 2050. This, together with rising global income levels that typically increase food demand per capital, would require raising food production in 2050 by 70% compared to 2005 levels.

Rolling element bearings are common components in rotating machinery. Defects in bearings during manufacturing can cause vibration, noise, and even system failure. Defects in bearings must be found at

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation Since its release, Amazon has sold over 20 million Echo devices with Alexa — the voice activated assistant. It has changed the way we complete many daily tasks, from shopping, to getting weather updates. Could it do the same for manufacturing?

Temperature is the most important common measurement that is critical for process efficiency and capacity.