Industry 4.0 is often presented as a complex, somewhat overwhelming topic that involves large companies only. However, the data collection and transfer at the heart of Industry 4.0 can be as relevant to job shops and other small to medium sized enterprises as large companies.
Long gone are the days where the only solution to human error was human correction. As engineers today, we have access to smart technology that no other generation could have ever imagined.
While FABTECH 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans are underway to bring FABTECH 2021 to Chicago in 2021. That means North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event will be heading to McCormick Place Sept. 13-16, 2021.
Nikon Metrology today announced a new partnership with NSI Microscopy Inspection Automation of Wexford, Ireland. The agreement will help customers with Continuous Process Improvement by making use of automated microscopy, according to the company.
Until 2017, Schneider Electric faced a factory bottleneck at its breaker box plant in Lexington, Kentucky. When the automation cell that welded the boxes went down, all production could be forced to stop.
FortiGaurd Labs recently reported that malware designed to attack industrial control systems is still a very lucrative attack method for cybercriminals. The EKANS ransomware family does just that, and manufacturers must be prepared for it.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major upheavals in manufacturing processes to avoid contamination while keeping supply chains intact.
Manufacturers are increasingly analyzing their supply chains to mitigate cybersecurity and environmental risks with the goal of building more secure, resilient, agile organizations, keynote panelists at the Best of SMX virtual event said in October.
Manufacturers need to create more production setups as batch sizes get smaller. Skilled labor continues to be hard to hire and keep. Higher levels of automation are needed, not just in material handling but also in fabricating, machining, assembly, and inspection.
While water and fire tube boiler power plants may be considered archaic, they now power much of North America and will for some time, even as newer, cleaner, greener tech transitions into the mainstream and becomes practical.
