The German automation specialist HandlingTech develops and implements modular handling systems for industrial manufacturing sites. In its robot cells, it uses unmanaged 8-port and 16-port switches to simplify the networking of Ethernet nodes.
Industrial PCs (IPCs) are an increasingly common sight on factory floors. Drives & Controls asked Grant Coffin, Rockwell Automation’s Business Manager for Software & Controls, in the UK & Ireland, to explain the role that IPCs can play in the modern factory.
Condition monitoring of motors and drives need not be an expensive way of producing complex data. Rohan Beck, Siemens’ product manager for simple motion and drivetrain digitalisation, explains to Drives & Controls that it can offer valuable insights into machine operation at a fraction of what it cost previously.
Traditionally, drives and motor users have paid service companies to come to their sites to carry out maintenance. But Mari E. Haapala, who leads the ABB Motion digital solutions unit, believes that the Covid pandemic has changed the way that companies are approaching service. Drives & Controls asked her to explain.
Building safety functions into variable-speed drives offers many attractions over using traditional external hardware and software. Matt Handley, Siemens product manager for continuous motion, explains to Drives & Controls how drive-based safety works, and highlights its benefits.
