Sunnen grows product portfolio with motion control solution from Siemens.

Typically, zoo safari rides consist of cramped trams that take guests five miles-per-hour past various exhibits. You might catch a bear sleeping, hear scripted, narrated fun facts or be somewhat entertained by eccentric tour guides, but there’s never much to look at except concession stands or souvenir shops.

Robotics and other advanced automation technology systems are viewed as a looming threat to some in the plant maintenance field. Although there is a constant battle for some workers to remain useful while machines are continuously fulfilling more roles on the plant floor, there are those who in turn have found a better use of their newly freed time.

While gear and bearing manufacturers engage in a wind energy arms race, the robotic automation industry has its sights set directly on the sun. Solar power—wind energy’s somewhat neglected step brother—has been gaining ground in alternative energy since 2001.

As automation devices have grown more complex and have incorporated more plant data in their operation, there is an increased need for programming changes to continue smooth operation or improve performance. In environments requiring frequent changes, it is not uncommon for code to be lost or changes overwritten, resulting in increased downtime and decreased productivity

Bosch Rexroth assists Bell-Everman with linear actuator development.

Now more than ever, manufacturing companies are examining what steps need to be taken to ensure improvements to machine reliability by predicting system failures and minimizing downtime.

Bearings with integrated sensors are used in a wide variety of applications, but many potential industrial uses are not yet implemented.

In order for a company to be as efficient as possible, production, inventory and distribution components must be a top priority. A focused supply chain that gets the right materials to the right places in the allotted time frame encourages repeat business. These are concepts somewhat overlooked by many business executives in today’s economy.

Much has been argued about the “buy American” clause included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.