The Motion Control Association says shipments of motion control products are up over last year. It’s about a 2.3% increase, the same as the U.S. GDP. Some categories of products are higher — feedback and sensor devices, for example, are up by more than 22%. It’s good news, and we can all use some good… Read more »
http://youtu.be/TI760jcFV2s Motion control films are an under-appreciated genre, as we’ve pointed out before. Here, the edgy choice to shift POV during the film balances the whimsical decision of the robot to pause briefly for a still shot before placing the brick. While an attempt to add a bit of emotion at the end is not… Read more »
Having expressed thankfulness for electricity in its harnessed form, we should now also express thanks for engineering. It’s one thing to have power and another to be able to do anything with it. Energy and power is all around us. Getting it from the wind, water, sun, and stored carbon is only the first half… Read more »
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, you’ve probably been thinking about the things for which you’re thankful. After all, someone might ask you at the groaning board on Thursday. You’ve probably already felt grateful for your family, your friends, your health, and your job. But have you expressed your gratitude for electricity? If you had to… Read more »
It’s trade show season. Most companies get that sending team members to trade shows is at least in part a perk, a matter of R&R as well as R&D. At today’s prices, though, you ought to be able to demonstrate some ROI as well. How can you make sure that you get the most out… Read more »
As manufacturing jobs slowly but surely move back to our shores, we need to ask whether this is a good thing for American workers — or not. Companies that offshored to save money are finding, for a variety of reasons including the simple fact that offshore workers are beginning to expect higher wages, that they… Read more »
Industrial automation made enormous strides in the 20th century. Indramat’s brushless servo motors were a big part of that innovation, and the use of automation in factories, printing companies, and so forth ushered in an era of increased productivity and safety in American manufacturing. Then everybody sort of relaxed. The most exciting news in motion… Read more »
It’s like something out of a movie — the intense-looking individual strides into the room, makes magician-like movements in the general direction of some snazzy screens apparently made of smoked glass, and something whirrs into action. The guy nods approvingly or adjusts something to show that he and not the machine is the boss. Actually,… Read more »
