Monthly Archives: July 2013

Where Are the Young Engineers?

We’ve written before about the Skills Gap — the lack of trained tech workers in the face of a growing need for trained tech workers. There is some controversy over whether or not the Skills Gap exists, but most employers seem to agree that they want to hire engineers — and only 5% of our… Read more »

Heat Wave

As we head into the dog days, we need to be aware of heat. Actually, we can’t help being aware of heat. On the factory floor, workers swelter and the sound of giant fans is ever-present. It can get a bit hellish in some industrial settings, when you get right down to it. It affects… Read more »

Repairing Custom Engineered Solutions

Years ago when your machinery was installed, it might have been a custom engineered solution developed by Indramat, Rexroth, or even a third party company. Eventually, though, it’s going to fail at some point. The people who designed your equipment might not be around anymore. So what should you do when there’s no one  to… Read more »

Manufacturing Security

The virus Stuxnet, which spreads via Microsoft Windows because of security vulnerabilities, made operating system security a hot topic for munitions and utility plants. If you’ve been ignoring it as a CPG-based manufacturer, printer, or any other type of company that uses automation, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. While Stuxnet targeted… Read more »

New Operating Systems?

Microsoft has announced that it will no longer support XP, and there’s a lot of talk about what to do about motion control systems that are using XP. Is it time to upgrade the whole system? Maybe time to switch to Linux? At the same time, companies using legacy Rexroth and Indramat drives and controls… Read more »

Your Fridge and Rexroth

There might come a time when your refrigerator tells your favorite ice cream manufacturer’s Rexroth equipment that you’ve bought a different flavor for the last few weeks and probably won’t be returning to your old favorite. In an article by Thomas Leyrer at Texas Instruments, he talks about smart factories that use Ethernet to send… Read more »

Pencils Without Rexroth?

What would life would be like if some particular thing were different? Most of us probably wonder about that sometimes — what if we had taken a different job or chosen to live in a different country? But have you thought about how your life might be different if the small things in life were… Read more »

Energy Efficiency and Rexroth Equipment

In the world of manufacturing, industrial manufacturing is the second-largest energy consumer according to the World Energy, Technology and Climate Policy Outlook published by the European Commission. Transportation is the number one energy consumer globally. This has a lot to do with manufacturing as well, especially when we ship supplies and final products across the… Read more »

RFID and QR Tracking

In a recent drive&control magazine article, published by Rexroth, about intelligent manufacturing systems, QR codes and RFID chips are given as an example of the move toward intelligent processes that communicate where items are in the process of manufacturing. Rexroth predicts these technologies will be used in the future. This technology is already being used… Read more »

Water Infrastructure and Rexroth Need Improvement

Rexroth is a leader in the water infrastructure industry with new projects on some of the world’s largest dams for water management. But a recent EPA report shows there’s still lots of work to be done and many upgrades needed immediately to keep our water infrastructure running. After a rating of “D” by the American… Read more »