You use Rexroth motion control and you need repairs or replacements, so you search around and find what looks like a bargain — maybe a local shop that says they can repair your unit, or an eBay replacement unit refurbished by a guy in Poland. It’s cheaper to go with these guys than with factory… Read more »
One of the things that automation is supposed to bring is greater leisure. It doesn’t always work that way. For example, when the vacuum cleaner came along in 1908, it was expected to help out with the “servant problem.” The servant problem was caused by automation in the first place, since factory work opened new… Read more »
It’s Operating Room Nurse Day, so we thought we’d talk with some operating room nurses about robots. This is one of the jobs that is threatened by robots. The OR nurses we spoke with agreed that their jobs could be done by robots. one showed us, holding her hands to demonstrate the specific movements she… Read more »
Technological innovation is the new normal — and maybe not that new. When Indramat came out with the first brushless AC servo motors in the second half of the 20th century, they paved the way for large scale industrial automation. But are we still encouraging invention? Insisting on a clear ROI before investing in R&D… Read more »
There are some technologies that are such good ideas that they seem to be almost magical. Gunpowder is one of these — literally. In 1242, Roger Bacon wrote “On the Marvelous Power of Art and of Nature and on the Nullity of Magic,” an explanation of how gunpowder worked and not coincidentally a defense against… Read more »
Indramat motion control is very good — we meet a lot of servos which have been in service for 30 years before they have a problem. But we also see cases in which Indramat components fail — or seem to fail — repeatedly. Often the problem is “dirty” power. We’ve heard of cases in which… Read more »
Prosthetic limbs are a manufacturing challenge. Some parts must be custom-fitted, and even then they may cause discomfort for the wearer. They have to be able to fit closely enough to avoid blisters or chafing, and yet adapt to the natural changes in the size of body parts over the course of a day or… Read more »
Wireless technology. Chances are you’ve grown accustomed to hearing this term on a regular basis, especially when discussing smart phones, tablets, and computers. But it doesn’t stop there. Wireless technology has become integral in other fields, too, like pervasive sensing. Pervasive sensing is the use of self-powered wireless sensors to track processes and notify you… Read more »
You know the weather affects the people in your plant. Humans may move slower when it’s hot, are grumpier when it rains, or not come in at all when the snow is on the ground. The weather can also affect the computers in the plant, which is why the temperature is usually controlled better in… Read more »
We specialize in legacy Indramat servo motors, drives, and controls, many of which are still going strong in printing and packaging plants after decades of service. Our typical customer doesn’t remember when Indramat existed as a company, and many weren’t even born when the Indramat components in their plants were installed. This makes us keenly… Read more »
