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• Honing in on machine automation technologies

  By Andrew Marks, Exline Leasing

  Exline Leasing repairs and rebuilds machine tools and industrial machinery. The company was asked to upgrade the electrical and hydraulic system on a 1936 model 4030 Barnes cylinder honing machine which hones large cylinders used in the natural gas industry. Aside from the electrical system, which…

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• The all-knowing digital twin

  By Mike Bacidore, chief editor

  It’s 2019, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is still here. Those naysayers, convinced it’s just a fad or some marketing gimmick, seem almost confused by its perseverance. The truth is it’s gone from concept to reality before our eyes. As it continues to define itself, one thing is…

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• Innovative technology cuts sawing costs

  By Matthias Eigbrecht, KASTO Maschinenbau+

  Energy efficiency? Yes, but not at any cost. This is the goal of many metal-processing companies, which are tasked with balancing productivity and cost pressures. An example is sawing technology. KASTO Maschinenbau has paid particular attention to this when developing its new KASTOwin bandsaw…

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• There’s cyber-strength in numbers

  By Mike Bacidore, editor in chief

  In 2018, Siemens took the first major step in initiating global cybersecurity standards for Industry 4.0 by launching the Charter of Trust at the Munich Security Conference. Now also signed by Enel electricity company, IBM, Munich Security Conference, NXP, AES power distribution, Airbus, Allianz,…

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• Motion-control flexibility and functionality

  By Dave Perkon, technical editor

  A new series of integrated motors provides greater design modularity and simplicity for a wide range of applications, including automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), packaging machinery and specialty machines. The MDX integrated servo motor was developed to meet the…

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• As control platforms expire

  By Rick Rice, contributing editor

  My column, “To PLC or not to PLC? That is the question,” discussed the emerging trend toward PC-based control and non-ladder-logic programming. Once the preamble about the histories of PC- vs. PLC-based controls was tabled, the subject came down to the trend of PC-based control and how that is…

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