Industrial Technology

Creating more hours in the day with supply chain improvements

Research has found that 75 per cent of millennials list “too time-consuming” as the main reason they avoid phone calls. Phone calls are a positive and valuable tool, but unnecessary administrative ones can be a distraction that takes employees away from productive work. As businesses get back to normal activity, manufacturers can cut through unproductive noise and reduce avoidable admin to create more time to innovate. Here Chris Billinge, business development director at vendor managed inventory (VMI) specialist TFC, discusses how supply chain improvements can create more hours in the day.

28th June 2021

Interroll introduces new vertical crossbelt sorter

Space-saving, energy-efficient and easy to maintain: with the new MX 018V Vertical Crossbelt Sorter, Interroll makes it easier for system integrators and their end customers to enter the world of automatic crossbelt sortation solutions. Above all, courier and parcel service providers, e-commerce providers and logistics service providers gain the ability to handle a high variety of goods in a space-saving, gentle and energy-efficient manner via a single technical infrastructure with a high number of end points. At the same time, users benefit from the performance and economic advantages offered by Interroll's proven, mechanically driven crossbelt sorter platform.

28th June 2021

Cable carriers especially for telescopes

Kabelschlepp Metool has been successfully developing application-specific cable carriers for use in telescopes for many years. The solutions have proven their stability, flexibility and functionality in research facilities all over the world. They are used in the closing mechanisms of gigantic domes, for example, or in systems for aligning optical systems or the main mirror.

28th June 2021

Can DC motors be used at high temperatures?

Those familiar with the Maxon catalogue and technical specification will have noticed that there are specified maximum ambient and winding temperatures for our motors. The majority of DC motors have a maximum ambient temperature between 85â°C and 100â°C, and a maximum winding temperature between 100â°C and 125â°C.

28th June 2021

Cobots enable effective high-mix, low-volume production

With increased competition, often on a global scale, manufacturers need to differentiate themselves by tailoring products more closely to customer demand. This carries with it an implicit reduction in batch sizes and has seen the rise of ‘high-mix, low-volume’ production. Cobots can enable manufacturers to effectively meet individual customer requirements with greater product variety in smaller batches.

28th June 2021

New ball transfer units, roller tracks and conveyor balls from Elesa

Elesa has added three new products to its range of ball transfer units (otherwise known as roller tracks or conveyor balls). The new UTB units in white acetal-based technopolymer with white polymer or stainless steel roller balls are joined by ESD conductive units and UTR roller transfer units for especially delicate surfaces such as glass and ceramic.

21st June 2021

Hybrid bearings from NKE are suitable for tough industrial applications

Industrial applications in challenging environmental conditions call for special bearing solutions. Bearing manufacturer NKE Austria has developed hybrid bearings for precisely these applications. NKE hybrid bearings consist of ultrapure steel bearing rings and ceramic rolling elements made of bearing grade silicon nitride Si3N4. “At first glance, this material pairing is highly unusual, but it offers many advantages in an enormous range of applications, which significantly increases the reliability of the overall system,” says Michael Rössl, application engineer at NKE in Steyr, Austria.

21st June 2021

UV-C Robot from Omron helps businesses win the fight against Covid

As the UK’s customer-facing businesses plan their reopening strategies, keeping consumers and staff safe from Covid will be a key priority. In a bid to prevent future outbreaks at high footfall, everyday environments like supermarkets, bars and gyms, industrial automation specialist Omron has teamed up with UV Systems UK to produce an autonomous robotic sterilisation system that guarantees to kill the virus without damage or harm to surrounding goods.

21st June 2021

Sick"s miniature safety inductive is a snug fit for the smallest machine spaces

Sick has launched the IQB2S family of inductive safety switches to provide designers and operators with a unique, cuboid-shaped non-contact device – as small as a matchbox – that can be fitted easily into the smallest machine spaces. The Sick IQB2S inductive safety switch uses non-contact activation by metallic machine parts to achieve reliable, safe position, presence and area monitoring in common production and logistics safety applications.

21st June 2021

Igus FastConnect system reduces assembly time by 46%

Igus now offers a new chainflex Profinet cable for the fast connection of cables in the field. For this purpose, Igus has developed ‘FastConnect’ technology, allowing the cable to be easily stripped in just a few simple steps, reducing assembly time by 46 per cent. The new Profinet system also has a long service life, especially when used dynamically in energy chainsv, and a 36-month warranty.

21st June 2021