Industrial Technology

Rapid Electronics adds to its Fibox offering

Distributor Rapid Electronics has expanded its range of Fibox enclosure solutions to ensure its customers have a wider choice of quality enclosures that are sufficient for their increased needs.

16th June 2016

Toyota selects EtherCAT

Toyota Motor Corporation has selected EtherCAT as its Industrial Ethernet technology of choice and will base its new factories around the world on EtherCAT. The global announcement was made by Morihiko Ohkura, General Manager of the Production Engineering Innovation Division at Toyota Motor Corporation during an EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) press briefing at Hannover Messe 2016.

16th June 2016

Addressing the challenge of panel downsizing

The challenges facing panel builders and machine designers to reduce costs, increase flexibility, and meet user requirements to optimise plant floor space, have seen trends to reduce panel sizes. And yet at the same time end users want increased functionality, often built around whole new control architectures. In this article, Jodie Commercial of Omron discusses how a new breed of compact panel components can help in addressing these challenges.

16th June 2016

Cable entry made easy with support arms

Support arm systems for machine operation don’t just need a smart design and high load-bearing capacity; they should also offer operators easy and straightforward cable management capability.

16th June 2016

Rittal's heavy current busbar systems approved for use on board ships

The safe use of electrical equipment on board ships brings with it particular challenges. It’s an area that Rittal continues to invest in, not least to ensure its systems function effectively under the test conditions which are required by the marine industry.

26th May 2016

Automated metal-finishing benefits from Igus energy cable management

Manufacturing and processing machinery that handle large, long items, frequently use overhead gantries to transfer the material to, through and from the processing line. Often these gantries have to travel significant distances, whilst requiring electrical cabling to power their motors and sensors. The conventional cable management method is to have the cables mounted above the line using festoons supported by steel rails. As the gantry traverses down the line, it pulls the cables along with it on multiple trolley mechanisms.

26th May 2016

OPC Foundation to work with CLPA

Digitalisation in all areas of industrial automation requires consistent communications across all levels while using Internet technologies, both inside and outside of the factory, for example to cloud-based services. This is precisely what the OPC Foundation and the CLPA hope to achieve by developing an interface specification with harmonised access.

18th May 2016

LED Luminaire brightens up the market

With over 25 years’ experience in the industry, Lojer Products is launching its new range of energy saving LED battens to the UK market. Highly efficient and robust, the British designed fittings provide a more natural lighting whilst saving up to 60% in electricity consumption.

18th May 2016

Heat build up in enclosures

Without proper consideration heat can easily build up inside electrical enclosures, triggering damage to the electrical and electronic components within. Additionally, such heat can also lead to pressure variances which in turn can draw in moisture and cause problems. Chris Lloyd, Spelsberg UK managing director, offers a common-sense overview of the main concerns and their resolution.

18th May 2016

Aiding asset management within the rail industry

Asset Management has become of paramount importance to the UK rail industry. No longer is a purchasing policy of buying cheap and replacing often, a viable option. The whole-life-cost of an asset must be at the forefront of decision making. This is where the ARCA enclosure range from Fibox comes in, as managing director Steve Gallon explains.

18th May 2016