May 28, 2025 By Swathi Mohan, Founder of Leanacle Inc. Should you air your dirty laundry in public? In a manufacturing environment, absolutely! Wait, what? Let’s talk. Let me ask you something:Do you wait until a problem becomes urgent before involving the team?Do you sometimes “tidy up” issues before sharing them with leadership?Do you hesitate…
May 28, 2025 By Krystie Johnston Canadian manufacturing is in a tricky situation: it faces a labour and skills shortage that threatens its competitiveness and profitability. These shortages mean Canada missed out on almost $13 billion last year, according to a recent survey. An economic loss that by any means should not be discounted, especially since…
May 20, 2025 By Krystie Johnston Hannover Messe 2025 was an extra special event for Festo. The Festo Group celebrated their 100th anniversary, Festo Canada celebrated their 50th anniversary, and Festo Didactic celebrated their 60th anniversary. Festo Didactic, the education arm of the company, understands how important education is for empowering individuals, driving economic growth, and promoting social…
May 20, 2025 By Krystie Johnston Schneider Electric is about creating impact by empowering all to make the most of our energy and resources. Their Environmental Data Program is building on this mission by providing transparency about the environmental footprint of their products across their entire lifecycle. Fourteen environmental attributes for 100,000 product references are…
May 16, 2025 Industry manufacturers conserve valuable floor space and improve production efficiency with panel PCs, single cable power, and versatile mounting options Semiconductor manufacturing environments operate under strict regulatory and operational constraints that dictate every aspect of their design, including computing solutions. Unlike conventional production facilities, these spaces require sterile conditions, efficient workflows, and…
May 14, 2025 EtherCAT and PC-based control in test bench technology EtherCAT is by far the fastest Industrial Ethernet technology. Nevertheless, the data acquisition process at Kraus & Naimer’s cam controller test benches called for an even shorter bus cycle. To achieve the required performance, Beckhoff specialists reduced the previous cycle time from 100 µs…
May 14, 2025 When integrating robotics into manufacturing or research environments, programming and optimizing robotic tasks quickly becomes a critical factor. Traditionally, robot programming was done manually on the shop floor using a teach pendant—a time-consuming and error-prone process. Today, advanced robot simulation and offline programming (OLP) software have transformed how engineers design, program, and…
May 13, 2025 M12 Cables have become the industry standard for sensor/actuator connectivity in industrial automation environments. When selecting the right M12 cable for your application, the jacket material is one of the most critical factors that will determine performance, durability, and reliability. This guide compares the three most common M12 cable jacket materials: PUR (Polyurethane), PVC…
May 13, 2025 Learn how to ensure reliable and secure PLC program management Challenges in Version Control for Industrial Automation Systems In the rapidly evolving world of industrial automation, version control remains a critical aspect of maintaining reliable and efficient operations. The wrong version control system can lead to increased troubleshooting time, security vulnerabilities, and…
May 12, 2025 Learn how to ensure reliable and secure PLC program management Challenges in Version Control for Industrial Automation Systems In the rapidly evolving world of industrial automation, version control remains a critical aspect of maintaining reliable and efficient operations. The wrong version control system can lead to increased troubleshooting time, security vulnerabilities, and…
May 8, 2025 Why a Surge in Battery Energy Storage System Installations is Set to Supercharge Global Infrastructure The global energy landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With the increased adoption of renewable energy sources and the drive for a more sustainable future, the demand for efficient energy storage has never been greater. Enter…
May 8, 2025 Situational awareness involves understanding a given circumstance, collecting relevant information, analyzing it, and making informed decisions to address any potential risks. When applying this to perimeter security, it is common practice to see designs that fortify the perimeter; but once that alarm happens, it is uncommon to have a system that provides the…
May 8, 2025 Why a Surge in Battery Energy Storage System Installations is Set to Supercharge Global Infrastructure The global energy landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With the increased adoption of renewable energy sources and the drive for a more sustainable future, the demand for efficient energy storage has never been greater. Enter…
May 8, 2025 Situational awareness involves understanding a given circumstance, collecting relevant information, analyzing it, and making informed decisions to address any potential risks. When applying this to perimeter security, it is common practice to see designs that fortify the perimeter; but once that alarm happens, it is uncommon to have a system that provides the…
May 7, 2025 By Krystie Johnston Vention, a Canadian company on a mission to democratize automation, marked another milestone on that journey at NVIDIA GTC 2025 with the launch of their AI-powered bin picking solution. Using robots for bin picking is not new. But Vention’s solution breaks the mould with its proprietary intelligence and control…
May 6, 2025 In small-scale automation, choosing the right robotic arm is less about raw power and more about precision, flexibility, and footprint. Workspace constraints, task complexity, and integration costs all scale differently at the bench or cell level than they do on a full production line. In these environments, size and reach are critical…
