ENHANCED USER INTERFACE TO IMPROVE NAVIGATION AND PRODUCTIVITY
 
Revegy updated its software user interface. Revegy’s fresh look, which unveiled in early April, enables customers to collaborate quickly and use their time more wisely. It gives users with clean dashboards, upgraded navigation and more user-friendly experiences for modern users to make Revegy tools more profitable and smoothly accessible. On top of it, the update brings new colors, fonts and clearly labeled icons to make crucial information easier to access at glance. The update offers a more developed look and feel, improved navigation, and improved productivity.
 
MACHINE LEARNING FOR ALL AREAS OF AUTOMATION
 
Beckhoff Automation announced a totally new machine learning (ML) solution that is flawlessly integrated into TwinCAT 3 software. Building on established standards, TwinCAT 3 Machine Learning offers ML applications a similar advantages of system openness customary from PC-based control technology. In addition, this TwinCAT solution works with real-time ML, allowing it to simultaneously handle demanding tasks like motion control. These capabilities provide machine builders and manufacturers with an optimum foundation to enhance machine performance through predictive maintenance, process self-optimization, and autonomous detection of process anomalies.
 
ROI TOOL TO SHOW COST SAVINGS FROM USING VERSION CONTROL/DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
 
Auvesy now offers an enhanced ROI tool to help substantiate the operational efficiencies and the physical results that versiondog brings to automated production. The calculator can quickly and easily show how versiondog reduces costs through automated backup routine versioning and archiving, and the effective management of the widest variety of project types. By providing plant and production managers with comprehensive support using centralized data management, version control and device backup, versiondog enables a superior utilization of a plant’s capacity and can notably reduce downtime.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

From the environmental disasters to financial crashes and political shocks, we live in a world that is gradually hard to predict. It's a fact that is compounded by the accelerating pace of change of the digital age. But still, against this backdrop, businesses should be able to make decisions and make them quickly.
 
Making the right choice requires a company to understand all facets of its business — in the past, the present, and the future — and to identify the value of the data available to them and what it tells them about their business. In the long run, the purpose of analytics within the enterprise should therefore not simply be to report on what has been, but to enable everyone at every level of an organization to make decisions with confidence.
 
It’s a big ask of any company, but even as we head deeper into 2019, what are the analytics tools, features, and functionalities we can expect to see to help businesses do exactly that?
 
Next-Generation BI
 
While the adoption of predictive analytics methodologies is unquestionably enhancing, this change has been principally driven by their IT specialists, with business users having to make requests for (and wait on) their reports. With demand for data scientists outstripping supply, however, many companies would like to bridge the gap by introducing self-service capabilities to their employees. It’s a trend that benefits all parties – while the business users can access capabilities previously out of bounds, by not having to spend their time on such tasks, the data scientists can pay attention on more complicated and higher value projects.
 
Therefore, what was once known as “advanced analytics” will quickly come to be part of the standard toolset of everyone from marketing professionals to accountants. As stated by research company Gartner, this shift will mean that “by 2020, more than 40 percent of data science tasks will be automated, bringing about increased productivity and larger use by citizen data scientists.”
 
Business Intelligence (BI) will evolve to add in advanced analytics capabilities such as for example automatic data discovery. And while such developments for certain add to the tools available to users, tremendously enhancing their ability to make strategic decisions, they also go one step further: They prevent users from coming under the bias trap, whereby data discovery justifies an outcome instead of reveals a new insight.
 
Left to our own devices, it is an inherently human trait to search for only what we are looking for when analyzing data. Knowingly and instinctively, we guide the process and sort the data to obtain the information that confirms what we expected. But by being so centered on what we think should be there, we can also miss important trends.
 
Smart analytics tools prevent this by actively drawing the user’s attention to information that might prove important but that could otherwise go unnoticed. Behind-the-scenes, a set of machine learning models provide a review of significant patterns, outliers, and key influencers of the business that help users really understand what is happening in their business. By changing from a passive system (“here’s some data, interpret it how you will”) to an active system (“have you seen this unusual development over here? It seems like it is being caused by this…”) analytics practices are continually helping users understand what is happening now, why it is happening, and how that will affect future results, all ultimately improving the speed of decision making.
 
The Consumer-Grade Analytics Experience
 
In the same manner, thanks to advances in areas such as natural language processing, solving business problems should be as simple as “Googling” all other question. Nearly as no one needs to realize the programming behind a search engine to be able to use it, no one should have to first learn coding to get the answer to the question they are looking for in their analytics solution. We can expect to see tools that enable users to do just that — benefiting from conversational technologies to get the answers to questions such as “what are the top ten stores by sales revenue in Germany?” by simply typing the question.
 
Finally, tools for example automated model builders represent another essential development. By giving business users access to capabilities that allow them to solve standard predictive modeling tasks, they can leverage the tools of a data scientist without having to actually become an expert themselves. Gradually introducing and exposing users to such concepts — and all without any significant upfront training requirements — also plays a key role in helping to establish a data- and machine learning-driven culture in an organization.
 
In 2019, we can expect to see augmented analytics methodologies being used pervasively across companies. From the boardroom to the shop floor, analytics has become a tool that can be viewed by everyone. As users and as people, we bring our own unique point of view to our analysis of the data. It is completely this combination of such powerful artificial intelligence and the inherent creativity of the people who use it that ultimately enables us to make resolutions a lot faster and with greater confidence than ever before.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

Cybersecurity officials from dozens of countries on Friday proposed a couple of principles to safeguard the safety of next generation mobile networks amid concerns over the use of gear made by China's Huawei.
 
The non-binding proposals were released following a two-day meeting in Prague to debate the security of new 5G networks.
 
The U.S. has been lobbying friends to prohibit Huawei from 5G networks over concerns China's government could force the company to give it access to data for cyberespionage. Huawei, the world's biggest maker of telecom infrastructure equipment, has refused the allegations.
 
The propositions echoed security concerns, with some wording that also appeared to be aimed at raising the bar for Chinese suppliers. The document said 'security and risk assessment of vendors and network technologies' should be factored in, as well as 'the overall risk of influence on a supplier by a third country,' especially its 'model of governance.'
 
'Security and risk assessments of vendors and network technologies should take into account rule of law,' it said.
 
U.S. authorities have recommended their allies to take into consideration the laws and legal system of a country where a 5G supplier is based, stating that China's lack of independent judiciary means companies have no legal options if they don't want to comply with Beijing's orders.
 
The European Commission has also proposed that EU countries factor in the legal systems of the countries where 5G suppliers are headquartered.
 
At the meeting in Prague, the cybersecurity officials came mainly from countries that are strategic allies, including European Union member states, the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies including Australia, Japan and South Korea and Singapore. NATO and European Union authorities also got involved but China and Russia were not present.
 
Europe has become an essential battlefield in the war over whether to exclude Huawei, with countries gearing up to set up the new networks, starting with the auction of radio frequencies this year.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

3M is purchasing medical technology company Acelity for $6.7 billion, and this includes debt.
 
Acelity Inc., situated in The San Antonio, Texas, produces advanced wound care products and had $1.5 billion in revenue last year.
 
3M, which makes Post-it notes, industrial coatings and other consumer products, is coming off a rough income report last week that sent its stock down more than 13%. 3M's health care unit, that will absorb Acelity's products, was its only division that posted an improvement in sales last quarter.
 
3M predicted the acquisition, announced Thursday, will cost it about 35 cents on an earnings-per-share basis over 12 months. Leaving out costs and one-time expenses, the company anticipates a 25 cents-per-share benefit over the same period.
 
The sale is anticipated to close in the second half of 2019.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

Today’s most successful original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have begun to redefine the way in which they do business— moving from a reactive, break-fix method of service to one that centers on maximizing product uptime. Servitization, where an increasing number of companies are shifting from selling products to selling access to and the outcome those products deliver, is driving this change.
 
Together with this shift, manufacturers must learn from leaders and laggards within other industries, e.g. Netflix vs. Blockbuster or Uber vs. taxi companies. Today’s OEMs are at a pivotal point in their histories and they must decide: do they want to be ahead of the curve and conform to change, or maintain the status quo and get left behind?
 
The good thing is that many manufacturers are looking hard at adopting uptime-centric business models. In point of fact, according to research conducted by my company, Syncron, along side Worldwide Business Research (WBR), 66 percent of manufacturers say that their executive suites are currently pushing a move towards uptime.
 
But what resources are needed to make uptime a reality? Below are three big needs for manufacturers as they embrace this shift:
 
Modernize the Service Supply Chain
 
The manufacturing industry has operated off the same script for at least a century: a piece of equipment is made, sold, and then ultimately repaired after it fails. Until recently, end-users had no choice but to eat the costs of this downtime. Now, with advancements in IoT and predictive analytics, manufacturers no longer want to be on the hook for equipment that can’t function. In place of, they want their products up-and-running all the time — because customers are demanding it.
 
Which means parts need to preemptively be available when and where they are needed, and proactive maintenance needs to take over to prevent breakdowns. Therefore, manufacturers must overhaul their supply chains and distribution strategies to allow this preventative maintenance to take place.
 
Establish a Subscription-Centric Focus
 
In the coming years, OEMs will will no longer report on the number of new products sold, or even service parts revenue. In fact, they will follow the path many SaaS companies have taken, reporting on recurring revenue from subscription-based services. Customers will subscribe to their equipment much in the same way as they do their Netflix subscription, paying for output and value.
 
Adopt Dynamic Pricing for Service Parts and Contracts
 
It might seem obvious that selling a service part or service contract for the optimal price is a key way to create competitive differentiation, but unfortunately, a lot of manufacturers are still using outdated methods like cost-plus or simple spreadsheets. With e-commerce players like Amazon and eBay starting to be more focused on the service parts space, competitively priced parts will become more important than ever. Modern service parts pricing technologies ensure the end customer has a great experience, while the manufacturer is instantly maximizing revenue and margins.
 
Servitization is definitely making waves in the manufacturing industry. And without the proper planning, manufacturers stand to be swallowed up. And yet, by laying out a carefully-planned strategy, these large, global brands can set themselves up for a coherent transition to an alternative way of doing work and give themselves the best chance at success for years ahead.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

Small business employing gained in April, extending a run of erratic job creation.
 
Payroll provider ADP's monthly tally of small business employs released Wednesday revealed companies created 77,000 jobs last month, a jump from an upwardly revised 20,000 in March and 30,000 in February. ADP's statistics, which show hiring at its customers who employ as high as 49 workers, have fluctuated since last summer.
 
Small business owners have been tentative in their recruiting ever since the recession, choosing to hold back until they have the revenue to justify the risk and expense of new employees. They've also dealt with in the past few years to look for qualified workers.
 
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said he does not see a change in small business hiring, which he has described as slow. The April gain 'was likely overstated due to several technical measurement issues,' he said.
 
Monthly economic statistics including the ADP report are often times dependent on revisions, so economists look at hiring over a period of months to discern a trend. Small businesses created on average 52,000 new jobs a month last year, down from 56,000 in 2017.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

France and Germany have presented information on a plan to construct a prominent electric battery industry in Europe, from the extraction of raw materials to recycling.
 
French Economy minister Bruno Le Maire said about 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) are to be invested in the Franco-German project, including 1.2 billion euros of public subsidies.
 
A pilot plant will likely be based in France and two production plants, each of 1,500 employees, will be built in both countries.
 
Le Maire pointed out during a visit by his German counterpart Peter Altmaier to Paris: 'This is an example of what Europe can do when united.'
 
European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic made welcome the move as EU production represents only 3 percent of the world market and wants to be competitive with the U.S. and China.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

Inventory management is one of the most critical aspects of any organization. Warehouse managers have to deal with numerous challenges which can benefit from it, which includes reducing inventory-carrying costs and assuring that enough inventory is on hand to finish jobs on time. Effective inventory management processes are crucial for streamlined business operations.
 
Holding excess inventory ties up your cash on hand. It is very difficult to stay a healthy balance between supply and demand. Inventory management, when done well, saves time and money in this area. It also erases the risk of overproduction and stock-outs.
 
Automated operations, like inventory management, reduce data redundancy and boost speed, efficiency and accessibility. The appropriate inventory management software enhances warehouse activity. This may involve inbound and outbound transfers, label printing and bin tracking. Listed below are some other benefits:
•             Obsolescence: Inventory management software monitors stock. It replaces outdated products with the newer versions.
•             Stock-outs: Keep your customers and your competitive edge by fulfilling orders on time. Inventory management software helps you avoid stock outages that can delay production.
•             Cost: The carrying costs of excess inventory reduce cash flow. It also limits the capital you have available to invest in your business. If you want to increase your bottom line, cut the cost of inventory and other expenses.
 
Basic Inventory Management Techniques to Speed up Delivery
 
A. Relationship Management
Strong working relationships with vendors, suppliers and warehouse personnel are essential. Inventory management software allows collaboration across the supply chain. Restock the warehouse, troubleshoot manufacturing issues, expand storage space or dispatch orders. Do all this and experience timely delivery of your goods as well as customer satisfaction.
 
B. Contingency Planning
Managing a business consists of certain risks. However, you can mitigate them with strong inventory management software. Team members who are responsible for contingency planning can manage real-time inventory updates. They can check product availability aligned with delivery deadlines, and see tasks associated with the inventory requirements.
 
C. Inventory Control
Inventory control supervises the least level of stock needed to prevent inventory shortages. This ensures that you satisfy customer demand without disruption or delay. Inventory control also avoids overload stock on hand that ties up capital. Companies use a variety of inventory control methods:
 
Just in Time (JIT) is an inventory strategy that delays the purchase of stock until a customer places an order. The manufacturer receives the goods just in time for use. This approach to inventory control, also referred to as lean manufacturing, reduces inventory-carrying costs.
 
ABC analysis is an inventory control method that categorizes items into three parts (A, B, and C).
•             A-items – goods that have the highest annual consumption value.
•             B-items – includes interclass items; it accounts for 30% of the total inventoried goods.
•             C-items – items with the lowest consumption rates; it accounts for approx. 50% of the entire stock.
 
Small or low-value items are using the two-bin method of inventory control. The products are sectioned off into two bins and sorted. The first bin is full of the working stock that needs to be delivered to the prospective customers. The second bin holds the reserve items or the remaining materials. It is advisable to rotate the stock from the first bin to the second to avoid spoilage and obsolescence.
 
FIFO states that the oldest stock (first in) is sold first (first out). This will save time and money, cutting out the possibility of unsellable or spoiled goods.
 
The inventory control method known as set-the-levels sets the minimum and maximum levels of inventory required.
 
D. Regular Audits
There are three ways to track inventory: physical inventory, spot-checking, and cycle counting.
•             Physical inventory - every item in the warehouse is counted once a year.
•             Spot-checking - counts the stock to verify it with the quantity that should be there according to the plan.
•             Cycle counting - different products or small subsets of inventory are counted in a specific location, on a specified day.
 
E. Accurate Forecasting
Accurate forecasting begins with an understanding of past demand. The review of historical data gives understanding of future demand. Forecasting indicators include the economy, political trends, past growth rate, orders and promotional activity.
 
F. Drop-shipping
Drop shipping is an inventory management method that doesn't hold inventory in the warehouse. It encourages cost slicing by direct shipment to consumers after a product or a part is purchased from third-party vendors.
 
Bottom Line
Use any kind of these techniques to power-up your inventory management practices. A growing business must have strong inventory management that will scale as your business grows and changes. Picking out the inventory management software that best fits your business model is very hard, but worth it in the end.
 
This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM

Unlocking the Possibilities of Lithium Ion
 
The Intelligent Power Vault is a multi-battery power source that incorporates the latest Lithium-ion smart battery technology, intelligent charging circuitry and efficient regulated power control in a high energy, rechargeable battery system that is conveniently designed into certified transportable & power backup devices across medical and industrial markets.
 
The innovative use of modular VR420A batteries enables for simple fitting and removal which permits transportation of the Intelligent Power Vault without the cost and complexity of dangerous goods shipping.
 
The IPV06 accepts up to six VR420A batteries delivering a retained energy up to 536Wh.
 
A Simple Solution for Transportation
 
International regulations impose restrictions on the transportation of Lithium Ion batteries, with added restrictions imposed on those capable of storing >100Wh. These extra restrictions enrich both shipping time and cost. A >100Wh lithium Ion battery must be consigned as class 9 dangerous goods, regardless of whether it is packed alone, packed with, or contained within equipment. The shipper must also be dangerous goods certified, which adds further complexity throughout the supply chain.
 
The Intelligent Power Vault solves the transportation problem - it is simple to ship across various modes of transport because its Lithium Ion batteries are <100Wh, modular and removable. For example, when shipping by air, the Intelligent Power vault is classed as 'equipment' and can be packed along with its VR420 batteries (and up to two spares) under section II of packing instruction 966 (UN3481). A shipper's declaration of dangerous goods is not needed and the shipper needs only limited training.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) today revealed that it has been distinguished by both Compass Intelligence and Quadrant Knowledge Solutions as a 2019 leader in the global industrial internet of things (IIoT) marketplace for its ThingWorx® Industrial Innovation Platform.
 
The two awards come just months after PTC unveiled the latest version of ThingWorx. ThingWorx 8.4 offers a long list of new capabilities, including Operator Advisor, which is created to increase the productivity of factory staff members by simplifying the way required operational data is collected, synthesized, and delivered.
 
'PTC proceeds to progress its breakthrough IIoT solutions and equip industrial companies with industry-leading software to move business momentum and create value,' said Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC. 'These accolades underscore not only PTC's technological superiority, but also our commitment to the success of our partners and customers in the industrial sector.'
 
Compass Intelligence Awards PTC with IIoT Company of the Year
This is the fourth year that PTC has collected the Compass Intelligence Award for Industrial IoT Company of the Year. These annual awards honor the top companies, products, and technology solutions in three biggest award categories: Mobile & Wireless, IoT & M2M, and Emerging Technology. Winners are chosen by more than 40 industry-leading editors, journalists, thought leaders, and analysts.
 
'With so many strong nominations, this year's winners represent the coolest and most disruptive in technology,' said Stephanie Atkinson, CEO and founder, Compass Intelligence. 'Year after year, PTC's vision, robust technology portfolio and strong market position make it the undisputed leader in the IIoT market.'
 
PTC Named Leader for Customer Impact and Technology Excellence
For the second year in a row, PTC has been selected a market leader by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, receiving the highest rating in Quadrant's 2019 Strategic Performance Analysis and Ranking (SPARK) Matrix. In the 2019 SPARK Matrix, Quadrant analyzed the offerings of a wide range of software providers in the IIoT space, evaluating each on its technology platform, product capabilities, customer impact, ease of use, visionary innovation, and future roadmap. Through comprehensive research and a rigorous methodology, the resulting report and corresponding matrix showcase PTC's clear leadership in the industry, driven by its robust portfolio of IIoT solutions.
 
'We congratulate PTC for the second year in a row as the unambiguous technology leader in the 2019 SPARK Matrix for IIoT Platforms,' said Piyush Dewangan, Industry Research Manager, Quadrant Knowledge Solutions.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

The much-predicted next generation of the award-winning LulzBot TAZ 6 3D Printer made its debut today. The LulzBot TAZ Workhorse Edition promises to deliver larger, faster, better quality prints, and introduces automatic X/Y/Z backlash compensation for advanced print accuracy.
 
'Tens of thousands of users and industry experts worldwide nicknamed TAZ the ‘Workhorse.' Since it received the name, we decided to own it,' said Eric Beardslee, Aleph Objects Product Marketing Manager.
 
As reported by 3D insider, 'When it comes to the best workhorse 3D printers on the market, the TAZ 6 is the runaway winner.'
 
How The Best Was Created Even Better
 
'People have been using TAZ 3D Printers as tools in the most difficult environments,' said Aleph Objects CTO Steven Abadie. 'With the TAZ Workhorse Edition, we accumulated feedback from users in these conditions and added upgrades such as a reinforced frame and sturdier electrical connectors for unparalleled durability, while improving upon the already impressive print quality.'
 
The LulzBot TAZ Workhorse Edition boasts a 14% greater build volume than the TAZ 6. Getting sooner, better quality prints is better than ever with a new belt-driven Z-axis and a new, lightweight tool head design. Printing with a wide range of materials, including high-heat and high-strength composite polymers, is now possible straight out of the box with hardened-steel tool head components. An all-new LulzBot-designed tool head with 360°cooling delivers superior overhang and bridge performance.
 
To learn more, see the full specification sheet.
 
A Reputation for Reliability
 
The evolution of the TAZ Workhorse Edition, which was the result of seven iterations over six years, verified one thing over and over: the LulzBot TAZ line of 3D printers has a long-standing reputation for solid reliability. With millions of production-grade parts produced in-house with hundreds of LulzBot 3D Printers running nonstop for millions of hours, the workhorse notoriety has become an industry-proven deliverable.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

Simutech Multimedia, a supplier of simulation training used by over 500 global manufacturing and industrial companies, has established a new 3D simulation-training platform developed especially to help equip operations and maintenance professionals with the skills needed in an increasingly digitally-connected manufacturing environment.
 
With over 2.4 million manufacturing jobs projected to go unfilled as reported by the latest Deloitte study, Simutech Multimedia's new platform provides manufacturers the tools and data needed to identify, assess, onboard and train the next generation of skilled laborers, particularly in the electrical troubleshooting field.
 
'This fully-immersive setting allows users to gain advantages of better retention rates gained by simulation training as well as learn in a realistically-replicated environment they are accustomed to,' says Warren Rhude, CPO of Simutech Multimedia. “The new instructional simulation teaches professionals how to configure and troubleshoot industrial sensors and PLC analog inputs, PLCs and associated devices growing more prevalent in the modern production plant.”
 
Enabled by the 3D-training platform, users will be able to explore an industrial environment and understand results occurring from changing temperatures, humidness and light.
 
'It’s becoming clear that AI and VR technology will play a critical role in educating the modern factory worker,” says Simutech Multimedia CEO Samer Forzley. “Our technology has taken a massive start forward to meet the demands of today's operations and anticipates the manufacturing training absolutely necessary in the future fully-connected manufacturing world.'
 
Besides continuous improvement performance data available to management, future updates of the platform are set to incorporate leading AI technology that would determine users’ weaknesses and strengths and plan the best training routes to reach their goals.
 
The new Troubleshooting Industrial Sensors instructional tool will also offer users the hands on ability to take voltage, current and resistance readings, and interactively view the PLC ladder program through the virtual laptop to find problems with sensors, transmitters, PLCs, wiring and other input and output components.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

Industrial manufacturing companies every now and then feel they’re at the mercy of shifting government policies around environmental regulations, energy consumption and other hot-button political problems. Any change in environmental policy could involve a cascade of process adjustments, equipment upgrades and other changes that, despite their good intentions, can strain already tight budgets. And, with the possibility for those shifts to swing over wildly every few years with changes in Congress and the White House, this can be seriously sturdy for companies to adjust and still meet production demands.
 
One such change is coming down the pike soon: initially introduced in 2007, a second phase of lighting efficiency rules are set to go into effect next year, prohibiting the sale of lightbulbs that emit less than 45 lumens per watt. This may essentially terminate all basic incandescent and halogen bulbs from the market — a step that won't only effect consumers, but industrial customers as well.
 
The Industrial Lighting—Energy Connection
 
While it might seem like a small change in the grand scheme, industrial lighting in fact has the possibility to play a huge role in reshaping America’s energy economy. With many facility lights left on 10 to 24 hours a day, industrial lighting consumes 58 terawatt hours yearly—enough power to light 1/3 of all homes in the U.S. And, with 144 million industrial lighting fixtures in place, even more than 90 percent of which are conventional fixtures, switching out from older, less efficient fixtures might seem like a tall order. In spite of this, there’s an incredible potential for U.S. industrial facilities to upgrade lighting in order to cut energy use and the related pollution output.
 
The fact is, data reveals that using high-efficiency industrial LEDs could cut U.S. industrial energy consumption by 52 terawatt hours, limiting carbon emissions by 28 million metric tons a year. Along with, by removing the need to dispose of pollutant-containing conventional bulbs, the change to LED would also considerably cut down mercury contamination in the soil.
 
But, irrespective of the persuasive environmental benefits, a plant-wide LED lighting upgrade does require a certain level of investment. And, being forced into a big change due to shifting political policy can be a tough pill to swallow, particularly when the winds could change again at any moment.
 
Good for the Environment and Your Bottom Line
 
However, investing in industrial LED lighting may be a good move for your own company’s sake, too, beyond just meeting governmental mandates. Clearly, lower energy consumption right away correlates with lower energy costs, which means a healthier bottom line. At the Zero Mountain cold storage facility, case in point, a change out to LED fixtures bring down its total energy use by more than 1.3 million kWh, saving the company nearly $100,000 each year. At Rockline Industries, the company cut its energy costs from $100,000 to just $25,000 by switching to LED fixtures.
 
A Safer, Brighter Facility Saves Money
 
Industrial LED lighting could even significantly improve plant safety, which lowers incident rates and the potential for workers compensation insurance claims. Occupational injuries cost more or less $250 billion every year, and poor lighting is the leading cause of slip, trip, and fall accidents, as well as contact with objects and equipment, which are the most common types of incidents, second to transportation accidents.
 
Studies also show that the crisp clear light of modern LEDs makes for a more comfortable and invigorating work environment where employees feel more forewarn. With fatigue and sleepiness being leading contributors to accidents and injuries, the white light of LEDs has shown to minimize fatigue by a factor of 5 by mimicking a daylight appearance that helps to suppress melatonin levels. This boosted alertness has shown to improve workers’ performance on standardized exams and also cut the time it took to take the test. What that means is greater accuracy and efficiency, which in a workplace environment translates to higher performance and productivity.
 
Industrial LED Lighting Puts You Ahead of the Standards
 
While regulatory mandates that force industrial manufacturers to improve the way they do business may initially seem like problems to productivity and profitability, the fact is that switching to more sustainable, high-efficiency LED industrial lighting has far more benefits than just meeting a mandate. The lower energy and maintenance costs, improved plant safety and efficiency can drive real bottom-line benefits that contribute directly to operational advantages, while also insulating any company against the shifting winds of political policy.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

There isn't shortage of manufacturing problems in our modern society, from supply shortages to distribution problems and an ever-fluctuating economy. With all of these problems, it can seem like a miracle that we’re ever able to get things done in a landscape in which everything is against us.
 
The best thing is that a problem shared is a problem halved, and so as long as you know what to look out for, you can take steps to refrain from it – or at least to meet the problem head on with a solution.
 
And so with that in mind, we’ve created this list of the six major challenges that modern manufacturing companies must overcome if they’re to be successful in business. Let’s get started.
 
No. 1 - The Chinese Invasion
 
One of the biggest developments in the manufacturing industry in recent years is the Chinese invasion. In 2011, the country broke a 100-year run for the United States to grow into the world’s largest manufacturing nation. As the country continues to thrive, it won’t be long until the Chinese stranglehold is impossible to shake off. The great news is that for this challenge manufacturing companies can get ahead of the curve by outsourcing some of their manufacturing to China.
 
No. 2 - 3D Printing
 
3D printing could possibly be both a hassle and a solution for the manufacturing industry. It allows for more rapid prototyping and also for customization between products. For example, if your company manufactured prosthetics, 3D printing would allow you to customize each prosthetic based upon a scan of the patient’s limbs. Traditional manufacturers might struggle to keep up – or they could integrate 3D printing into their own workflow and turn it into an advantage.
 
No. 3 - Artificial Intelligence
 
Global spending on AI is set to raise to $7.3 billion per year by 2022, and the technology will influence every industry on the planet. The manufacturing industry will only be the beginning. The best thing is that while it can be difficult to initially wrap your head around it, the technology could help to drive huge efficiencies, ultimately helping you to save money and boost profits.
 
No. 4 - Cybersecurity
 
Cybersecurity is something that we’ll all have to get used to thinking about as more and more devices are hooked up to the internet. For manufacturers, the production line is increasingly being automated via the internet of things, but while this does have its advantages, it also has got its drawbacks. Manufacturers can even become targets in the event of a cyber war, mostly if they’re producing vital components for infrastructure or for the military.
 
No. 5 - Labor Shortage
 
According to Deloitte, close to 2.4 million manufacturing jobs will go unfulfilled over the next decade. Automation will help to fill some of the shortfalls, but manufacturing companies are still likely to face stiff competition when it comes to hiring top talent. The only real way to combat this is to make sure that your company is seen as one of the best employers in the industry.
 
No. 6 - Scalability
 
One final challenge will be for companies to scale up and down as required. To do this, they’ll need to guarantee that their infrastructure is as flexible as possible, and it’s also worth considering tapping into the gig economy and using temporary workers if it’s going to help you to scale up and down to meet demand on the production line. Flexibility is – and will continue to be–key.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

U.S. manufacturers expanded at a slower pace in April, as measures of new orders, production and employment each slipped.
 
The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, says that its manufacturing index fell to 52.8 last month, down from 55.3 in March. Readings above 50 point in direction of an expansion in the production. The sector remains reporting growth for 32 months.
 
ISM's survey of companies for the index is a sign that economic progress will continue, although companies raised worries about delays at the border between the United States and Mexico and the tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on Chinese imports.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com

The eyes, it’s been said, are windows to the soul. I’d argue that the real portals are the ears.
 
Consider that, at this very moment, a cacophony of biological conversations is blasting through dime-size patches of skin just inside and outside the openings to your ear canals. There, blood is coursing through your veins, its pressure rising and falling as you react to stress and fun, its levels of oxygen switching in result to the air around you and the way your body is using the air you emit. Here we can also notice the electrical signals that zip through the cortex as it answers to the sensory information around us. And in that patch of skin itself, switching electrical conductivity signals moments of anticipation and emotional intensity.
 
The ear is like a biological equivalent of a USB port. It is unmatched not only as a point for “writing” to the brain, as happens when our earbuds transmit the sounds of our favored music, but also for “reading” from the brain. Soon, wearable devices that tuck into our ears—I call them hearables—will monitor our biological signals to expose when we are sentimentally exhausted and when our brains are remaining overtaxed. When we are striving to hear or comprehend, these gadgets will proactively help us focus on the sounds we wish to hear. They’ll also decrease the sounds that make us stress, and even connect to other devices around us, like thermostats and lighting controls, to let us feel more at ease in our surroundings. They will be a technology that is truly empathetic—a goal I have been working toward as chief scientist at Dolby Laboratories and an adjunct professor at Stanford University.
 
What might we look forward to from early offerings? Much of the expert research in hearables right now is paying attention on cognitive control of a hearing aid. The point is to distinguish where the sounds people are paying attention to are coming from—independently of the position of their heads or where their eyes are focused—and determine whether their brains are working unusually hard, most likely because they’re striving to hear someone. Today, hearing aids commonly just amplify all sounds, making them unpleasant for users in noisy environments. The most pricey hearing aids today do have some smarts—some use machine learning along with GPS mapping to determine which volume and noise reduction settings are best for a certain location, applying those when the wearer enters that area.
 
This kind of device will be appealing to pretty much all of us, not just people fighting with some point of hearing loss. The sounds and demands of our environments are continually changing and introducing assorted types of competing noise, reverberant acoustics, and attention distractors. A device that helps us create a “cone of silence” (remember the 1960s TV comedy “Get Smart”?) or gives us superhuman hearing and the ability to drive our attention to any point in a room will change how we communicate with one another and our environments.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., APRIL 30, 2019 - For the 2018-2019 school year, SICK, Inc. asked students from universities around the country to indulge in the first ever TiM$10K Challenge, introduced to support innovation and student achievement in automation and technology.
 
Teams were supplied with a 270° SICK LiDAR sensor (TiM) and accessories and challenged to solve a problem, create a solution, or bring a new application to any industry that utilizes the SICK LiDAR.
The winners of the TiM$10K Challenge are:
•              1st Place: Texas A&M University Team 2 - Foreign object detection on airport tarmacs
•              2nd Place: Texas A&M University Team 1 - Visual impairment walking aid
•              3rd Place: Purdue University - Low-friction test bed for CubeSats (micro satellites)
 
Project Summaries
Texas A&M University Team 2 used the SICK LiDAR sensor to identify foreign object debris (FOD) on airport tarmacs, like screws or metal strips from planes. Each year, FOD costs the aviation industry billions of dollars in airplane repairs. FOD also has potential deadly consequences if not preserved perfectly. The system made by this team is an AGV that runs around the tarmac and detects any FOD with the LiDAR sensor.
 
The second place team, Texas A&M University Team 1, evolved a walking aid for the aesthetically impaired utilizing the SICK LiDAR sensor. Instead of employing the unit in a cane or other walking aid, the team created a wearable device that provides a person an audio warning in advance of an obstacle. The LiDAR sensor is used to detect the upcoming obstacles. This walking aid is intended to be used as a complement to the white cane.
Finally, the staff from Purdue University created a low-friction test bed to test CubeSats, which are micro satellites. These are frequently practiced in experiments to demonstrate new technology in Low Earth Orbit. One major application of these small satellites are rendezvous proximity operations, where a LiDAR sensor is applied to accurately monitor its situation to another object. The team developed a low-friction test bed and a micro satellite, TracSat.
Contest Background
Each team was expected to submit a video and paper for judging upon completion of the project. A panel of judges planned the winning submissions based on creativity and innovation, ability to resolve a customer problem, commercial potential to productize and market the application, entrepreneurship of the team, and reporting.
The three winning teams win a cash award of $10K for first place, $5K for second place, and $3K for third place. In addition to bragging rights and the cash prize, the first place team, along with the advising professor, will go on an all-expense paid trip to Germany to visit the SICK headquarters and manufacturing facility in summer 2019.
This contest was secured by PMMI Foundation's U Skills Fund. PMMI Foundation works to increase awareness of careers in packaging and processing, providing assistance to schools and programs that build students to stand out in the industry.
 
SICK is now accepting entries for the TiM$10K Challenge for the 2019-2020 school year! Student teams can register online by September 2, 2019. Student teams are encouraged to use their creativity and technical knowledge to incorporate the SICK LiDAR for any industry in any application. Advisors/professors are allowed to guide the student teams as required. For more details, visit: https://ptdrv.linkedin.com/o6037k5



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

SANFORD, FL - - - CNC Machines announced today that it has selected Cristina Velez Santos of Kissimmee, Florida as the recipient of its Veteran to Machinist scholarship. This is the third of three scholarships the organization will award this year.
 
CNC models, a Florida-based used CNC machine dealer, established the veteran-exclusive scholarship program late last year as a means of boosting both the longevity of the American manufacturing industry and veterans coming back to civilian life who want to start new careers. To qualify, applicants presented 1,000-word essays on why they want to become a machinist.
 
'We believe in being part of the solution to the manufacturing skills gap. Our dreams with this scholarship program are simple: Grow the American manufacturing industry; and support veterans returning to civilian life and in seek of their next career,' said Curt Doherty, founder and CEO, CNC Machines.
 
'A diverse workforce is also crucial to closing that skills gap and women are particularly underrepresented in the field, making up only about 29 percent of employees,' he added. 'Ms. Santos is an outstanding example of the kind of talent that needs to be tapped into.'
 
Santos served in the U.S. Coast Guard for four years as a Boatswain's mate third class. Through her first two-year stint, she worked aboard the USCG Cutter Elm, which would go to sea two weeks at a time then spent two years at a search and rescue small boat station where she provided translation services between the Coast Guard and nearby fishermen while on patrol and helped civilians during emergencies. During her service, she performed firefighting, search and rescue, navigation, rigging, deckhand duties, and maintenance; and ran heavy equipment.
 
'I loved using tools and executing maintenance the most during my time in the Coast Guard and learned about Valencia College's Accelerated Skills Program. I signed up for a tour of their Advanced Manufacturing Training Center and I uncovered out about welding as a career option. I knew right away that I had found my career path,' said Santos, who is enrolled in the school's Welding 1 program full time and works part-time to help pay for her education.
 
'I was able to start the Welding Program because I received a career source scholarship and a veteran grant but the CNC Machines Veteran to Machinist Scholarship makes a large difference in enabling me to get certifications to start my welding career,' said Santos. 'I wish to one day open my own custom fabrication shop, becoming a certified welding inspector, a secure welding educator, and bring to the manufacturing industry and volunteer my skills to projects that benefit the community.'



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

The promising thing about laundry-folding robots is that they target a job that everybody does frequently, and nobody really likes. But to be successful in robotics, especially in consumer robotics, you have to be both affordable and reliable, and robots are, still, generally awful at those things. Laundroid, a robotic system that could ingest wads of laundry and somehow spit out neatly folded clothes, put on a few demos at CES over the past few years, but the Japanese company behind it just announced bankruptcy—probably because the robot didn’t work all the time, and would likely have been absurdly expensive.
 
Laundroid may not have been a success, but does that mean that other laundry-folding robots, most notably Foldimate, are doomed as well? Of course it doesn’t, although I’m not particularly optimistic.
 
The original Laundroid concept was to combine washing clothes, drying clothes, ironing clothes, and folding clothes into one single (magical?) system that was fully autonomous. That would have been amazing, even if it did prove to be impossible, but Landroid had to scale back to a dedicated folding machine in 2018. And as it turns out, even that ended up being too complex to save the company.
 
It usually takes a little bit less skill to use Foldimate than to do it by hand, I guess, but I’m not sure that the robot really speeds up the process, and it’s selective about the folding that it does. Pants, for example, they need to be correctly oriented and folded in half lengthwise before Foldimate will accept them, which is most of the folding work done by you before the robot even gets involved. It’s a bit cleverer with shirts, but you still need to stand there and feed each item into the robot in just the right way. The matter, then, is if the robot doesn’t make the folding process significantly faster or significantly better and requires a human to be actively engaged the whole time, why are people going to buy one?
 
My concern is that Foldimate is one of those robotics products that it’s very easy for people to get thrilled about until it comes time to dedicate to actually buying one. We’ve seen this before; a company will demo a robot and get a lot of positive feedback from potential consumers: “ It folds my laundry? Of course I want one of those!” But when that same consumer has to actually put in their credit card info and pay nearly $1,000 for a robot that does a thing that they already know how to do without saving them much in the way of time or effort, they may feel differently.
 
Robots like Foldimate (that only provide an incremental benefit at best) may be more realistic in places where their utilization rates are high and the cost can be spread out, like laundromats as opposed to homes. Even so, it’s tough to escape the fact that the most successful consumer robots are able to completely replace humans at specific tasks, and that seems to be where the value in robotics is. My Roomba, and for that matter my washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher all do a very good job at what they do, and (with a minimal amount of tending before or after) while they’re hard at work I can totally ignore them and be doing something else.
 
From that perspective, the gold criterion of robotic laundry folding is still UC Berkeley’s PR2, which, as of 2014, could do most of a laundry cycle autonomously.
 
PR2 was very, very slow at this, but who cares? You don’t have to be there while it does it. If it takes the robot 8 hours to wash and fold a single load of laundry, that’s fine if it just runs while you’re away at work. The greater problem is that you can’t buy a PR2, even if you can buy a PR2 it would cost you US $400,000, and that it’s a research project that would almost certainly not work even a little bit if you plonked it in front of your washing machine and pressed the go button.
 
I hope Foldimate manages to make a successful product—finding a commercial use case for robotics is hard, and at the very least, the interest that has been shown in Foldimate so far suggests that they’re onto something with some value. We’ll see what happens when the robot goes up for pre-order later this year.



This article is originally posted on Tronserve.com

The manufacturing industry is experiencing a turning-point in its growth and development, moving from decades-old operational processes to new achievements of IoT and connected technology such as for instance smart robotics and industrial systems. A report from Statista reports that the smart manufacturing market is expected to progress to approximately $480 billion USD by 2023, from just a few hundred billion in 2018. As more systems become connected, the industrial and manufacturing industries, as well as the whole supply chain, must continue to mature to give manufacturers a set of tools for optimizing and elevating efficiencies in their connected factories that help them compete in the market and ultimately enable greater innovation.
 
In the centre of these industrial connected systems is the technology that constitutes their infrastructure, networks and other key components. Currently, many factories and industrial settings are concentrated on optimizing data and networks for increasing operational efficiencies—this includes trends like the growing implementation of IT/OT to converge IT systems with the operational (OT) systems. And yet in order to really drive continued change and growth, manufacturers should consider a software-based approach: streamlining their factories to use software to control systems and provide valuable data analytics while at the same time learning from that data to frequently increase. Software also helps fill knowledge-gaps between personnel working in the factory—from those working in QA/QC on the factory floor up to senior-level management.
 
In the traditional manufacturing process, specifically in the electronics industry, the process is slow, opaque, and low-quality. This is because of in part to the fact that the machines and people are all analog and disconnected, making the factories islands of out of the way technology. Without some kind of industrial internet of things (IIoT) or software-based systems, these factories are not able to provide engineers with insight into the outcome of their designs prior to manufacture. A smart factory that implements software in its operations, on the other hand, can automatically configure, operate, and monitor its various control systems – from intake to assembly and dispatch.
 
The Tempo Automation factory is operating in this capacity. We have created a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) smart factory that works on a “digital thread”—connecting customer engagement, order processing, parts sourcing, factory operations, and shipment of finished PCBAs, constructing and delivering high complexity printed circuit board assemblies in days in lieu of the weeks that customers are accustomed to waiting. The Tempo model utilizes software on both the back-end of our connected factory platform and likewise the user front-end for estimating and buying. We believe that this level of automation and software intelligence puts us in the extraordinary position of having the capability to set up an unbroken data flow, providing our customers with valuable design and manufacturing feedback.
 
Apart from facilitating transparent communication between designers and manufacturers, a connected IIoT network managed by a software platform also streamlines operations. For example, a smart factory with sensors connected throughout can control factors like temperature, humidity, equipment status, job progress, and reported defects. All of this connected data will give engineers understanding of how the factory is operating, which they can then use to optimize the engineering process.
 
Robotics and other factory-floor systems operate on software designed to make them fully self-functioning, but the role of human expertise must not be dismissed in the future of smart manufacturing. There are still gaps between what software can learn and output in a system, including a robotic arm that assembles a specific part. A level of human oversight is still needful, particularly in situations such as QA/QC that require a secondary pair of eyes and assessment.
 
At its core, software meets the communication gap in between designer and manufacturer by automating the flow of information from the engineer’s design to the machines and the people on the connected factory floor in a continuous cycle of design, build, and test.
 
In an effort to ensure the continued growth of manufacturing and the evolution to smart factories, manufacturers should look at moving to a software-first approach to be able to realize the true potential of business insight and improvements that it can bring. Only after mass-adoption will we begin to see important change in how factories and manufacturing of the future operate and advance.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com