Markets

It's relatively easy to machine advanced plastic stock shapes, but you have to know what you're doing.

Imagine, each day, having to manually pack and seal thousands of boxes of different sizes and shapes. Mail order company Heartland America, Chaska, Minn., did just that until recently when it decided to automate key parts of the packaging process.

The world of still-photography is experiencing a revolution, the likes of which we haven't seen since the 35-mm film format became standard for popular consumer use around the 1950s.

Especially important for complex machines and integrated manufacturing systems, new technologies let you predict when a component will fail.

Open communication systems that accommodate control system devices from multiple vendors have become a reality with the introduction of new networks from two industry leaders.

By linking a smooth-operating robotic joint with an advanced control system, researchers may have the answer for applications in space as well as on the ground.

Achieving tight control of manufacturing operations often means collecting data from widely dispersed points throughout the plant. Rather than running wires from all these points, consider combining signals onto two wires via field multiplexers.