According to ISA/S88 guidelines, a manufacturing process can be represented in terms of two models: A procedural model and an equipment model. The equipment model includes a functional group of equipment that can perform a finite number of specific, minor, processing activities. It is important the equipment model is well-designed and provides flexibility and modularity […]
A team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and The Ohio State University has developed a magnetic shape memory polymer that uses magnetic fields to transform into a variety of shapes. The material could enable a range of new applications from antennas that change frequencies on the fly to gripper arms for delicate […]
Concept Systems and its engineering team have a long history of providing automation solution services to Tillamook Creamery in Tillamook, Ore. The company asked Concept Systems to quote a retrofit to the two remote input/output (I/O) enclosures that tie together the I/O for their eight block towers. The block towers are where the cheese curds […]
To meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive marketplace, many manufacturers (end users) must focus on their core competencies (i.e., their secret sauce) and outsource the rest to experts. System integration is not a core competency for most end users and many are outsourcing it. In fact, the trend of outsourcing system integration has been […]
In the past years and through regular interaction with manufacturers (end users), automation equipment vendors, machine builders, system integrators (SIs) and associations in the automation space, I have witnessed an important evolution around the topic of digital transformation (IoT, IIoT, Industry 4.0, smart industry and so on). The concept has evolved from a heavily promoted […]
It took six months to build a complete supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for an oil pipeline along with hardware upgrades, a new network and a control room built from scratch. It was a daunting task for ARB Midstream, but with help from system integrator Industrial Networking Solutions (INS), the project was a […]
The top 5 most read articles online, from December 9-15 for Control Engineering covered the System Integrator Giants, SIY winners, collaborative robot use cases, digital twins, and industrial virtualization. Links to each article below. 1. 2020 System Integrator Giants The overall gross revenue for the top 100 system integrators and their parent companies topped $26.4 […]
Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are transforming traditional robot tasks through increased flexibility and diversified applications. AMRs are known for their unique ability to navigate in an uncontrolled environment with a higher level of understanding via sensors, blueprints, artificial intelligence (AI), 3-D or 2-D vision and more. Their perception allows these robots to re-route automatically when […]
Since 2017, Quantum Solutions Inc. (QSI) has participated in multiple upgrade and automation projects for Wicked Weed Brewing, completing significant enhancements and expansions to its can fill lines in its craft brewery. The client Wicked Weed Brewing is a craft brewery located in Asheville, N.C. Since 2011, it has developed signature flavors and stylish names […]
Sometimes, like it seemed for a client’s company, there are ghosts in the machines. On paper, everything seemed fine. The company tested every component and every supplier solemnly swore their hardware worked. And yet, the production line was freaking out unpredictably and often and the company was missing product ship dates. All the tests said […]