General Automation

More flexibility in Machine Construction thanks to Industrial Ethernet

The dream of an intelligent factory is almost as old as industrial engineering itself. The higher the number of employees and workstations working in parallel for the production of a product, the more communication and control is required. What was once defined by a strict working cycle is now done by information channels constituting the nervous system of a company.

Read the complete sercos article "Ethernet in Machine Construction (Part1)"

Trends and challenges in industrial automation

Everything used to be very simple. The machines set the pace on the plant floor. Maintaining a perfect rhythm made the work more efficient. The rules are different in today’s state-of-the-art production environments. Fast reaction to change has become an additional success factor which contributes to high productivity during normal day-to-day operations. No matter how well you prepare, you cannot plan for every eventuality.

Read the complete sercos article "Ethernet in Machine Construction (Part 2)"

Data traffic with high performance and tested reliability

Maximum efficiency is the goal of every machine manufacturer. Every project has to be judged in terms of how far it offers an optimum balance between results and costs. Therefore, new technologies are not taken up simply because they are new but because they improve efficiency without raising costs unnecessarily.

Read the complete sercos article "Ethernet in Machine Construction (Part 3)"

How companies can master the conversion safely and systematically

One should love all things old, recommends Theodore Fontane in his book “Der Stechlin”, whereas the new has to be lived. This is generally easier said than done, however, since switching to a new technology involves numerous hurdles. Opportunities, risks and costs have to be weighed up. And there is also an emotional component, as no one ever likes to say goodbye to something which they have got used to.

Read the complete sercos article "Ethernet in Machine Construction (Part 4)"

Trade article: The nervous system of modern production systems

Data transfer has turned into the nervous system of modern production systems. New solutions are needed here since production control tasks are becoming more and more complex. Ethernet has taken over when it comes to components for operation and visualization, but standardized tools to diagnose complex network activities are still required on the machine control level. A research project has been started to solve this problem.

Complete article titled "Den Bus im Blick" (in German) for sercos III diagnosis