Recently my wife took a job with a multinational OEM as a panelbuilder. This company recently built a new plant in our area and moved their panelbuilding operation here from Texas. They build custom refrigeration equipment and the associated compressors …
HMIs (Human-Machine Interfaces) are used to allow machine operators to control a machine or system. It can consist of items as simple as pushbuttons and pilot lights or use systems of computers and touchscreens. In todays manufacturing world it typically …
Vibratory bowls and feeders use a variable amplitude control box to control a drive unit with thrusters oriented in the direction of part movement. A bowl with special tooling and tracks sized to the component is mounted to the drive …
My goal is to become a national and international resource and as such I am hoping to expand my network considerably. Please contact me if you wish to become part of my new automation solutions network.
In another post I described an air filter tester built with NAS in the late 1990s. These testers were for automotive filters and generally were built around a single automation concept; a Cosmo leak tester or vision system for instance. …
As part of my preparation for moving back into the consulting world I recently signed up for a series of classes and certifications through Purdue University on Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing. These classes lead to certification as a green …
This station was used to measure a small crystal used in the manufacture of medical CT scanners. A Keyence laser scanner was used to measure the crystal in three different axes, providing both dimensional and “squareness” information to an operator. …
As mentioned in my previous post I recently took a trip to Japan. If you have ever been or plan to go there is something you should know: in general, the Japanese love gadgets and automation. The picture above is …
For all of my thousands of followers I’m sure you all noticed that I didn’t post for the last couple of weeks. I spent some time on a badly needed vacation, visiting Seattle and Japan. As mentioned in a previous …
This is another machine built with NAS in about the 1998-1999 time frame. As you can tell, NAS was a huge user of aluminum extrusion; for about 5 years or so the were the biggest 80-20 customer in East Tennessee. …
