For injection molding — as well as just about every plastic process — process cooling is very important for cycle time and part quality. Cooling sometimes seems like a last-horizon type of variable ...

Festo introduces the CMSX, the first in a new generation of process industry closed loop position controllers for quarter turn actuators. The new CMSX delivers high functionality at a price ...

Every plant in the process industry most likely has several control loops that do not perform well. Although there are many factors that may negatively affect control loop performance, a few of these ...

Fan control is an important aspect of system architecture. Though often left as a secondary activity, its implementation has significant effects. Customer response can be immediate to factors such as ...

In 2012, Automation World published an article looking at the decision factors faced when choosing electric or pneumatic actuators. More than a decade later, manufacturing engineers and OEMs still ...

One of the bigger problems with any CNC machine or 3D printer is the issue of missed steps when moving the toolhead. If a stepper motor misses a step, the entire layer of the print – and every layer ...

For the PDF version of this article, click here. More than 80% of the motors bought each year continue to be low-cost single-phase ac motors. Because these motors are not very efficient when ...

Sometimes, you need to test a circuit element over temperature, but it's impossible to put the entire application circuit in the temperature chamber. Freeze sprays and hair dryers are convenient for ...