There are many opportunities to increase supply chain efficiency. There are also many challenges that impact the ability to run efficiently. By working through some of the challenges with some practical methods that have a big impact on supply chain management, any organization can increase their supply chain efficiency, regardless of industry.

Let’s start by exploring a few of the challenges to supply chain efficiency that impact most industries.

In the industrial industry there are many instances where two or more requirements must be fulfilled at the same time. Combining gases or fluids, controlling multiple valves, operating pneumatic and hydraulic systems can all demand that multiple functions be performed simultaneously. Incorporating a manifold into a fluid power application in hydraulics or pneumatics can provide an easier and more efficient performance.

At its core, Industry 5.0 is about people working alongside robots and smart machines. That may evoke memories of movies about robots taking over the world. But at its core, robotics is about practicality. Robots will help humans work more efficiently and Industry 5.0 is about the co-existing and co-producing that will occur between humans and machines.

It was October 1st of 1984.

Prince Harry had just been born. MTV held their first Video Music Awards. “Lets Go Crazy” by Prince was playing on every radio station. And a young man named Mark King started a new job at a small industrial repair company called Speck Industrial Controls. That company was the beginning of what has become Radwell International today. On October 1^st, 2019, Mark has been employed at Radwell International for 35 years. Brian Radwell, the company President and Owner, is the longest tenured employee at Radwell. Out of almost 1,000 employees, Mark King has the next longest tenure as a Radwell employee.

We sat down with Mark to hear his story and to look back at the early days of Radwell International.

Piston pumps are used across manufacturing industries as simple hydraulic pumps with many different uses. Some people mistakenly believe that since piston pumps are simple, that maintenance won’t be required. Let’s talk about what a piston pump is, how it’s used, and why it’s so important to maintain.  

What is a piston pump?  

A piston pump works by moving fluids and gases into and out of its chamber. When the piston cup, or moving part within the piston, pushes down, it creates high pressure which allows the chamber to fill. When the piston cup completes its upstroke, that pressure is relieved, which forces the fluid or gas in the chamber out for use.  

CNC stands for Computer Numeric Control. A CNC is an automated manufacturing technique that allows for fast, efficient and repetitive cutting, boring, drilling, machining and fabricating of material by computer-controlled devices. A CNC machine consists of a mini or micro computer that acts as a controller of the machine. All cutting processes are carried out by a range of complex machining tools that are directed by instructions fed into the computer.

Once a particular part has been designed and instructions for machining it have been written, a CNC machine is programmed with those instructions. Raw material is fed into the machine, the setup is completed and the computer does everything else: rotating the part, cutting off various layers, drilling holes to desired depths, even changing cutting bits automatically. Identical parts can be machined over and over, with little or no variance.

The basis of each CNC project is a 2D or 3D CAD drawing which is translated into computer code for the CNC machine to execute.

PCB stands for Printed Circuit Board.

A printed circuit board mechanically supports and electrically connects electronic components or electrical components using conductive tracks, pads and other features etched from one or more sheet layers of copper laminated onto and/or between sheet layers of a non-conductive substrate. Components are generally soldered onto the PCB to both electrically connect and mechanically fasten them to it.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are thin boards made from an insulating material, with a metal coated surface. Etches are made in the metal with acid to create pathways for electricity to travel among various components which are surface mounted on the board with solder. 

Countless industries use hydraulic machinery in different settings. Automotive repair, the construction industry, the entertainment business, aerospace companies, and municipalities all rely on hydraulics to keep their businesses running on a day to day basis.  

Keeping your hydraulic machinery functioning means regularly auditing it. You want to make sure you identify any signs of trouble before problems become serious. Some new machinery has the ability to alert you through a maintenance system when there is a problem and the machine needs service. But of course, simply checking the machine on a regular maintenance schedule will ensure that the machinery is working properly.  

You should also train all of your employees to recognize the early signs of hydraulics malfunction. 

A servo motor is a rotary actuator or linear actuator that allows for angular position, acceleration and velocity. It has capabilities that a regular motor doesn’t possess. Servo motors work with sensors for precise control of movement. The controller is the most sophisticated part of the servo motor, as it is designed for precision.

Servo motors are a combination of specific parts, which include a DC or AC motor, and are suitable for use in a closed-loop control system. Servo motor applications include robotics, automated manufacturing and computer numerical control (CNC) machining applications.

The two types of servo motors have different uses. AC Servo motors can handle higher current surges and tend to be used in industrial machinery.

Beginning in the late 1800’s, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were involved in a competition which came to be known as the War of the Currents. The War of the Currents was a series of events related to the introduction of competing electric power transmission systems to the world in the late 1800’s. 

Both Edison and Tesla were able to develop, imagine or create inventions that are utilized in modern factory environments in some capacity even today. When we consider Industry 4.0 as a 4^th Phase of industrial growth, evolution and progress, it is difficult to dispute that both Edison and Tesla contributed to what is essentially the connected manufacturing environment of the modern age.

Thomas Edison is still considered one of the greatest inventors to ever live.