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Improving Cybersecurity in Robotic Automation

Cybersecurity poses a serious threat to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enabled devices and robotic automation equipment. Attackers who gain access to industrial networks have a number of devastating options available to them, from changing production data to causing harmful production errors.

Cybersecurity in the robotics field is still immature, but manufacturers are starting to realize the vulnerability that connected robots and automation equipment creates in their operations. For those seeking to beef up their cybersecurity and protect their business, there are a number of options available to them.

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Picking An Integration Partner: Four Steps to Success

 Plant floor automation, data integration, and optimization of facilities processes are critical to overall business success in today’s global business environment. The focus on information, coupled with the introduction and implementation of Industrie 4.0, places an even greater emphasis on selecting the best partner to drive success within automation-focused projects.  Knowing this, it is crucial to establish a relationship with a system integrator that understands your needs and offers the best solutions for your business.

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A New Age Approach to Traditional Manufacturing Issues

As the virtual world collides with real-world manufacturing issues, the winners will be those who successfully navigate the challenges of both the technology and the people who will operate it. That was the central theme of the 2018 Global Automation and Manufacturing Summit (GAMS), presented by CFE Media and Hannover Messe USA and sponsored by Siemens, SAP, Advantech, Beckhoff, Infor, Stratus, UL, Universal Robots, and Lapp.

The half-day thought leadership event that took place Sept. 12 as part of IMTS 2018 in Chicago drew a full house of manufacturing leaders looking to navigate the challenges faced in an age of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

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Improving Maintenance Reliability and Sustainability

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When looking at all that goes into a reliable process, one must be able to see maintenance is only a portion of the process. There are so many different inputs to not only the process, but also the assets themselves. Consider raw material variations, how the equipment is operated, quality specifications, and demand for the assets.

 

Maintenance is not the silver bullet to success. Success comes from the entire organization working together. However, in my experience, one of the things the team I was part of did to highlight this was to eliminate 90% of the maintenance-related issues. The result was moving from 58% original equipment efficiency (OEE) to 65% OEE. Upon deep diving the production loss data, numerous issues came to light:

 

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Best Practices for Compressor Storage

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Understanding best practices for compressor storage for a lubricated trim compressor with load/unload controls is critical for optimized performance.

Air receivers store compressed air and are used to temporarily satisfy fluctuations in plant air demand. There are other benefits of a wet receiver such as cooling  and cleaning the air before it enters the air treatment equipment. Storage benefits highlighted below apply to all compressor control types:
 
                                                           Figure 1
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