Automation Articles for Manufacturers and Engineers

Redex Group’s Merobel WAT+ transducers combine accuracy and design flexibility for a host of industries, such as composites, wire and cable, and textiles, as well as packaging, labelling and finishing equipment.

Trouble-Free Web Tension Systems Count on Accurate Load Cells

Redex Merobel transducers help manage converting machinery performance

Precise web tension control is essential to achieving optimal converting performance across industries, including composites, wire and cable, textiles, packaging, labeling and finishing. Stable material flow, product quality and consistency, and machine efficiency depend on how well web tension is measured and regulated. Otherwise, issues like product deformation, web breaks and print misregistration can arise.

INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

Xela Robotics is one of numerous companies leaping into the new field of

What IS Physical AI, Anyway?

We’re more than a month after Automate, but one of the most striking details about the show was how far this new buzzword, “physical AI,” had spread. Try to track down what that actually means, and you’ll find that no two companies can give you the exact same explanation, and yet, everybody from software companies to component manufacturers seem to be selling it. Which really begs the question: What is physical AI?

Hadaf Foods production line. Plex will help Hadaf foods optimize manufacturing.

Optimizing Cheese Production

Rockwell Automation announced that Hadaf Foods Industries, supported by Precast FZCO, is adopting the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform to modernize its manufacturing operations and establish a connected operating model for long-term growth.

ROBOTICS

FCC Bans Foreign-Made Humanoid Robots and Inverters

The Federal Communications Commission updated its Covered List to include two new categories of devices—“advanced robotic devices” (defined as mobile robots, such as humanoids and quadrupeds) and, separately, connected power inverters produced in foreign countries.

Rise of the Robots, an installment in the EIT educational series, is all about humanoid robots and how they might evolve within industries.

Science Fiction May Not Be Fiction For Much Longer

Mouser Electronics, Inc., the authorized global distributor of electronic components and industrial automation products, announced the latest installment of its Empowering Innovation Together (EIT) technology series, Rise of the Robots, which explores key technologies behind humanoid robots and their potential for transformation. The series shares how these robots have progressed from simple machinery to critical tools used in caregiving, industrial automation, education, and even in the harshest environments.

MOTION CONTROL

Rubadue's KinetaFlex is designed for durability across a variety of motion-driven industrial environments.

Rubadue Creates Multi-Purpose High-Flex Wire

Rubadue Wire, a U.S.-based manufacturer of wire and cable solutions, has introduced a new product—KinetaFlex— a high-flex wire that provides repeated-flex durability, maintaining integrity across demanding motion-driven and dimensionally-constrained systems.

The Nano and Nano Plus module drives have been front and center at Copley Controls’ trade show offerings.

Copley Controls Spotlights Nano Module Drives, New Custom Motor-Drive Assemblies

While out on the trade show circuit, Copley Controls have been showing off their latest, a series of module drives tailor-made for robotic joints. They also have spent that time spreading the word: If you need a custom motor-drive assembly built to your exact specifications, they’re now open for business.

AI

The new DEEPX-powered Sixfab AI HAT+, designed to bring local Physical AI inference to the Raspberry Pi 5.

A Step Towards Physical AI for Everyone

DEEPX, an on-device AI semiconductor pioneer, announced that its ultra-low-power NPU technology is powering the Sixfab AI HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5, a new edge AI acceleration board developed by Sixfab, an edge AI hardware solutions company and Official Raspberry Pi Design Partner.

The Onshape Labs initiate gives participating customers a sneak peek at the new upgrades to the Onshape platform.

AI to Aid Engineers in Real Time

PTC announced the Onshape Labs initiative, a new early-access program within its Onshape cloud-native CAD and PDM platform that gives participating customers a first look at emerging functionalities, including new uses of AI, delivered directly inside the product development workflow. Broader availability is expected later this summer, when users will be able to opt in through the Onshape "Preferences" settings under "Onshape Labs."