Winners of the 2020 LEAP Awards (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) were announced yesterday in a digital ceremony, with products across 12 categories. More than 100 entrants were received for the annual competition which celebrates the most innovative and forward-thinking products serving the design engineering space. This year’s winners were chosen by an independent judging […]
Industry News
Humphrey Products launches updated website
Humphrey Products is committed to providing cutting-edge products and services that not only solve pneumatic and liquid control challenges, but also improve efficiencies in product development and manufacturing processes. The company has been so focused on product R&D, in fact, that the website hadn’t been overhauled in more than a decade. That changed this summer […]
Festo’s auto industry predictive software named an AI champion
Festo has been named an artificial intelligence (AI) champion for the company’s project Intelligent Pneumatic Runtime Monitoring. The award was given during the inaugural Baden-Württemberg awards ceremony on August 11. Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s third largest state, is one of the country’s leading regions for AI development. Thousands of pneumatic clamping systems are used daily in […]
Vacuum plus vision system automates bin picking
Schmalz Inc. has developed a complete system for the complex task of automated parts handling. The Vision and Handling Set 3D-R is a complete solution that includes all accessories for efficient box- and bin-picking with lightweight robots and cobots, and is among the latest innovations from Schmalz, Raleigh, N.C. Compared to conventional handling devices on […]
Festo advances digital automation and AI in production
The growing pace of technological change, political disputes over trade relations and increasingly dismal prospects for the global economy are putting the manufacturing industry under pressure, according to officials at Festo, Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. The Corona pandemic is a particular challenge, and it clearly shows the importance of digital transformation and Industrie 4.0, they […]
New high-pressure proportional controls
The new Cordis HP500 from Cincinnati-based Clippard uses the company’s proven EV line of electronic valves to allow for steady, repeatable downstream pressure under static conditions. The result is precise, linear pressure control within a closed-loop system with high accuracy and repeatability. The Cordis HP500 uses a microcontroller, integrated pressure sensor, and two Clippard EV […]
Schmalz launches virtual trade show
In person trade shows and conferences are nonstarters at the moment. Thus, Schmalz Inc., Raleigh, N.C. is pursuing a different path to present its new products to a wide range of design engineers and trade professionals. SchmalzEXPO, a virtual vacuum-technology trade show, is underway without any need for masks and social distancing requirements. The J. […]
New online pneumatics product hub unveiled
RS Components has launched a new digital pneumatics product hub focused on a full range of pneumatic components critical to the operations, modernization and maintenance of factories and other industrial facilities. The site features a wide selection of pneumatic components and tools from leading brands such as Festo, SMC, IMI Nordgren, Legris, and RS Pro. […]
Pneumatic “batteries” a boost for renewable energy
The knock on renewable power generation is that it doesn’t reliably supply energy around the clock. Solar shuts down after dark and turbines don’t run when winds are calm. Currently, fossil-fuel power plants must serve as a back-up, which negates the benefits of “green” energy. Large-scale energy storage is another alternative, but lithium-ion batteries are […]
Mini factories in containers help reduce mask shortages
Decentralized systems from Mikron ensure supply in times of a pandemic. Festo is a key development partner. Disposable protective nasal-and-mouth masks are in short supply, but a manufacturing system from Swiss company Mikron could put masks within everyone’s reach. This scalable system produces 50-100 face masks per minute, depending on the version. With engineering support […]