Manufacturing & Prototyping

Industrial Controls & Automation

Explore the key advances impacting industrial controls and automation. Access technical briefs and developments in the applications that are essential to automation integration and design.

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Application Briefs: Motion Control

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is home to one of the largest buildings in the world — the massive Vehicle Assembly Building — and also hosts a number of one-of-a-kind facilities. The...

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Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
AM is an especially good fit for products that require a high level of customization.
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Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
“Cobots” allow companies of almost any size to automate processes that were previously out of reach.
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Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Sensing technology will help to transform manufacturing floors into the connected factories of the future.
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Briefs: Aerospace
The technology can be used in commercial motors, robotic systems, and hybrid and electric vehicles.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The algorithm speeds up the planning process that robots use to adjust their grip on objects.
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Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Computed tomography is being used in the medical and industrial field. An expert explains how the two imaging techniques differ.
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Articles: Photonics/Optics
Machine vision systems shed light on processes too small or too fast to see with the human eye.
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Articles: Test & Measurement
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Contact lenses that can monitor the wearer’s health and correct eyesight use embedded electronics. These, and other curved devices such as solar cells and electronics, could be...

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Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
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Briefs: Imaging

Thermal cameras like forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensors are actively deployed on aerial and ground vehicles, in watch towers, and at check points for surveillance purposes. More recently,...

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Briefs: Materials
Smart Electronic Skin for Robots and Prosthetics

Humans use the sense of touch to accomplish almost every daily task such as picking up a cup of coffee or shaking someone’s hand. Without it, humans can even lose their sense of balance when walking. Similarly, robots need to have a sense of touch in order to interact better with humans but...

Products: Test & Measurement

Toposens, Sunnyvale, CA, released the TS3, a 3D ultrasonic sensor suitable for autonomous systems including robotics, autonomous vehicles, and other positioning applications that require reliable object detection and...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Between walking and running, human gaits can cover a wide range of speeds; for example, at low speeds, the metabolic rate of walking is lower than that of running in a slow jog....

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Briefs: Aerospace

A radically new kind of airplane wing, assembled from hundreds of tiny identical pieces, can change shape to control the plane’s flight, and could provide a significant boost in...

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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
While most cars today run on 12-volt DC batteries, cars in the future will run on 48 volts. This increased voltage could affect ball bearing performance.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

An automated system designs and 3D-prints complex robotic parts that are optimized according to an enormous number of specifications. The system fabricates actuators — devices that mechanically...

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INSIDER Product: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Diffraction-Limited Aspheric Lenses

Optical Surfaces Ltd. (Surrey, UK) is an international supplier of diffraction-limited aspheric lenses for nuclear research laser facilities. Over the last 40 years, Optical Surfaces...

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Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Micromachining Subsystem

SCANLAB GmbH (Puchheim, Germany) has introduced a new member of its precSYS product line. Five-axis precSYS subsystems enable industrial ultra-short-pulse (USP) laser micromachining of flexible,...

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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Each passing year, machine vision is finding its way into applications that were not commercially feasible — and in some cases, impossible.
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Articles: Propulsion
We interviewed an industry expert about the role of inductive position sensors in the IIoT.
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

In order to qualify miniature springs, manufacturers of these systems rely on commercially available testers that are designed for large-scale springs (>0.5" diameter). Commercially available spring...

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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Unlike water, liquid refrigerants and other fluids that have a low surface tension spread quickly into a sheet when they come into contact with a surface. For many industrial...

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Briefs: Test & Measurement

Accurately detecting, locating, and quantifying leaks of methane — the main component of natural gas and a major fuel source worldwide — is critically important for both environmental...

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Products: Communications
People-Counting Sensor

FLIR Systems, Inc. (Wilsonville, OR) announced the latest generation of the FLIR Brickstream 3D Gen 2 people-counting sensor. This new version includes a unique employee filtering feature designed to...

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Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
There is increasing demand in many high-end commercial and industrial markets for precision motion sensing for a diversity of applications.
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Articles: Communications

Programmable automation controllers (PACs) play the primary role in IIoT systems. Also referred to as machine controllers, PACs provide a centralized architecture; they act as the...

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Articles: Imaging

Along with the onslaught of Internet of Things (IoT) and wirelessly enabled devices, cloud connectivity has become a major benefit for a range of applications from commercial to military. As...

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Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

Videos