Automation World January 2022

JANUARY 2022 / www.AutomationWorld.com

32 AI, MACHINE VISION, AND SMART INSTRUMENT SENSORS 24 41 08 14 108 106

Solving the Industrial Skills Gap John Deere and Audi Apply Intel’s AI Technology Five Causes of Poor Data Quality Applying Artificial Intelligence to Food Tray Production Demand-Driven Smart Manufacturing New Product Innovations

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CONTENTS 3 AW JANUARY 2022

JANUARY 2022 | VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 1

24

Solving the Industrial Skills Gap

32

Peer-to-Peer FAQ: AI, Machine Vision, and Smart Instrument Sensors

41

John Deere and Audi Apply Intel’s AI Technology

44 2201_TOC.indd 3

While the skills gap facing industry has been well publicized, overcoming the challenges it presents requires a targeted approach that considers the nuances of the problem.

Get up to speed with the basics of machine vision and smart instrument sensors, as well as how data from these sensors can be used by artificial intelligence to improve operations.

Artificial intelligence is changing how welding quality inspections are handled—from inspecting specifics such as porosity to providing alerts about faulty welds as they happen.

Leaders in Automation

Automation World’s Leadership in Automation program recognizes outstanding suppliers of industrial automation technologies.

1/17/22 10:18 AM

4 CONTENTS AW JANUARY 2022

EDITORIAL

ONLINE 6

Exclusive content from AutomationWorld.com: videos, podcasts, webinars, and more

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS 8 Five Causes of Poor Data Quality

BATCH OF IDEAS 10

Rockwell Plans to Bring the Connected Enterprise to Life in 2022

PRODUCTION POINTS 12

The Importance of Change Management to Digital Transformation

PERSPECTIVES 14

David Greenfield Director of Content/Editor-in-Chief dgreenfield@automationworld.com / 678 662 3322 Stephanie Neil Senior Editor sneil@automationworld.com / 781 378 1652 David Miller Senior Technical Writer dmiller@automationworld.com / 312 205 7910 Emma Satchell Managing Editor esatchell@automationworld.com / 312 205 7898 Jim Chrzan VP/Content and Brand Strategy jchrzan@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1470 Kim Overstreet Senior Content Strategist, Alignment koverstreet@pmmimediagroup.com James R. Koelsch, Lauren Paul, Jeanne Schweder and Beth Stackpole Contributing Writers

ART & PRODUCTION

Applying Artificial Intelligence to Food Tray Production How Time-Sensitive Networking Delivers Determinism

NEWS 18

UniversalAutomation.Org Founded to Facilitate Interoperable Automation No-Code, Voice Programming for Complex Robotic Applications PMMI News PACK EXPO East Brings Latest Packaging & Processing Solutions to the East Coast

NEW PRODUCTS 106

Asset Performance Management Software Micro-Sized Servo Drives

FINANCE VIEW 107

Rethinking Manufacturing Investments for a Learning Economy By Larry White

Filippo Riello Marketing & Digital Publishing Art Director friello@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1200 George Shurtleff Ad Services & Production Manager gshurtleff@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1170

ADVERTISING

Kurt Belisle Publisher kbelisle@pmmimediagroup.com / 815 549 1034 West Coast Jim Powers Regional Manager jpowers@automationworld.com / 312 925 7793 Midwest, Southwest, and East Coast Kelly Greeby Senior Director, Client Success & Media Operations Alicia Pettigrew Director, Product Strategy

AUDIENCE & DIGITAL

IT VIEW 108

David Newcorn Executive Vice President Elizabeth Kachoris Senior Director, Digital & Data Jen Krepelka Director, Websites + UX/UI

KEY INSIGHTS 110

PMMI MEDIA GROUP

Demand-Driven Smart Manufacturing By John Clemons

Kurt Belisle Publisher kbelisle@pmmimediagroup.com / 815 549 1034 Reed Simonsis Brand Operations Manager rsimonsis@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 205 7919 Sharon Taylor Director of Marketing staylor@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1710 Amber Miller Marketing Manager amiller@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1130 Janet Fabiano Financial Services Manager jfabiano@pmmimediagroup.com / 312 222 1010 x1330 All Automation World editorial is copyrighted by PMMI Media Group, Inc. including printed or electronic reproduction.

Magazine and Web site editorial may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Automation World | PMMI Media Group 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: 312 222 1010 | Fax: 312 222 1310 www.automationworld.com PMMI The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies 12930 Worldgate Dr., Suite 200, Herndon VA, 20170 Phone: 571 612 3200 • Fax: 703 243 8556 www.pmmi.org

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6 ONLINE

AW JANUARY 2022

PODCAST SERIES

How to Decide Whether to Use a PLC, a PAC, or an Industrial PC?

Learn about the key differences between programmable logic controllers, programmable automation controllers, and industrial PCs in this episode of the Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered podcast series.

AUTOMATION WORLD TV MQTT Security and Industrial Networking Trends

Insights into MQTT’s inherent and additional security configuration features and key trends impacting industrial networking technologies.

THE AUTOMATION PLAYBOOK The Automation Playbook is a useful source of information as you look for guidance in how to approach the Industrial Internet of Things, communication protocols, controls implementation, safety, asset management, predictive maintenance, the mobile workforce, and much more.

AUTOMATION WORLD E-BOOK

Automation World’s Most Popular Articles

Automation World’s editors rounded up our best-read articles featuring content discussing the digitization of discrete manufacturing, how Kellogg manages cybersecurity risks, integrating open-source software with industrial automation, and so much more.

SYSTEM INTEGRATOR BLOGS Three Ways Artificial Intelligence is Changing Food and Beverage Manufacturing Best Practices for Integrating Plant Floor Automation DC & AC Motors: Considering Your Options Choose a System Integrator to Help Navigate Your Digitization Flexible and Modular CIP and SIP Automation Enables Continuous Improvements

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8 EDITORIAL AW JANUARY 2022

INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS

Five Causes of Poor Data Quality

By David Greenfield

dgreenfield@automationworld.com Editor-In-Chief/ Director of Content

I

f networking devices are like the veins and arteries of Industry 4.0, data is surely its lifeblood. After all, data is intrinsic to every advanced manufacturing operation. Better decision-making and process improvements can’t be accomplished without operational data.

Given data’s intrinsic value to modern manufacturing and its future, the need for the data being aggregated and analyzed to be as clean and correct as possible is paramount.

But you can only assess the cleanliness of your data if you’re aware of the key factors that can comprise the integrity of your data.

Michael Simms, practice director for data and analytics at Columbus Global, a supplier of digital transformation applications and related services, says there are five causes of data quality degradation: • Human error. “People make mistakes, and when you are hand-keying data, errors are expected, such as missing details, typos, or putting the data in the wrong fields,” Simms says.

• Inconsistent data-entry standards. If your company doesn’t have standards around how data should be entered or captured, data quality will inevitably suffer. “I once worked with a company on data migration, and we began with mapping their data based on zip codes and states. After a few minutes of combing through the

2201_E1.indd 8

data, I saw an issue immediately: The data showed 253 states because there was no set way to input the state names. Each state appeared multiple times in multiple formats; for example, Nebraska, Nebr., and NE,” says Simms.

• Lack of authoritative data source. This is the single version of truth required by an authoritative data source. Simms says, “If there are problems with your data, but fixes aren’t happening at the source, the reporting won’t be reliable on the other end. For example, with the state data problem noted above, if the fix was made in the reporting, but no one went back and ensured that data was cleaned up at the source, the company would have continued to encounter that issue, muddying up any reporting. Proper data governance and set protocols to fix data issues need to be in place.”

• Poor data integration. It’s important to realize that data quality may vary dramatically across all the systems you are pulling data from. Simms points out that duplicate data are an important challenge to face as these duplicates will skew any analysis.

• Not keeping data up to date. “Data gets abandoned and forgotten,” says Simms.

“Make sure it doesn’t.” To mitigate this issue, Simms advises keeping data such as product names, vendor and employee information, as well as email addresses and other pertinent information up to date by ensuring there’s no duplicate, incorrect, or outdated information in these areas.

A critical step in ensuring the quality of your data is to make sure IT doesn’t own it.

You read that right—Simms advises against IT owning your company’s data.

“Your IT team might be resourceful, and they may do an excellent job of making sure

everything is running smoothly,” says Simms, “but they should not be the keepers of the data. Data should be managed by the people who are living it day in and day out, those who know what it means and the importance of having that information be reliable.”

To build a reliable foundation for decisionmaking in your company, Simms says to plan for quality data, including giving ownership to management and seeking a trusted partner for the data-quality improvement process.

Listen to our podcast on how to get a quick ROI from analytics software.

Read about understanding industrial analytics software.

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10 EDITORIAL AW JANUARY 2022

BATCH OF IDEAS

Rockwell Plans to Bring the Connected Enterprise to Life in 2022

By Stephanie Neil

sneil@automationworld.com Senior Editor

R

ockwell Automation has been on a buying streak as of late, acquiring companies that strengthen the automation supplier’s foothold in supply chain and cybersecurity offerings—with a lot of focus on the cloud.

I recently spoke with Rockwell CEO Blake Moret, who told me that the company has been prioritizing acquisitions based on a new strategic framework around information solutions and connected services. And the biggest move made to date is the acquisition of Plex Systems, a provider of a single-instance, multi-tenant software-as-a-service manufacturing platform that delivers MES software and supply chain management capabilities from the cloud.

Completed in September, Rockwell bought Plex for $2.2 billion in cash, folding the company into Rockwell’s Software and Control operating segment. That came on the heels of the purchase of Fiix Inc., a cloud-based artificial intelligence-enabled computer maintenance management system (CMMS). Together, the technologies these companies provide position Rockwell with a strong portfolio of cloud-native offerings for its manufacturing customers’ production systems.

“We’ve produced intelligent products on the factory floor where data is born, but landing that data into software apps that provide additional insight is important,” Moret says. “And the Plex smart manufacturing platform does just that. In addition, Fiix takes data from the plant floor and applies artificial intelligence (AI)

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to help with predictive maintenance.”

Moret added that the Fiix AI-enabled system connects teams, tools, data, and processes that could lead to the ability to make changes in a closed-loop autonomous control fashion.

And, when asked how these new tools could help manufacturers deal with supply chain disruptions that are currently causing major problems, Moret said that the Plex platform includes supply chain planning modules to gain better visibility into what materials and components are available for production to help inform a flexible manufacturing strategy.

“Bringing supply chain planning together with planning for what happens on the plant floor is an important new capability we have,” he said.

To that end, in November, Rockwell also acquired Avata, a services provider for supply chain management, ERP, and enterprise performance management. Avata has domain expertise in enterprise applications and is a consultant and systems integrator for Oracle cloud software applications.

By significantly improving end-to-end supply chain visibility and management, Avata, together with Kalypso, Rockwell’s industrial digital transformation services business, Moret says this will help further unlock the value of IT/OT convergence that Rockwell can deliver to customers.

Avata will be integrated into Kalypso, which is a part of Rockwell’s Lifecycle Services business.

And, of course, with all of this data moving around, there is a need for security.

In November, Rockwell announced new investments in its IT/OT cybersecurity offerings that includes partnerships with Dragos for its threat intelligence services, and CrowdStrike, a provider of a cloud-delivered endpoint and workload protection platform.

The Dragos partnership will focus on incident response services and threat intelligence to increase the speed with which customers can assess and remediate a cybersecurity threat by offering enhanced incident response services. Additionally, Rockwell and Dragos experts will offer a mutually devel-

oped threat intel feed.

Rockwell and CrowdStrike will deliver endto-end cybersecurity and network service to customers. The partnership will examine initiatives for CrowdStrike’s cloud-native, AI-powered Falcon platform with Rockwell’s global deployment, network architecture, support, OT, and managed services capabilities to deliver differentiated offerings that address customer cybersecurity pain points.

This is in addition to Rockwell’s 2020 cybersecurity acquisitions, including a company called Oylo, a cybersecurity services provider based in Barcelona that provides assessments, turnkey implementations, managed services, and incident response, and Avnet Data Security, an Israeli-based cybersecurity service provider.

This all ties into the opening of Rockwell’s Cybersecurity Operations Center in Israel.

The center, which opened in November, focuses on delivering remote cybersecurity services to global customers, adding to the company’s existing footprint of 15 remote service centers around the world.

Moret also told me that the company is expanding its focus in semiconductor production and automated warehousing for e-commerce applications. And, in 2022 all of the pieces will be integrated to address specific industry challenges. “The overall plan is to bring the connected enterprise to life in 2022,” he said.

Watch our video on Rockwell’s acquisitions and plans for 2022.

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12 EDITORIAL AW JANUARY 2022

PRODUCTION POINTS

The Importance of Change Management to Digital Transformation

By David Miller

dmiller@pmmimediagroup.com Senior Technical Writer

C

hange management—a process used to manage alterations to code that affects how equipment and processes are controlled, tracked, and archived—has long been a standard practice in software engineering. Despite its prevalence in IT, change management procedures and related software haven’t been as widely used in operations technology (OT).

As larger portions of automation spending are channeled into software in line with industry’s digital transformation, more attention is being paid to change management in the interest of maintaining the health of systems across OT and IT. Effective change management has several benefits for manufacturers. For example, in a complex, multi-vendor environment where many different stakeholders are involved in making alterations to an asset’s software, change management ensures that only quality code is implemented, and that IT and OT workflows remain synchronized.

Moreover, with cybersecurity risks on the rise, detecting unauthorized changes to code, and identifying who made them, when they were made, and what they entail has become imperative.

To help end users better manage change across their systems, Rockwell Automation has introduced FactoryTalk AssetCentre— a centralized tool for securing, managing,

2201_E3.indd 12

versioning, tracking, and reporting automation-related asset information across a facility with the goal of improving uptime, productivity, quality, and regulatory compliance. Recently, AssetCentre has been updated with a new “Archive Management of Change” module from asset management software provider LLumin. This module augments the functionality already provided by AssetCentre by adding workflow and digital signatures, which act as a means of tracking modification and change requests to code and other processes.

According to Rockwell Automation, AssetCentre is designed for customers in industries like life science, food and beverage, and energy who must contend with complex regulatory requirements that mandate frequent updates to engineering or design specifications to remain compliant with regulations.

In addition to the new Archive Management of Change module, AssetCentre can also help streamline production restarts.

For instance, consider a scenario in which a production line goes down due to the failure of a smart device. Even if the device is promptly replaced, if the maintenance technician is unable to locate the most recent configuration files, they may not be able to restore production to the desired state. If changes to the configuration of the device are tracked and backed up automatically when they occur, this type of bottleneck can be avoided.

“...Consider a scenario in which a production line goes down due to the failure of a smart device. Even if the device is promptly replaced, if the maintenance technician is unable to locate the most recent configuration files, they may not be able to restore production to the desired state.”

1/17/22 10:13 AM

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14 PERSPECTIVES AW JANUARY 2022

Applying Artificial Intelligence to Food Tray Production

By David Greenfield

Director of Content/Editor-in-Chief

S

ince 1958, apetito has been supplying frozen foods and ready-to-eat meals to schools, nurseries, businesses, hospitals, and retirement homes across Europe and Canada. Production of its meal trays involves placement of different food items into trays for shipping and delivery. Complaints from customers about missing food items from trays led the company to seek an automated approach to final product inspection.

In its initial attempt to correct this problem, apetito began weighing each tray as it came off the production line. However, this did not adequately address the problem because if one food item on the tray was a little heavier than usual, it could falsely account for what was missing. In addition, apetito wanted to address other assembly efficiencies, such as ensuring each lid on its dessert containers is properly crimped and secured.

Starting with Raspberry Pi

One of the first steps apetito took to automate visual inspections was to apply a Raspberry Pi-based system to monitor one production lane. Photos of good and unacceptable products informed models connected to an output signal in the control system that would push rejects off the line. Without needing a human to do this job, the company saved more than £15,000 in labor costs per year.

The problem with the Raspberry Pi system is that it required hundreds of pictures of its products that had to be uploaded to a USB drive and then transferred to a computer to train the system over the course of three to four hours. The resulting knowledge then had to be transferred back to the line.

Whenever apetito made changes to its meal production operations to maintain appropriate stock levels, new training processes were required for the Raspberry Pi system.

Though the Rasperry Pi system was not scalable or flexible enough for apetito’s needs, it helped the company realize how artificial intelligence (AI) could help save on costs

2201_Perspectives.indd 14

and more adequately detect production problems.

AI-based inspection

Neurala, a supplier of AI-based visual inspection technology, began working with apetito to detect cases of the five most reported missing components from meal trays using Neurala’s Vision Inspection Automation (VIA) software.

VIA consists of two software programs, Inspector and Brain Builder. Using these programs, apetito was able to build anomaly-detecting systems in 10-20 minutes and immediately begin testing.

With apetito’s earlier weight-based inspection system, the company could only flag an incomplete tray without understanding what was missing. With VIA’s ability to inspect multiple regions of interest on the trays, apetito can now see specifically which components are missing and identify trends in missing components to avoid their occurence in the future.

To data, Neurala and apetito have built 30 AI “brains” across apetito’s plant to detect various food components used in various food trays. For example, one “brain” developed to

identify missing Yorkshire pudding components achieved 100% accuracy at the end of testing, assuring apetito can detect their most frequent missing component without fail.

Kevin McDonagh, operations manager at apetito said, “Throughout this AI-building journey, we’ve spoken with other companies in similar situations and are yet to find anybody in the food industry that is leveraging AI like we are with Neurala. We’re very much breaking new ground together.”

Neurala’s Vision Inspection Automation (VIA) software helped apetito build anomaly-detecting “brains” in as little as 10 minutes. As a result, apetito can discover what is missing from unique meal trays and identify trends in missing components. Source: Neurala

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16 PERSPECTIVES AW JANUARY 2022

How Time-Sensitive Networking Delivers Determinism

By David Greenfield

Director of Content/Editor-in-Chief

A

s work on Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) for industrial applications is established in the IEC/IEEE 60802 standard and with TSN-capable products becoming increasingly available, it’s a good time to get up to speed with TSN-related terminology, associated devices, and their configuration.

Michael Zapke, industrial marketing lead at Xilinx (a supplier of programmable logic devices) for the company’s industrial, vision, healthcare & sciences operations, offers a list of the technical methods used in TSN. In his list below, the terms at the end of each bullet define the corresponding element in IEEE 802.1Q-2018. All of these methods are key to industrial automation use of TSN. Zapke’s list is as follows: Centralized configuration • Identifies traffic relations and bridges between them and calculates a schedule— Central Network Configuration • Defines the departure and arrival time— Central User Configuration Terminals/(end) stations • All points are synchronized, i.e., they work with the same time of day—Generalized Precision Time Protocol • The network is aware of which conveyance belongs to which service and has awareness of the valid timetable for departures—Stream Identification • Sequence of components so that their individual timetables are met—Queues Connections and bridges • Awareness of timetables—Gate Control List • The network can stop other traffic in an urgent case—Pre-emption and Interspersing Traffic • The network knows methods and algorithms to control unplanned peaks—Per Stream Filtering and Policing

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“The upcoming standard IEC/IEEE 60802 defines the profile for the selection of functions and their dimensioning for industrial applications,” says Zapke. “The term ‘TSN-IA’ has been introduced for this profile.”

For a time-aware network like TSN, Zapke notes that a common schedule is essential.

“The Central Network Configuration has information about traffic types and it can retrieve information” about all points on the network (topology discovery), he says. “Also, travel times between network elements are known. There is exactly one active Central Network Configuration per network.”

A continuous connection between the Central Network Configuration and the bridges exists and allows access to topology information and the download of updated configurations to the bridges.

Zapke explains the Central User Configuration communicates with each station on the network. In TSN, stations are nodes that send and receive units to the connections.

The Central User Configuration takes care to send the right service at the right time, which can include: traffic with strict deadline for arrival, cyclic traffic with latency bounds, AVB (audio video bridging) traffic with bandwidth requirements, control traffic with strict priority and reliability requirements, and best effort traffic that is sent when possible, but which may be discarded.

A microcontroller embedded in a station will have a prioritized service called Generalized Precision Time Protocol. “Two adjacent stations can achieve an accuracy of some 10 nanoseconds; between all stations in a network a few hundred nanoseconds should not be exceeded,” Zapke says.

“Because stations are both a source and a destination for traffic, it is their responsibility to label the transport units correctly,” he says.

“This label is a tag in the Ethernet Frame (Layer 2). Most common is the use of VLAN Priorities to identify the type of traffic. In newer proposals, more options for tagging streams

are also discussed so that any pattern in the Ethernet frame can be used. Beyond this, there are also methods to use the Layer 3 with IP Interception to determine the traffic type.”

Streams, queues, and bridges

The term used to assign characteristics to a frame is Stream Identification. “Every single frame must be scanned at every station for the tag to determine how to handle it at the egress point of the station,” says Zapke.

“Stations sort the Ethernet frames and send scheduled traffic exactly at the right time to meet the given schedule.”

Up to eight parallel queues at the exit point of a station can contain multiple Ethernet frames. Time-controlled gates let data leave the queue at the right time.

“This all must be done for every single egress packet and may result in high processing load for the station,” Zapke says. “The use of stream identification, queue management, and time-controlled gates are normally in dedicated logic to offload software and increase time accuracy. Such network elements use programmable logic in FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) or microcode programmable SoCs (systems on chip) to realize this function.”

Connections and bridges are the infrastructure used to connect stations. While the cabling between bridges is static, bridges actively handle the traffic distribution between multiple connections. Stream identification is required there as it is in stations. At every exit port, Ethernet frames must pass Time Controlled Gates that follow a Gate Control List (GCL). Intervals to control the gates are in the range of a few hundred microseconds to some milliseconds. Opening times for gates range from 50 µs to milliseconds.

“A gate that is open for an unnecessarily long time reduces the capacity of the network,” Zapke explains. “That is why bridges normally know exactly when a scheduled

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frame arrives. Open gates with high time accuracy are a hardware function in modern TSN-enabled SoCs, as well as some FPGAs.” Zapke says TSN introduces ‘Pre-emption and Interspersing Traffic’ to “reduce this loss of throughput. Traffic with lower priority can be cut into smaller fragments so that the guard band becomes very small.

This allows traffic with higher priority to be transported, even if a long frame with lower priority is already using the connection.”

All of this works well, Zapke says, as long as there is no overload with high priority traffic on the network. An overload could be the result of a crashed application that exceeds its traffic limits. Compensating for this is ‘Per Stream Filtering and Policing’, which can apply metrics and filter traffic according to policies. “This is a network security feature that keeps the network operational,” says Zapke.

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UniversalAutomation.Org Founded to Facilitate Interoperable Automation

By David Miller

Senior Technical Writer

T

he interoperability challenge of industry’s digtial transformation stems from years of reliance on proprietary technologies. Fortuntely, this vendor strategy is beginning to fade as suppliers realize it holds back innovation and frustrates end-users.

Another reason for the growing shift away from proprietary technology and toward multivendor interoperability is the increasing complexity of software applications. In response, developers are increasingly relying on large, online libraries of pre-existing code to help speed the implementation of new applications.

To facilitate an ecosystem of interoperable automation technology, several industrial companies including Schneider Electric, Advantech, Georgia-Pacific, Phoenix Contact, Shell, Yok-

ogawa, and ProSoft are joining together to form UniversalAutomation.org, an independent, notfor-profit association that will seek to drive the emergence of vendor-agnostic “plug-andproduce” software that is portable and capable of being run on almost any hardware device.

The group says this level of interoperability will be achieved using the shared reference implementation developed by the IEC 61499 standard, which uses event-driven function blocks to allow the distribution of applications across multiple devices and systems. The algorithms within these function blocks can be written in any programming language.

“Industrial operations are undergoing a total transformation,” said John Conway, president of UniversalAutomation.org. “As the IT sector has proven, advances in machine learning, augmented reality, real-time analytics, and the Internet of Things hold great promise for step change advancements in

performance, agility, and sustainability. However, within industry this promise is being held back by closed and proprietary automation platforms that restrict widespread adoption, hamper innovation, are challenging to integrate with third-party components, and are expensive to upgrade and maintain. Using a shared runtime changes all that.”

According to UniversalAutomation.org, this use of a shared runtime will allow software intelligence to be sent to individual devices to run applications at the edge. In the past, these applications would have required additional assets from a variety of suppliers using different interfaces to send information to higher-level IT systems for further processing. The ultimate goal is to enable an app store style environment in which flexible, turnkey applications can be easily disseminated to accelerate innovation.

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No-Code, Voice Programming for Complex Robotic Applications

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Senior Technical Writer

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s the use of sophisticated software applications has grown, attempts have increasingly been made to simplify the process of programming complex automation systems in the interest of lowering barriers to adoption. One approach has been to rely on large, online libraries of pre-existing code that can be pieced together into a functional application.

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methodologies such as Google's Blockly visual programming language that allow end users to design applications through intuitive programming metalanguages.

Automation provider Comau has recently adopted this latter approach with the release of its MI.RA/Dexter software. MI.RA/Dexter uses a programming metalanguage that is able to translate human syntax into robot syntax.

In other words, end users are able to program a robotic system by stringing together a series of simple commands, such as “look” at an object, “touch” a specific point in space, “listen” to voice recognition operations, and “reproduce” or “execute” specific actions. Through voice commands, MI.RA/Dexter can even adjust and correct actions in realtime. By eliminating the need to write code, the software can allow manufacturers to avoid the costs associated with dedicated robot programming.

According to Giovanni Di Stefano, innovation and process technologies leader at Comau, the fact that MI.RA/ Dexter was developed within an industrial automation company allowed developers to embed 50 years of system integration experience within the software.

The software's capabilities were recently demonstrated by quality control operators who used it to program a complex robotic workcell for the new Fiat 500 full-electric vehicle. A robotic system driven by MI.RA/Dexter was tasked with automating the testing and control process for the vehicle's infotainment systems, which required a robotic arm to enter the vehicle through the window and press small, individual buttons on a programmable touchscreen. This procedure, when carried out manually, is extremely repetitive and typically has a high margin of error.

The system at Fiat uses two separate robots: a large Comau NJ-220 robot outfitted with a touch-sensitive skin to allow it to slow its speed and force when it comes into contact with a human operator, and a smaller, more precise Racer5 cobot from Comau mounted on the NJ-220's wrist to engage in automated testing activities inside the vehicle. The NJ-220 can insert itself through the

doorway or window of the vehicle, with the Racer5 conducting more specific operations pertaining to the programming of the infotainment system. Because both the Racer5 and the NJ-220 are intrinsically safe, a worker can sit inside the vehicle

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PACK EXPO East Brings Latest Packaging & Processing Solutions to the East Coast

By Sean Riley

Senior Director, Media and Industry Communications, PMMI

W

ith 400 exhibitors at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, PACK EXPO East 2022 (March 21-23, Philadelphia) attendees get the best of both worlds—the ability to see a comprehensive range of packaging and processing technologies yet still have time for personal, productive discussions with suppliers.

The biennial event, produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, provides professionals from the consumer packaged goods’ (CPG) and life sciences’ rich Northeast corridor a convenient and rewarding opportunity to explore the latest packaging and processing technology in

person, connect with suppliers and find applicable solutions in a changing marketplace.

“Technology and machinery solutions have changed a lot in the two years since PACK EXPO East 2020,” said Laura Thompson, vice president, trade shows, PMMI. “Our return to Philadelphia is the ideal chance for busy professionals to bring entire project teams by car or train to see the latest solutions in person.”

Attendees and exhibitors alike will have access to some must-see highlights at this year’s show: • The Forum at PACK EXPO (Booth 1026) will feature free, interactive 45-minute open sessions on the latest industry trends by the OpX Leadership Network, Institute of Packaging Professionals, Contract Packagers Association, and PMMI Business Intelligence, followed by small group discussions and Q&A sessions.

• In the center of the action, the free, 30-minute seminars on the Innovation Stage (Booth 2226) offer ample opportunity for attendees to learn about breakthrough technologies, innovative applications and proven approaches from the experts themselves.

• Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network (PPWLN) Reception: The

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Packaging & Processing Women’s Leadership Network serves to recruit, retain and advance women in packaging and processing. PPWLN invites all interested industry professionals to a networking reception on Tuesday, March 22, starting at 3:00 p.m. after the show floor closes, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

• Young Professionals Reception: Hosted

by PMMI's Emerging Leaders Network, young professionals in packaging and processing can learn more about the industry and how to get involved with the Emerging Leaders Network at this free reception on Monday, March 21, 5:00 -7:30 p.m.

• The Workforce Development Pavilion is the one-stop shop for resources to strengthen your current workforce and grow the existing workforce. Learn about PMMI U offerings, including popular training workshops. PMMI Partner Schools will present mechatronics, packaging, and processing offerings, and attendees and exhibitors can meet students interested in careers in the

industry. The Future Innovators Robotics Showcase (Booth 625) features design, engineering and troubleshooting skills from high school robotics teams in the Philadelphia area.

• Association Partner Pavilion: This pavilion houses leading associations dedicated to advancing the packaging and processing industry, offering significant resources, insights and expertise all in one central location. Participating associations already confirmed include the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA), Institute of Packaging Professionals, the Contract Packaging Association, Flexible Packaging Association, OMAC (Organization for Machine Automation & Control), and the Foundation For Supply Chain Solutions, with many more to come.

• Once the show floor closes on day one, gather with peers at the PACK EXPO East Welcome Reception on Monday, March 21, for some refreshments and hors d'oeuvres to wind down the day.

After a highly successful PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2021 led the way in bringing the industry together again, PMMI has proven its top priority remains reuniting the industry with health and safety in mind. PMMI will continue to monitor any updates from our partners at the Pennsylvania Convention Center as well as federal, state, and local directives to implement the PACK Ready health and safety plan. Visit packexpoeast.com/packready for the most updated information.

Just a drive or train trip away for most of the east coast, no other event will offer such a wide range of state-of-the-art packaging and processing solutions as PACK EXPO East. For more information and to register, visit packexpoeast.com. To learn about the PACK Ready Health and Safety plan, visit packexpoeast.com/packready.

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Solving the Industrial Skills Gap While the skills gap facing industry has been well publicized, overcoming the challenges it presents requires a targeted approach that considers the nuances of the problem.

By David Miller, Senior Technical Writer Public-private partnership models are becoming increasingly popular for vocational and technical training due to the mutual benefits they confer.

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t’s no secret that the manufacturing and processing industries continue to face a growing skills gap. Deloitte predicts that 4.6 million manufacturing jobs will be created over the next decade and as many as 2.4 million of those positions are likely to remain unfilled. This challenge is exacerbated by the rapid pace of technological change.

The abundance of open jobs in the manufacturing industries is not merely due to a lack of labor in the quantitative sense. New workers, even when available, are increasingly required to possess a set of abilities that differ from those needed in the past. Previously, skilled manufacturing employees would have needed knowledge of application or machine-specific processes. Today, the qualifications have become much more complex.

“Once upon a time, workers had tribal knowledge. They knew individual machines, programmable logic controller (PLC) design and programming, sensors, wiring, and so on. It was a very specific skillset that centered around particular elements of a process or machine,” says Ben Orchard, senior application engineer at Opto 22. “Think about a bottling plant. It’s very high speed, and if something goes wrong, there’s a lot of breakage and a lot of downtime. As a result, everything is done to keep that machine or process running. A worker’s skills would be very fine-tuned around that exact aspect of production.”

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Moreover, these machines and processes ran predominantly on proprietary systems.

When data was extracted, it was rudimentary in nature and only historicized for display on localized human machine interfaces (HMIs) that provided operations and maintenance personnel with insights into that machine or line. By contrast, data is now widely extracted from an array of assets and must be formatted in such a way that it can be sent to higherlevel—sometimes external—systems and integrated with other data sets effectively.

“Customers now want all of their data brought in… [which] presents challenges to the way we used to do things,” says Travis Cox, co-director of sales engineering at Inductive Automation. “The protocols and architecture have completely changed these days from what they used to be. We now have to leverage many new technologies from the IT space, such as MQTT (message queueing telemetry transport), SQL databases, and APIs (application programming interfaces).

We need a more comprehensive skillset than in the past. Workers have to be able to not

To bridge the IT/OT divide, OT personnel will need to become more familiar with IT methodologies, and IT personnel will need to spend more time familiarizing themselves with the nuts and bolts of OT.

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integrat

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only build the operational piece of a system, but also figure out how that integrates with everything else.”

IT skillsets

Most of the advanced skills required for digital transformation pertain to IT. Because of this, more workers entering the manufacturing industries will be required to hold four-year university degrees in topics such as mathematics or computer science. Fortunately, there is no shortage of available college graduates with these degrees.

However, it is difficult to find candidates among them who want to apply their skills in the manufacturing industries.

The reasons for this are two-fold. On one hand, a general lack of enthusiasm for manufacturing among young people makes it less likely that it is their first choice for a career. In addition, applying data analytics, programming, and software skills in a real-time manufacturing environment can be significantly different than doing so in other fields, even if the core methodologies being used are the same.

“The comparison I often like to use to make the point is that YouTube buffers. If someone is watching a video, the network can go down for a couple of seconds and the video doesn’t stop.

Those couple of seconds of network outage on a manufacturing process can result in collisions, things breaking, or an entire factory stopping,” Orchard says. “Without practical knowledge of the equipment, IT guys don’t understand that there is a significant difference between starting a pump now and starting that same pump 10 seconds later.”

Furthermore, it may be difficult for data analysts and programmers to determine which pieces of data produced by machines are relevant if they do not understand the operations of individual processes and pieces of equipment. While university courses can teach students how to input data into an SQL database, it cannot teach them which data to select. At the end of the day, only specific, hands-on experience can really suffice to properly educate employees.

“Having hands-on experiences, being in the environment, learning the lingo, and understanding how people solve problems within a given field is simply something that can’t be taught in a classroom,” says Terry Orchard, a recent college graduate who now holds the role of technical marketing specialist at Opto 22.

OT skillsets

Given these realities, more and more industrial companies are realizing they need to pursue operations technology (OT) training and education initiatives with the same fervor as they pursue those for IT. OT knowledge needs to be maintained not only to assist IT staff in more effectively making use of data, but also to make sure fundamental, day-to-day operations such as maintenance can continue being carried out on legacy assets. This is particularly important for companies engaging in incremental automation updates rather than a wholesale replacement of assets, since they will need to service a mixture of old and new equipment.

According to Cox, the looming OT skills gap is actually a more severe issue than the IT skills gap in many ways, as there is a genuine lack of applicants, and less attention is being paid to the problem.

With many baby boomers nearing retirement, it could result in substantial business disruptions in the future.

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“A lot of the people who really understand the OT side of the fence are retiring. If companies don’t address that now, they could have a real problem trying to do so later. The new folks that are coming in, while they might understand IT and newer technologies, are still going to need to design solutions that work for the operations folks, and we’re still going to have to be able to keep that OT equipment running,” Cox says. “Companies that are investing in new technologies also need a plan to get the old stuff into a newer framework. Otherwise, they’re going to have a huge gap later on where, if something breaks, they’re not going to be able to fix it. If these companies don’t pay attention now, they’re going to get to a place where they have a lot of downtime and have to spend a lot of money.”

needs to be done to prepare them to apply their skillsets to a manufacturing environment. On the OT front, there is the overall lack of available talent that Cox mentioned, on top of the difficulty involved in capturing legacy knowledge as older workers retire.

To fix the IT skills gap in manufacturing,

more internships and apprenticeship-style learning need to be promoted as a compliment to classroom education. According to Ben and Terry Orchard, this will require cultural changes, as well as an institutional shift, since many current college students studying IT-related fields do not see manufacturing as

Increasingly, familiarity with IT methodologies is becoming vital for those seeking careers in manufacturing.

Pathways forward

While much of digital transformation is ultimately about bridging the IT/OT divide, there are still distinctive training issues to be solved in each space. Regarding IT, there are plentiful college graduates available, but more

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their ideal career path.

Students should also be encouraged to pursue independent learning and side projects that position them to work manufacturing industry sectors. With the growth of opensource communities and online platforms such as Github, it has become common for

students pursuing IT-related careers to bolster their resumes with extracurricular work of this nature. Because the skills required to work in manufacturing vary depending on the specific industry sector one seeks to enter, this aspect of industry could be marketed to students by manufacturers as a means of pro-

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viding students with a competitive advantage in the job market.

Bridging the OT skills gap will require a slightly different approach. According to Amanda Beaton, program manager for U.S. Cooperates with Education, an outreach program created by Siemens, more vocational education programs must be created from the ground up. To do this, Beaton recommends public-private partnerships, in which local and state governments provide grant funding and private corporations donate equipment for students to train on. Developing training programs this way ensures that the financial burden is well-distributed among all stakeholders, and that students come away with hands-on knowledge of the equipment they will be working on in the field. In fact, Beaton says she’s never seen a vocational education program succeed that wasn’t developed with input from the academic institution, government, and the private sector in tandem.

Most importantly, because the lack of available talent is more severe in the OT domain, companies must begin by generating more enthusiasm, not only at the post-secondary, but also at the primary and secondary levels.

“You’re almost hitting it too late once you go to the post-secondary or college level. The first thing is instilling excitement and inciting interest for middle and high school students for these middle skill careers and skilled trades,” Beaton says. “As a country, the U.S. placed so much value on four-year degrees that we’ve created a significant skills gap. We have to not only instill excitement in students about these careers, but also [involve] the parents who may not envision their children going into a skilled trade. There’s a lot of work to be done on this perception issue.”

Scan the QR code to watch our video on how remote access can help navigate the skills gap.

Learn how we solve the toughest automation challenges at aerotech.com 2201_F1.indd 30

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32 PEER-TO-PEER FAQ AW JANUARY 2022

Peer-to-Peer FAQ: AI, Machine Vision, and Smart Instrument Sensors Get up to speed with the basics of machine vision and smart instrument sensors, as well as how data from these sensors can be used by artificial intelligence to improve operations.

By David Greenfield, Director of Content, and David Miller, Senior Technical Writer

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elcome to the first installment in a new series of content from Automation World. This Peer-to-Peer FAQ series will focus on explaining the most common and trending technologies in the world of industrial automation.

This first installment focuses on sensors.

Because industrial sensors are so numerous, we are focusing on machine vision sensors, smart instrument sensors, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to industrial sensor data.

Each installment in this Peer-to-Peer FAQ series will highlight succinct yet detailed explanations of each technology, followed by insights from end users and integrators about their selection, implementation, and use.

Machine vision sensors

Machine vision refers to a combination of imaging, processing, and communication components integrated into a system for inspecting and analyzing objects. Required components of the image-capture system include lighting to illuminate objects, a camera for capturing images, and a CMOS-compatible vision sensor, which converts light captured through the camera lens into an electrical signal that can be processed as digital image output. Once an image has been digitized, it is sent to an industrial computer or other image-processing device equipped with software capable of using various algorithms and other methods to identify patterns in the objects being viewed.

Once a machine vision system is in place, an object sensor is used to detect when a part or component is present. From there, the sensor triggers the light source and camera, which captures an image of the object. The vision sensor then translates the image taken by the camera into a digital output. Finally, the digital file is saved on a computer so that it can be analyzed by the system’s software, which compares the file against a set of predetermined criteria to identify some property of the object, such as what type of product it is, or if it has any defects.

Various types of vision sensors can be used depending upon the machine vision application. These include: • Contour sensors. By inspecting the shape and contour of a passing item in comparison to other items on an assembly line, these sensors can be used to verify the structure, orientation, position, or completeness of an object. Often, contour sensors are used for tasks such as

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verifying the proper alignment of parts.

• Pixel counter sensors. Used to measure objects by counting the individual pixels of identical gray-scale values within an image, pixel counter sensors are able to determine the shape, size, and shade of items. Possible applications include identifying missing threads in metal parts, verifying the correct shape of injection molded products, and counting the number of holes within a rotor.

• Code readers. These sensors recognize barcodes and other 2D codes for reading product packaging labels and sorting products by serial number for inventory management purposes.

• 3D sensors. Unlike other vision sensors, 3D sensors are capable of analyzing the surface of an object and its depth. For instance, a 3D sensor can determine if a crate has a full quota of bottles within it or if the proper number of items has been stored on a pallet.

Integrator recommendations

Integrators responding to an Automation World survey for this FAQ installment listed the following errors as the most common ones they see with machine vision implementations:

• Incorrect mounting of the camera/ sensor for the given setup; • Not compensating or correcting for moisture on the lens; • Improper center distance from the sensor; • Lack of precision in 3D point selection; and • Lack of lighting compensation for proper detection for metallic or shiny objects.

As part of Automation World’s research on this subject, we asked system integrators to share their top recommendations for the selection and implementation of machine vision. When it comes to the selection process, eight key aspects were clear: 1. Evaluate the sensor type used in the camera—CMOS or CCD. CMOS tends to be preferred over CCD because of its flexibility and greater range of options.

2. Determine the need for color. If color is not necessary to the machine vision application, go with a monochrome version or mode.

3. Consider the machine vision system’s compatibility with existing systems and other installed technologies with which the machine vision system will operate.

4. Evaluate the choice of PC-based or embedded vision options. Embedded vision systems are often easier to inte-

For what application(s) are you currently using our planning to use machine vision?

Quality inspections 40% Detection/Counting Measurement Traceability Other

23%

17%

11% 9%

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grate into existing systems, as they tend to be smaller. Because embedded vision systems tend to be housed in one device, they have few moving parts and require less maintenance.

5. Don’t overlook granular details such as sensing distance and accuracy. Such factors can have dramatic impacts on the applications for which the machine vision technology is initially installed and its adaptability to process changes.

6. Ensure Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connectivity. This includes available Ethernet ports as well as applicability of various industrial communications protocols.

7. Environmental operating conditions.

Verify that the machine vision systems you’re investigating are guaranteed to function in your operating environment.

8. Reference the VDI/VDE/VDMA 2632-2 standard for machine vision applications. This standard provides a guideline for machine vision technology suppliers and users related to setting up a machine vision system for specific tasks.

End-user recommendations

Compared with machine vision selection recommendations from integrators—which tend to focus on core feature/functionality aspects, reader recommendations spotlight application tips and advice. Most commonly, readers focused on ease of use and solid tech support from the vendor. These two factors were cited most often, as vision system accuracy and correct configuration are critical to

When do you expect to purchase and begin using machine vision?

Within 12 months 30% 1-2 years 50% 3-5 years 20% successful application of the technology.

Beyond these recommendations, 13 other pieces of application advice were recommended: 1. Be very clear about the current process requirements, as they help narrow down what to expect from the vision system.

2. Develop an in-house vision team to help in the selection and programming of the vision system(s). Similarly, other respondents recommended having a clear internal owner who’s in charge of support and changes before going into production with the vision system.

3. Realize the bigger picture—with vision systems you can go beyond rejecting defective parts. The data you collect about defects gives you the opportunity to identify and fix performance issues

When did you purchase the machine vision systems you currently use?

Within the last year 31% 2-3 years 4-5 years 8% More than 5 years ago

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19%

on your production line.

4. The production process should allow ample time for inspection by the vision system best suited to your application.

5. Make sure the camera mounting does not interfere with operator interaction with the machine, such as removing failed parts, fixing jams, or performing maintenance.

6. Look for a machine vision system with an intuitive and easy to understand operator interface.

7. Make sure the vision system works with your room lighting and be prepared to add lighting as needed.

8. Find a good vision system integrator— successful setup of machine vision often requires a good integrator.

9. The vision system should have data trending capabilities and be able to provide real time data to the process equipment to allow for making changes on-the-fly.

10. Record and store pass/fail data for continuous improvement.

11. Spend the money for the best but be mindful that price doesn't necessarily equal value. One respondent noted: “Shiny metal pieces can be difficult to detect” regardless of which system you choose.

12. Explore machine vision start-ups to access the latest capabilities. “This space is evolving quickly with lower costs alternatives,” noted one respondent.

13. Take the time to do a proof of concept with two to three vendors to compare results and drive competition among suppliers.

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Smart instruments sensors

Smart instruments are typically defined as instruments that have been imbued with measurement and diagnostic capabilities beyond their primary function. For instance, a device such as a Coriolis flow meter would qualify as a smart instrument because it is capable of measuring mass, volume, and density simultaneously. To do this, smart instruments rely on intelligent sensors capable of interfacing with onboard microprocessors. In addition to the sensor, a transmitter gives the instrument the ability to communicate data over a network.

Ultimately, the intelligent sensors that drive smart instruments record the same process variables such as level,

temperature, pressure, and proximity as analog base sensors. However, a base sensor is calibrated to send a voltage signal directly corresponding to one of these process values to an external control system which then interprets and acts on the information. By contrast, an intelligent sensor uses its own onboard microprocessor to convert the data into a usable, digital format before any communication to external devices occurs.

In other words, whereas a base sensor’s output is raw and must be converted into a usable format by an external device, an intelligent sensor produces output that is readyto-use. Similarly, because the intelligent sensor does not need to pass analog voltage signals to an external control

Where is AI applied to sensor data?

Controllers 53% Drives

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MES (manufacturing execution system) or other manufacturing IT system 27% Edge device 13% Cloud (e.g. AWS, Azure, Google) 7% Other 7%

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system, it can process, record, and transmit multiple variables simultaneously.

Moreover, because smart instruments can process data natively, they can also bypass lower-level control systems to transmit information directly over the internet or a private digital network, saving space, power, and computational resources. This also allows operators to access maintenance, calibration, and commissioning data via mobile devices such as phones or tablets, rather than having to visit fixed workstations.

Finally, smart instruments are capable of engaging in self-diagnostics and can report potential calibration issues to operators before they occur. By assessing their own outputs against traceable and wellestablished calibration standards, smart instruments can self-confirm the quality of the data they produce. Like their ability to record and transmit multiple process variables simultaneously, this would not be possible without intelligent sensors

capable of interfacing with an embedded microprocessor.

Usage recommendations

While smart instruments may be “smart” in terms of the additional insights they can provide about the processes they’re monitoring, they still need handholding when it comes to successful implementation and use.

Integrators responding to our survey noted the following as their top seven pieces of advice when it comes to selecting smart instruments with advanced sensing technology: • Be sure to review the manufacturer's specifications to ensure the instrument can deliver the results you’re seeking.

• Verify the instrument’s accuracy and repeatability.

• Carefully review climatic conditions requirements.

• Make sure the instrument has the communication options you seek now and, potentially, in the future; i.e., open com-

In what technologies have you applied artificial intelligence to sensor data for customers?

Controllers 50% MES (manufacturing execution system) or other manufacturing IT system 33% Edge device 33% Cloud (e.g. AWS, Azure, Google) 33% Drives 17% Other 17% None of these 17%

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munication options are often preferred.

• Ensure that the instruments are compatible with existing systems in your facility.

• Choose an integrator with proven experience working with the sensors and instruments you select.

• Expect to spend more money than planned when bringing your first smart instrument systems into use.

Application of AI to sensor data

Artificial intelligence can play a substantial role in making use of the data collected by sensors. For example, in machine vision, where the images captured cannot be analyzed without a software algorithm, this process often entails the use of fixed rules determined by a human programmer and do not qualify as AI-driven. In these cases, data is extracted from object images in the form of various criteria, such as measurement or object type, and then compared against preestablished target values to make a decision pertaining to the object.

In contrast, AI-driven machine vision quality inspection relies on deep learning technology, which employs a deep neural net (DNN) inspired by real biological processes to ingest and process large amounts of visual data. Through the use of a DNN, a machine vision system can autonomously create rules that determine the combination of properties that differentiate quality products from those with defects. This not only allows the system to learn how to detect more subtle and qualitative imperfections, but it may also improve the flexibility of quality inspections systems by allowing reconfiguration to proceed autonomically. In essence, an AI-driven machine learning system could generate its own set of rules for determining whether a new product should pass or fail inspection merely by viewing a set of images of both good quality and defective items.

Robotic pick-and-place operations on a production line can similarly benefit from AI-driven machine vision. Often, robots performing these operations are trained using teach pendants or hand-guiding procedures that require operators to manually guide the robot arms through each step in a standardized operation. If a work-cell configuration or the items to be handled change, the robots must be manually reprogrammed.

However, when an AI-driven machine vision system is used for guidance instead, robots

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can automatically calibrate themselves. This functionality is particularly useful in environments with rapid changeovers or a highmix of different products, which mandate frequent reconfiguration.

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AI application trends

Among the more interesting insights derived from our research for this article are the differences in the types of devices or systems using AI on sensor data cited by end users and integrators. For integrators,

the top three AI-enabled systems being applied to sensor data are: controllers (50%), manufacturing execution systems (33%), and edge devices and cloud applications (tied at 33% each). For end users, the top three AI-enabled technologies are controllers (53%), drives (33%), and manufacturing execution systems (27%).

End users noted the following specific types of applications in which they are using AI: • Component and product inspection; • Overall asset health; • Part and product positions on conveyors; • Quality inspections; and • Torque, temperature, and vibration analyses.

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Looking beyond general applications of AI to sensor data, integrators also had several tips about specific application types that can be especially useful. These tips include: • Choose AI technologies that can be applied to multiple processes.

• Start small with a couple of your most critical/valuable assets; don't try to boil the ocean.

• Leverage existing data with AI before adding more sensors, as you may already have enough data to make a positive impact.

• Take advantage of new cloud-based AI/ML (machine learning) services that can simplify and/or accelerate model development and deployment.

• Explore AI technology startups focused on industrial data.

• Seek out technologies that provide for flexibility in changing AI algorithms; this can be particularly useful in applications requiring micron-level accuracy.

• Be generous with your database sizes.

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Most importantly, integrators advised manufacturers to “get started ASAP” in applying AI to sensor data. With more than a quarter of the market already using it, those who lag in AI adoption could find themselves at a significant disadvantage from an operational uptime viewpoint as well as in longer-term strategic decisionmaking capabilities.

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John Deere Hybrid 944K Wheel Loader distributing aggregate in Georgetown, Texas.

John Deere and Audi Apply Intel’s AI Technology

By David Greenfield, Director of Content/Editor-in-Chief

W

hile many early applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing focused on data analytics and identifying product and component defects with machine vision, use of the technology is already expanding beyond such applications in the real world. Two good examples of this can be seen at John Deere and Audi, where Intel’s AI technology is being used to improve welding processes.

Explaining how Intel got involved in addressing industrial welding applications, Christine Boles, vice president of the Internet of Things Group and general manager of the Industrial Solutions Division at Intel, said, “Intel and Deere first connected at an industry conference to discuss some of the ways

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technology could be used to solve manufacturing challenges. Arc welding defect detection came up as an industry-wide challenge that Intel decided to take on.”

She added that, as with Deere, Intel met with Audi at a conference years ago and “the first project we worked on was spot welding quality detection in Audi’s Neckarsulm plant.” Boles added that this initial project with Audi has since expanded into other areas of collaboration around edge analytics and machine learning.

Deere’s weld porosity application

Identifying defects in welds is a common quality control process in manufacturing.

To make these inspections more accurate, John Deere is applying computer vision, coupled with Intel’s AI technology, to automatically spot common defects in the automated welding process used in its manufacturing facilities.

Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is used at Deere’s 52 factories around the world to weld mild- to high-strength steel to create machines and products. Across these factories, hundreds of robotic arms consume millions of pounds of weld wire annually.

The specific welding issue Deere is looking to address with Intel’s AI technology is porosity—cavities in the weld metal caused by trapped gas bubbles as the weld cools. These cavities weaken the weld strength.

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It’s critical to find porosity defects early in the manufacturing process because, if these flaws are found later, re-work or even scrapping of full assemblies is often required.

Intel and Deere worked collaboratively to develop an integrated, end-to-end system of hardware and software that could generate insights in real-time at the edge. Using a neural network-based inference engine, the system logs defects in real-time and automatically stops the welding process when defects are found to correct the issue in real time.

Combining an industrial grade ADLink Machine Vision Platform and a MeltTools welding camera, the edge system at Deere is powered by Intel Core i7 processors and uses Intel Movidius VPUs (vision processing units) and the Intel Distribution of OpenVINO toolkit.

“Deere is leveraging AI and machine vision to solve a common challenge with robotic welding,” said Boles. “By leveraging Intel technology and smart infrastructure in their factories, Deere is positioning themselves to capitalize not only on this welding solution,

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but potentially others that emerge as part of their broader Industry 4.0 transformation.”

Audi’s weld quality application

At Audi, automated welding applications range from spot welding to riveting. The widespread automation in Audi factories is part of the company’s goal of creating Industry 4.0-level smart factories.

A key aspect of this goal involves Audi’s recognition that creating customized hardware and software to handle individual use cases is not preferrable. Instead, the company focuses on developing scalable and flexible platforms that allow them to more broadly apply advanced digital capabilities such as data analytics, machine learning, and edge computing.

With that perspective in mind, Audi worked with Intel and Nebbiolo Technologies (a supplier of fog/edge computing technologies) on a proof-of-concept project to improve quality control for the welds on vehicles produced at its Neckarsulm, Germany, assembly

plant. Approximately 1,000 vehicles are produced every day of production at the Neckarsulm factory, with an average of 5,000 welds in each car. That translates to more than 5 million welds each day.

Nine hundred of the 2,500 autonomous robots on its production line at this facility carry welding guns to do spot welds that hold pieces of metal together. To ensure the quality of its welds, Audi performs manual quality control inspections. Because it’s impossible to manually inspect 1,000 cars every day, Audi uses the industry’s standard sampling method.

To do this, “Audi pulls one car off the line each day and 18 engineers with clipboards use ultrasound probes to test the welding spots and record the quality of every spot,” says Rita Wouhaybi, principal engineer for the Internet of Things Group in the Industrial Solutions Division at Intel and lead architect for Intel’s Industrial Edge Insights software.

To cost effectively test the welds on the other 999 vehicles produced each day, Audi worked with Intel to create algorithms using

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Intel’s Industrial Edge Insights software and the Nebbiolo edge platform for streaming analytics. The machine-learning algorithm developed by Intel’s data scientists for this application was trained for accuracy by comparing the predictions it generated to actual inspection data provided by Audi.

The machine learning model uses data generated by the welding controllers, rather than the robot controllers, so that electric voltage and current curves during the welding operation can be tracked. Other weld data used includes configuration of the welds, the types of metal, and the health of the electrodes.

A dashboard lets Audi employees visualize the data, and the system alerts technicians whenever it detects a faulty weld or a potential change in the configuration that could minimize or eliminate the faults altogether.

“Inline inspection of 5,000 welds per car and inferring the results of each weld within 18 msec highlights the scale and real-time analytics response Nebbiolo’s edge platform brings to manufacturing,” says Pankaj Bhagra, software architect at Nebbiolo. “Our software stack provides the centralized management for distributed edge computing clusters, data ingestion from heterogeneous sources, data cleansing, secure data management and onboarding of AI/ML models, which allowed Audi and Intel data science teams to continuously iterate the machine learning models until they achieved the desired level of accuracy.”

According to Intel, the result is a scalable, flexible platform that Audi can use to improve quality control for spot welding and as the foundation for other use cases involving robots and controllers such as riveting, gluing, and painting.

“Intel was the project leader,” said Mathias Mayer of the Data Driven Production Tech Hub at the Audi Neckarsulm site. “They have production experience as well as knowing how to set up a system that does statistical process control. This is completely new to us.

Intel taught us how to understand the data, how to use the algorithms to analyze data at the edge, and how we can work with data in the future to improve our operations on the factory floor.”

Henning Löser, senior manager of the Audi Production Lab, agrees: “This solution is like a blueprint for future solutions. We have a lot of technologies in the factory, and this

solution is a model we can use to create quality-inspection solutions for those other technologies so that we don’t have to rely on manual inspections.”

Moving from manual inspections to an automated, data-driven process has allowed

Audi to increase the scope and accuracy of its quality-control processes, said Löser. Other benefits include a 30% to 50% reduction in labor costs at the Neckarsulm factory.

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presents

LEADERS IN AUTOMATION

2022

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earning about the many innovative companies that supply industrial automation technologies—from core components such as sensors, controllers, and actuators to operations and design software and robotics—is an important part of the purchasing decision-making process.

With so many advances being made in the world of automation, especially as they relate to openness, interoperability, and data aggregation and analysis, keeping up with the technologies industry will need to create the future of manufacturing and processing is more important than ever.

The pages that follow offer profiles of leading suppliers that have elected to participate in this program. While not a comprehensive list of all automation technology suppliers, they represent a diverse range of companies capable of servicing every size industrial company.

In addition to the information listed in this issue, you can find a prominent Leaders in Automation area on our homepage at www.automationworld.com with listings of more than 50 participating companies by product category. As you click on any category, the participating suppliers will appear, and you can link to their special online profile page, complete with additional company information, videos, and content.

We have also added YouTube video capability on several suppliers’ listings (see the camera icon). Links to each supplier’s website are also provided to make it easier to connect.

Our annual Leaders in Automation program also helps build tomorrow’s industry leaders. Each participating supplier in our Leaders program is a named automation education supporter of the David A. Harvey Memorial Scholarship from Automation World and the PMMI Foundation. This scholarship is for students pursuing degrees that will prepare them for a career in industry using automation technologies. This scholarship has been awarded to students at: Purdue Calumet University School of Technology in Hammond, Ind.; Reading Area Community College in Pennsylvania; Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton, S.C.; and Chicago’s Austin Polytechnical Academy Advanced Manufacturing Career Program, among others. For 2022, we are pleased to announce the recipient is the Philadelphia Technician Training Institute.

The Manufacturing and Automation Technician program at Philadelphia Technician Training Institute is a 26-week course that prepares students to work with automation technologies across industry. Courses in this program ensure competence in basic electronics, electrical/mechanical system safety, mechanical equipment design, sensor hardware, PLC programming, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and system control and instrumentation.

To learn more about the David A. Harvey Memorial Scholarship, please contact Kurt Belisle at kbelisle@automationworld.com.

For industry to be successful, it is imperative that all of us help develop our future automation leaders, so we encourage you to get involved in your local technology training school, whether it’s a two-year or four-year program. Together, we can help create more leaders in automation!

ANALYSIS SOFTWARE Advantech Industrial Automation Group Bedrock Automation Platforms Inc. GE Digital Inductive Automation Interval Zero Kinexon OPC Foundation

47 53 68 74 75 76 85

AUTOMATION IDENTIFICATION Teledyne DALSA

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CONTROL Acromag Advantech Industrial Automation Group Automation24 Automation Direct Banner Engineering Corp.

Beckhoff Automation Bedrock Automation Platforms Inc. Bosch Rexroth Boston Conveyor & Automation Carlo Gavazzi Digi-Key Corp Endress+Hauser GE Digital Hammond Manufacturing Helukabel HighByte Hilscher Inductive Automation Interval Zero Lenze Americas Maverick Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc. Moxa Americas Inc. Newark Element 14 OPC Foundation Opto 22 Parker Hannifin FCG Pepperl + Fuchs Pro-face America ProComSol Skkynet Cloud Systems Inc. SMC Corporation of America Wago Corporation Winsted

46 47 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 60 64 68 69 70 71 72 74 75 77 79 80 82 83 85 86 87 88 90 91 96 97 103 104

INDUSTRIAL NETWORKS Acromag Advantech Industrial Automation Group Automation24 Banner Engineering Corp.

Beckhoff Automation Bedrock Automation Platforms Inc. Binder USA LP Bosch Rexroth CC-Link Partner Assn.

Contemporary Controls Digi-Key Corp Dynatect Manufacturing Inc. Encoder Products Company Festo Corporation GE Digital Helukabel HighByte Hilscher HMS Networks Inductive Automation Interval Zero Litmus Automation Inc. Maverick Moxa Americas Inc. Newark Element 14

46 47 49 51 52 53 54 55 58 59 60 62 63 67 68 70 71 72 73 74 75 78 79 82 83

OPERATIONS SOFTWARE Advantech Industrial Automation Group Beckhoff Automation Bedrock Automation Platforms Inc. Bosch Rexroth Carlo Gavazzi Dynatect Manufacturing Inc. GE Digital Helukabel HighByte HMS Networks Inductive Automation Interval Zero Kinexon Litmus Automation Inc. Moxa Americas Inc. OPC Foundation Opto 22 ProComSol Skkynet Cloud Systems Inc. Teledyne DALSA Winsted

47 52 53 55 57 62 68 70 71 73 74 75 76 78 82 85 86 91 96 99 104

POWER Acromag Bedrock Automation Platforms Inc. Carlo Gavazzi Digi-Key Corp Helukabel Newark Element 14 OPC Foundation Opto 22 Pepperl + Fuchs ProComSol PULS SICK Inc. Skkynet Cloud Systems Inc. SMC Corporation of America Wago Corporation

46 53 57 60 70 83 85 86 88 91 92 95 96 97 103

ROBOTICS Aerotech Inc. Boston Conveyor & Automation Dynatect Manufacturing Inc. Festo Corporation Helukabel Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc. SEW Eurodrive Inc. Vecna Robotics Yaskawa America Inc.

48 56 62 67 70 80 94 102 105

SAFETY Automation24 Banner Engineering Corp.

Bosch Rexroth Boston Conveyor & Automation CC-Link Partner Assn.

Dynatect Manufacturing Inc. mk North America Inc. Pro-face America Schmersal USA SICK Inc. Telemecanique Sensors

49 51 55 56 58 62 81 90 93 95 100

SENSING Advantech Industrial Automation Group Automation24 Banner Engineering Corp.

Carlo Gavazzi Digi-Key Corp.

Encoder Products Company Festo Corporation Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc. Newark Element 14 Pepperl + Fuchs Schmersal USA SICK Inc. Telemecanique Sensors TURCK Inc.

47 49 51 57 60 63 67 80 83 88 93 95 100 101

VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE Advantech Industrial Automation Group Automation24 Banner Engineering Corp.

GE Digital Inductive Automation

47 49 51 68 74

Look for leaders all year long at: www.automationworld.com/leaders

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GeorgeShurtleff Shurtleff Company Acromag, Inc. Company George 30765 Wixom Rd, Wixom, MI 48393 USA Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: (248) 295-0882 Email: Email: sales@acromag.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd websiteURL www.acromag.com websiteURL Body copydesigns here Acromag and manufactures signal conditioning and remote I/O solutions for Body copy here oil/gas, power generation, water/wastewater, raw material processing, and industrial automation industries.

Acromag I/O is ideal for a broad range of monitoring and control operations where controllers communicate with instrumentation on the plant floor or in the field.

New remote I/O modules provide an Ethernet interface for analog, discrete and temperature signals. NTE Ethernet I/O models have dual RJ45 ports and a webserver with Modbus TCP/ IP communication to monitor or control the internal I/O channels. An integrated DIN rail bus allows connection of up to three NTX expansion I/O modules. Each I/O module adds up to 16 input or output signals allowing a mix of voltage, current, temperature, TTL, and relay control signals networked on one IP address. The space-saving design requires only 25mm of DIN rail per module. Ethernet I/O modules distribute 9-32V DC power along the DIN rail bus to expansion modules. Hazardous location approvals, high noise immunity, and -40 to 70°C operation make this I/O ideal for use in harsh environments.

Acromag’s signal conditioning line features more than 100 transmitters, isolators, alarms, and computation modules. If networked I/O is required, Acromag offers analog and discrete I/O modules for Ethernet, Modbus, and Profibus.

Because We Know I/O Doing business with Acromag means you can count on receiving dependable value when using our products. We guarantee to meet or exceed published product performance specifications and offer you exceptional personal service with a real person within one business day.

For more information or help selecting the right product for your application please contact us at 248-295-0882.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Advantech 11380 Reed Hartman Highway, Cincinnati, OH, 45241 USA Phone: 513/742-8895 Email: eainfo@advantech.com www.advantech.com Founded in 1983, Advantech has the corporate vision to “Enable an Intelligent Planet”. The company is a global leader in the fields of IoT intelligent systems and embedded platforms.

To embrace the trends of IoT, big data, and artificial intelligence, Advantech promotes IoT hardware and software solutions with Edge Intelligence to help business partners and clients in connecting industrial chains. Advantech is also dedicated to working with domain focused partners to co-create solutions that deliver advanced solutions in Industrial IoT.

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Advantech’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) group is recognized as a leading manufacturer of intelligent automation technology and is consistently listed as one of the 50 top global automation suppliers. Product offerings include IoT Edge Intelligence Platforms, Industrial Computing Platforms, Servers, Intelligent HMI & Monitors, Automation Controllers, IoT Gateways, Automation Software, Industrial I/O, and Intelligent M2M & IoT Connectivity Solutions for wireless & wired networks. Specializing in intelligent connectivity at the “edge” of networks in remote and demanding environments, the company’s product solutions use Ethernet, serial, wireless, cellular and USB communication technologies. Specializing in intelligent connectivity at the “edge” of networks in remote and demanding environments, the company’s product solutions use Ethernet, serial, wireless, cellular and USB communication technologies.

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With over 17,000 products, Advantech offers solutions for multiple industries including Industry 4.0/Smart Manufacturing, Transportation, Power & Energy, Digital Healthcare, Digital Logistics, Intelligent Retail & Hospitality, Gaming, Intelligent Building, and Video Solutions. Global headquarters are located in Taipei, Taiwan with regional offices in 23 countries. The company has 2 manufacturing sites, 4 logistic centers, and 15 repair centers enabling them to provide reliable local services. Wherever you are in the world, Advantech will be quick to offer individual consultation and support, comprehensive technical services, and quick repairs. As of today, Advantech employees over 8,000 people globally.

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For more information, visit www.advantech.com

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Aerotech, Inc. 101 Zeta Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15238-2811 USA Phone: 412/963-7470 Email: sales@aerotech.com www.aerotech.com Aerotech is the global precision motion control and automation industry leader. Our solutions enable manufacturing, testing and inspection processes on a micrometer and nanometer scale.

We offer solutions for every motion challenge, including controller software and hardware; servo and stepper motors; positioning mechanics and robotics; and motion subsystems and integrated system solutions.

As an engineering-focused company, we pursue a unique, collaborative approach to solving mechatronic challenges. Unlike some competitors that grow by acquiring multiple companies producing distinct, narrowly focused product lines, all of Aerotech’s core technologies are developed by our engineering teams.

Aerotech’s holistic method of designing all core motion control solutions ensures that all of our technologies work together seamlessly. Mechanical, electrical and software engineers collaborate in interdependent teams. Mechanical engineers design the physical automation equipment. Electrical engineers develop electrical hardware to drive the automation equipment. And software engineers write controller interfaces that allow users to program and control the equipment. And with more than 50 years of experience developing custom solutions for a wide range of markets, Aerotech’s applications engineering team is the best in the industry at solving the most complex motion control challenges. We build a deep understanding of specific customer applications so that we can recommend the perfect solution, whether that is a standard or custom-engineered product, subsystem or completely integrated system.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Automation24 3600 Horizon Dr., Ste 110, King of Prussia, PA, 19406 USA Phone: 800/250-6772 Email: mail@automation24.com www.automation24.com Automation24 is the premier online supplier for industrial automation components offering a well-rounded selection of products and solutions from sensor to control cabinet. We have been developing a well-rounded range of items from brand name manufacturers and offer them to our valued customers at the best prices. Order conveniently and quickly online and benefit from our cost-effective first-class products.

In 2022 a variety of new items were added to the continuously growing product portfolio: Process instrumentation from Endress+Hauser to reliably measure and monitor pressure, temperature, level, and more Safety technology from Schmersal to ensure the safest work environment for your applications and personnel Precision transmitters, controllers and data loggers from NOVUS to accurately measure, control and record By having our on-site warehouse here in the US and consistent availability of products, items that are shown as available on our webshop will be shipped the same working day.

Need it tomorrow? No Problem! Expedited delivery services are also available.

To make your purchase with us as pleasant and easy as possible, we place great emphasis on a comprehensive online experience. We offer an easy-to-use filter function which separates products based on technical characteristics to simplify selection. In addition, we have a product comparison function and provide comprehensive product information. You will find answers to frequently asked questions in our FAQ section, but should you have any further questions, our outstanding Technical Customer Support Engineers are at your disposal Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to assist with product selection and provide support before, during and after your order.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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AutomationDirect 3505 Hutchinson Road, Cumming, GA 30040 USA Phone: 800/633-0405 Email: customersupport@automationdirect.com http://www.automationdirect.com A well-recognized name in the industrial automation market, AutomationDirect provides quality products with FREE award-winning in-house sales and technical support.

AutomationDirect provides customers with quick order and delivery through an online store and toll-free number. Prices on most products are well below the industry average and a 30-day money-back guarantee is offered on nearly all items.

With tens of thousands of part listings, new products include the Productivity1000 PLC, the Do-more BRX PLC and the DURApulse GS4 AC drive. These products represent many years of design and development by AutomationDirect’s own engineering team as well as their strategic partners.

The company also offers motors, sensors, pushbuttons, enclosures, circuit protection and more. The state-of-the-art headquarters facility near Atlanta is designed throughout for maximum performance. Orders for in-stock items can be taken as late as 6 p.m. EST and be shipped for next-day delivery.

The company provides online tutorial videos through their web store at www. automationdirect.com as well as their YouTube channel. A Customer Forum provides peer support on technical and application questions.

AutomationDirect’s customer support team has been rated top-notch by its customers. For 15 years straight, the Tech Support team was voted by readers of Control Design magazine as best in service and support for various products. And, their own customer surveys consistently rank the company’s service as better than other suppliers.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeEngineering ShurtleffCompany Company George Shurtleff Banner Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd 9714 Tenth Avenue N., Minneapolis, MN 55441 USA websiteURL websiteURL Phone: 888-3-SENSOR Email: info@bannerengineering.com www.bannerengineering.com Body copy here Body copy here

Banner’s sensors, LED lights and indicators, wireless and safety products are used by companies large and small, from industry leaders in the Fortune 500 to innovators just entering the market. Companies around the world use Banner’s award-winning products and solutions to increase efficiency, reduce costs, safeguard equipment, and protect personnel. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Banner has sales offices, production facilities, and field representatives throughout North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe.

Every 3.5 seconds, a Banner sensor is installed somewhere in the world. Banner solves problems for most of the manufacturing companies in the Fortune 500, as well as the startups changing industry with leading-edge production. Banner technology supports manufacturing of the cars you drive, the food you eat, the medicine you take, and virtually every product in your daily life. Whatever the industry, Banner offers solutions to automate production, improve efficiency, and manufacture to the highest standard of quality.

With over 30,000 products, Banner is a leading source for your manufacturing needs.

We offer award-winning sensors, wireless solutions, machine safety, indication and LED lighting.

Highly trained Banner field sales engineers are available around the globe. These industry professionals are able to assess your process and your goals to help you find the best solution.

Banner offers worldwide sales and support through offices on six continents, manufacturing facilities on three continents, nearly 2,000 employees, and over 3,500 factory and field representatives. Through face-to-face or virtual interaction with customers, Banner leads in the evolving manufacturing industry with innovative products and solutions.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeShurtleff Shurtleff Company Beckhoff Automation George Company 13130 Dakota Ave, Savage, MN 55378 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: (952) 890-0000 Email: Email: beckhoff.usa@beckhoff.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd websiteURL www.beckhoff.com websiteURL Body copyAutomation here Adaptive Technology from Beckhoff Offers Unrivaled Flexibility and Throughput Body copy here in Manufacturing

Beckhoff Automation is a global provider of open and adaptive automation systems based on advanced PC Control technology. The “New Automation Technology” philosophy at Beckhoff represents universal and open automation solutions used in a wide spectrum of high-tech applications around the world. These applications range from control of machines and robots used in manufacturing, to Internet of Things (IoT) systems, to category-defining mechatronics solutions and much more. The world headquarters of Beckhoff Automation is in Verl, Germany while the U.S. headquarters office is in Savage, MN (Minneapolis area).

A breakthrough in mechatronics technology for machinery and plants, the XPlanar flying motion solution from Beckhoff delivers adaptive manufacturing functionality for part, product and package handling. Planar motor tiles can be arranged flexibly to suit the application as a base that can levitate and propel passive movers at speeds up to 2 m/s and up to 1 g acceleration. Individual XPlanar movers can support 0.4 - 4.2 kg with heavier payloads possible when movers are grouped together. Path planning and collision avoidance software produce extremely efficient and maintenance-free motion control for demanding manufacturing, inspection and material handling applications. Antisloshing functionality in TwinCAT 3 software optimizes XPlanar’s transport capabilities in applications involving liquids, such as filling of beverages, cosmetics and other goods.

XPlanar offers wear-free movement and the ability to cover planar motor tiles with stainless steel, glass or other hygienic surfaces.

XTS, the paradigm-shifting linear transport technology from Beckhoff, has been expanded with new hardware and software technology. XTS Hygienic, a stainless steel, IP69K version is ideal for wash-down environments in packaging, pharma, food and beverage production.

In addition, Track Management functionality allows individual movers to transfer between multiple XTS systems, enabling further customization, quality inspection, automatic defect ejection and more.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Bedrock Automation 171 Forbes Blvd, Suite 1000, Mansfield, MA 02048 USA Phone: 781/821-0280 Email: info@bedrockautomation.com http://www.bedrockautomation.com

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Bedrock Automation develops automation systems that enable its users to implement controls that are both open and secure. Its unique Open Secure Automation (OSA®) approach is especially critical today as industrial organizations are connecting more and more applications and devices to each other via the IIoT. Bedrock Automation introduced the OSA platform in 2015 with the first industrial control system designed from inception to be cyber secure. This sets it apart from mainstream control system vendors who are heavily invested in control system architectures that were designed before cyber security was an issue.

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In addition to its patented cyber secure architecture, Bedrock has engineered industryleading control performance and standards compliance, including support for Secure OPC UA, and MQTT, and provides free IEC 61131-3 compliant engineering software. Today, Bedrock Automation provides OSA through the following products:

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Bedrock Automation delivers its solutions directly and through a growing channel of systems integrators and high-tech distributors. They are continually extending the capabilities of OSA from the control layer, to workstations, third party applications and legacy systems.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Binder USA, LP 3903 Calle Tecate, Camarillo, CA 93012 Phone: 805/437-9925 Email: sales@binder-usa.com www.binder-usa.com The binder group is a German family-owned business shaped by traditional values. Based in Neckarsulm, Germany, we are one of the leading specialists in circular connectors.

We work with 45 distribution partners on five continents and employ 1,800 staff worldwide.

The binder group is comprised of the binder headquarters, 16 affiliated companies, two systems providers and an Innovation and Technology Centre. Our sites are located in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, China, Singapore and the US. As a specialist in the production of a variety of industrial connectors as well as mounting and cable connectors for automation technology, binder’s strengths lie in the individual development, design and automated manufacturing of connectors according to customer specifications.

Our product range extends from sub-miniature connectors to multi-pin machine connectors. binder products are used in agricultural and construction machinery, signal equipment, machine tool construction, medical technology, measuring technology as well as sensor and automation technology.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George Shurtleff Company Bosch Rexroth Corporation George Shurtleff Company 14001 South Lakes Drive Charlotte, NC 28273, United States Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please 800/739-7684 info@boschrexroth-us.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd websiteURL www.boschrexroth-us.com websiteURL

copysupplier here AsBody a leading for innovative components, complete system solutions and expert Body copy here services, Bosch Rexroth helps manufacturers usher in a new era in automation. We are helping build the Factory of the Future through our global application experience, innovative technology and proven customer service, creating groundbreaking solutions for mobile applications, machinery applications and engineering and factory automation.

Bosch Rexroth is leading the world of automation with ctrlX AUTOMATION, a solution that virtually eliminates the boundaries between machine controls, the IT world and the Internet of Things. The most open system on the market, ctrlX AUTOMATION offers maximum scalability so that manufacturers can better position themselves to meet challenges like shorter product life cycles and increasingly tougher competition. This complete Industry 4.0 platform offers perfectly coordinated system functionality with a Linux real-time operating system, open standards, app programming technology and web-based engineering. ctrlX AUTOMATION reduces hardware, complexity and footprint to optimize flexibility and reduce component and engineering costs by 30% to 50%. The system is modular, scalable and meets the requirements for almost any automation task, from simple control applications to high-performance motion control. ctrlX AUTOMATION combines all the technologies and engineering tools to make machines more productive, more compact and better able to help manufacturers stay two steps ahead.

The experts at Bosch Rexroth also offer the next level of mechatronics with Smart MechatroniX. This intelligent solution allows manufacturers to plug & produce for applications like pressing and handling — for faster engineering, commissioning and time to market.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George ShurtleffCompany Company BCA - Automation & Robotics George Shurtleff 7 Opportunity Way, Newburyport, MA 01950 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 978.255.1921 Email: Email: info@bcasystems.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd websiteURL BCAsystems.com websiteURL Body proudly copy here BCA Body copy here manufactures in the USA custom stainless-steel conveyors, custom engineered hard automation, integrated robotic picking, packing, and stacking systems that serve the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Positioned within reach of the country’s robotic engineering epicenter in Boston, BCA works with many of the largest manufacturing companies across the USA.

Companies trust BCA for its 30-plus years of innovation and technology that focuses on the process and packaging of difficult-to-handle products in wet IP69K environments. Its impressive engineering staff members develop and manufacture innovative, customized solutions for everything from high-speed cutting automation to the most difficult robotic picking, packing, and stacking systems.

Robotic Picking and Packing: BCA’s robotic integration is focused on primary product picking and specialty case packing. These are areas where our sanitary design, wash down capable equipment and product manipulation experience can have the greatest impact on business efficiency.

Specialty Machinery & Automation: The team at BCA has developed specialty equipment to address a wide variety of customer challenges. Including: • Accumulation

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Stainless Steel Conveyors: We manufacture stainless steel conveyors that meet a wide range of industry standards from our wipe down construction for GMP and packaged product handling to fully welded sanitary conveyors for the most stringent S A and H G applications

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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CARLO GAVAZZI Inc. 750 Hastings Lane, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 USA Phone: 847/465-6100 Email: Sales@CarloGavazzi.com www.GavazziOnline.com

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Founded in 1931, CARLO GAVAZZI is a multinational electronics group active in the design, manufacture and marketing of electronic and electrical components for industrial automation and building automation.

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With several ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified manufacturing and R&D facilities throughout Europe and Asia, and dozens of sales offices spanning the globe, you are assured that product support, service, and inventory are only a phone call, email or mouse click away.

CARLO GAVAZZI products are developed and manufactured in full compliance with the most important standard regulations, such as UL and CSA. Typical customers are original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of packaging machines, injection molding (plastics) machines, agriculture machines, food and beverage production, conveying and materials handling equipment, door and entrance control systems, parking guidance systems, elevators and escalators as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning devices. Distributors and system integrators are our typical sales channels.

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OUR COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF PRODUCTS INCLUDES: SENSORS: Capacitive/Inductive Proximity Sensors and Photoelectric Sensors (with and without IO-Link), IO-Link Masters, IO-Link Smart Configurator, Motion/Presence Sensors, Level Sensors, Magnetic Switches, Limit Switches, and Safety Interlocks SWITCHES: Solid State Relays, Solid State Contactors, Electromechanical Contactors, Definite Purpose Contactors, Overloads, Manual Motor Starters, Mini Circuit Breakers, Soft Starters, Electromechanical Relays, Push Buttons, and Pilot Lights CONTROLS: Energy Meters/Software, Current/Voltage/3-Phase Monitoring Relays, Current Transformers, Switching Power Supplies, Timers, Digital Panel Meters, Dupline Field, and Installation Bus, DuplineSafe Mining Monitoring/Safety System

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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CC-LINK IE 500 Corporate Woods Parkway, Vernon Hills, IL 60061 USA Phone: 847/478-2647 Email: info@cclinkamerica.org am.cc-link.org CC-Link is a family of industrial open technology automation networks that process control, information & diagnostics to provide efficient, integrated factory-wide industrial and process automation. The family provides IIoT Ready high speed, deterministic communication seamlessly linking a wide assortment of multi-vendor automation devices.

CC-Link IE TSN – A next generation network based on the current CC-Link IE with the adoption of Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology. CC-Link IE TSN provides flexible IIoT system construction along with reduced downtime by using GP Ethernet diagnostic tools compliant with SNMP. CC-Link IE TSN can offer a best in class motion control operation with cycle times better than 31.25μs.

CC-Link IE Field Basic – Software based, open-technology general-purpose Industrial Ethernet network. CC-Link IE Field Basic is a cyclic network that provides a cost effective industrial Ethernet network for small-scale equipment not requiring high-speed control.

CC-Link IE Field – IIoT Ready 1 Gigabit Industrial Ethernet network linking field level devices to controllers. CC-Link IE Field provides a secure industrial Ethernet network via its tokenbased architecture. CC-Link IE Field is IEC approved for safety communications and can provide integrated motion control functions all on a single Industrial Ethernet network.

CC-Link – Open-technology fieldbus network providing complete deterministic behavior & cost effectiveness, flexibility and ease of use. Fully compatible CC-Link Safety is IEC/ISO approved for safety communications and exceeds industry safety network standards.

CC-Link IE TSN is the only released TSN compatible network on the market. CC-Link IE Field is cost effective, flexible, high-performance as well as easy to install and use.

CCLink IE is an industry leader with Gigabit Ethernet networking. CC-Link is a market leader in Asia. Many export oriented American manufacturers are incorporating CC-Link IE compatibility because of its strength and market leadership in Asia.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Contemporary Control Systems 2431 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515 USA Phone: 630/963-7070 Email: info@ccontrols.com www.ccontrols.com INNOVATIVE MACHINE INTEGRATION SOLUTIONS With more than 45 years of experience, Contemporary Controls is a leader in innovative solutions for industrial automation. Contemporary Controls’ customers are systems integrators, contractors and OEMs seeking simple, reliable networking and control products from a dependable source.

Contemporary Controls’ Skorpion series of IP routers ease the integration of new machines into the existing network. Each machine consisting of multiple IP devices connects to the LAN-side while keeping the same IP settings for the devices and the application, lowering installation cost and eliminating troubleshooting. VPN models of the routers can provide secure remote access with the use of the RemoteVPN service from Contemporary Controls.

Cellular routers with available data plans for hassle-free device activation provide quick and easy commissioning of the devices on the remote jobsite.

A virtual private network (VPN) can provide secure access to remote job sites while giving systems integrators the flexibility to maintain systems from an offsite location.

Contemporary Controls offers three VPN solutions to meet your remote access needs.

Designed for unattended operation in environments not conducive to office-grade equipment, CTRLink products provide convenient DIN-rail mounting in control panels, 24 VAC/DC power, UL 508, improved EMC compliance and reliability. Unmanaged switches provide a cost-effective method for expanding Ethernet networks. For troubleshooting, diagnostic switches allow a network sniffer to attach to an unused port on a switch and observe all traffic on the network.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George Shurtleff Company Digi-Key Electronics George Shurtleff Company 701 Brooks Ave S., Thief River Falls, MN 56701 USA Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 800/344-4539 Email: Email: sales@digikey.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd websiteURL www.digikey.com websiteURL Body copyElectronics, here Digi-Key headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minn., USA, is recognized as Body copy here both the leader and continuous innovator in the high service distribution of electronic components and automation products worldwide.

As the original pioneer in this space, Digi-Key provides more than 13 million components from over 2,200 quality name-brand manufacturers with an industry-leading breadth and depth of product in stock and available for immediate shipment.

Digi-Key is the preferred supplier for industrial automation, control and safety products, carrying a broad portfolio including advanced controls like PLCs, HMIs, motion, safety and robotics.

Digi-Key provides detailed technical resources and robust search functionality to help you find the exact parts you need, including a range of EDA and design tools, reference design library and free online schematics tools, on-demand multimedia library, comprehensive article library and community forums, and much more.

In 2021, Digi-Key launched the Digi-Key Marketplace to give customers access to an even broader variety of products and services in applications including bare PCB boards, industrial automation, test and measurement, IoT solutions and virtually everything related to technology innovation, all through a singular shopping experience.

The company also offers numerous supply chain solutions such as a complete set of APIs, bonded inventory and fast shipping, as well as a myLists tool for BOM management.

From prototype to production, Digi-Key has the resources and products to take your design to the next level! Learn more at www.digikey.com.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Dorner_

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George ShurtleffCompany Company DornerShurtleff George 975 Cottonwood Ave., Hartland, WI 53029 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 262/367-7600 Email: Email: info@dorner.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd websiteURL www.dornerconveyors.com websiteURL Body copy here At copy Dorner, Body hereour mission is to Transform Conveyor Automation by providing cutting edge solutions with best-in-class support. It’s that commitment and history of proven excellence that has made the Dorner Brand a recognized leader in product handling for over 50 years.

With our complete line of customizable stainless steel and aluminum conveyor automation systems, Dorner can provide solutions for almost any conveyor need.

Dorner’s conveyors are designed to move product to the exact location, at the exact time and in the exact position it needs to be for the next phase of the production line. With benefits such as industry best product transfers and in-house belting capabilities, Dorner is leading the market in precision conveyance. This extremely accurate product control allows.

Using Dorner’s Online Configurator, you can design and engineer simple or complex conveyors to meet your needs in minutes. The industry leading tool delivers a complete 3D CAD assembly model for instant validation of fit. Dorner conveyors to easily integrate with robots, workers and equipment.

Dorner’s Engineered Solutions Group (ESG) is transforming product handling with innovative solutions that are custom designed to solve customers’ unique needs. This full service team can provide systems for applications such as: - Accumulation - Indexing & positioning

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- Merging, diverting and sorting - Product flow & control - Rejecting & depositing

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Dynatect Manufacturing, Inc. 2300 S. Calhoun Rd. New Berlin, WI 53151 USA Phone: 800/298-2066 Email: sales@dynatect.com https://dynatect.com/ Dynatect (formerly known as A&A Manufacturing) manufactures custom motion control and equipment protection components including laser protection doors, machine safety doors, bellows, way covers, cable carriers, ball screws, and slip clutches. Dynatect has supplied roll-up machine doors for over 30 years.

Dynatect’s VF Automated Machine Safety Door restricts access to hazardous operations while allowing the operator to maintain closer proximity to the work area, thus improving ergonomics and increasing productivity. Dynatect’s VF door is designed to contain process driven hazards such as weld sparks, UV flash, and light debris. These doors feature modular base plates, header and legs specifically designed for large, fast, mission critical doors. The base plates allow for a free-standing door and there are integrated T-slot channels on multiple surfaces to easily mount other components and/or safety considerations.

Dynatect’s Laser Protection Door is based on the Automated Machine Safety Door components and capable of door travel speed up to 20 inches/second. Customers have consistently and successfully conducted their own safety analysis and approval for each application. The shade consists of double-wall anodized aluminum slats, featuring a ball-and-socket style configuration that is both strong and light-tight. This type of hollow aluminum semi-reflective extrusion serves as a functional heat-dissipating barrier. The frame’s legs feature guides that accept the door to maintain a light-safe labyrinth.

Dynatect is a growing, diversified business with a 75-year track record, manufacturing on 3 continents, including 5 facilities in the U.S. Each year Dynatect services nearly 5,000 customers in North America, including OEMs, distributors, and MRO customers. Dynatect’s mission is improving human-machine safety and machine uptime. As Dynatect prepares for the next 75 years, we continue to focus on bringing reliable engineered solutions to complex and specialty applications. We look forward to an opportunity to work with you along the way.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeShurtleff Shurtleff Company Encoder Products Company George Company 464276 Highway 95 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: (800) 366-5412 Email: Email: sales@encoder.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd websiteURL encoder.com websiteURL Body copyProducts here Encoder Company (EPC) specializes in motion feedback devices. Our AccuBody copy here Coder™, Accu-CoderPro™, and Tru-Trac™ encoders come with an industry-leading threeyear warranty. With faster delivery than most other encoder manufacturers, and same-day expedite options on many models, EPC will get you your encoders fast.

EPC has been a leading designer and manufacturer of motion sensing devices for more than 50 years, and we understand that each industrial automation application is different, and that you need encoders that fit the needs of your applications. That’s why our encoders are highly configurable, offering a wide array of shaft or bore sizes, output types, connector types, mounting options, and resolutions as high as 65,536 CPR. Our encoders also offer: - Programmable encoder options, giving you the flexibility to program them to your exact specifications - Robust mechanical housings for your harshest environments - Magnetic-based multi-turn absolute encoders that operate in the absence of power, without the need for gear trains or batteries - Magnetic encoder modules with sealing to IP69K - Programmable and absolute linear measurement solutions - The all-in-one Tru-Trac™ family of linear measurement solution encoders, offering an integrated encoder, measuring wheel, and pivot arm in one unit EPC’s corporate headquarters is right here in the USA, in our vertically-integrated, 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility. When you call EPC, you’ll talk to real engineers and encoder experts who can help you find the right motion feedback solution for your application. Call us today.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Endress+Hauser 2350 Endress Place, Greenwood, IN, 46143 USA Phone: 888-ENDRESS Email: info.us.sc@endress.com www.us.endress.com Endress+Hauser is a global leader in measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering. They provide process solutions for flow, level, pressure, liquid analysis, gas analysis, temperature, recording and digital communications, optimizing processes in terms of economic efficiency, safety and environmental impact. The company serves a variety of industries, including chemical, oil & gas, food & beverage, water & wastewater, life sciences, power & energy, and primaries & metals.

Endress+Hauser, a Switzerland-based company, was founded in 1953, and expanded operations to the U.S. in 1970. More than 80% of all Endress+Hauser instruments ordered and shipped within the U.S. are manufactured in the U.S. This means customers can rely on Endress+Hauser to deliver the products they need quickly. This strong manufacturing base is complimented by a complete network of sales partners and service locations to support its customers – wherever their instruments are installed.

Premium services, customized solutions, project management and IIoT applications round out Endress+Hauser’s offering, helping customers gain efficiency, increase quality and maximize plant availability.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Fabco-Air, Inc. 3716 N.E. 49th Avenue Gainesville FL 32609 USA Phone: 352/373-3578 Email: service@fabco-air.com www.fabco-air.com FABCO-AIR, Inc . . . Delivering interchangeable air cylinders in 3 to 5-days Fabco-Air is a US supplier of a wide array of pneumatic components and solutions that has been in business for 60 years. Since then, we have developed a specialty in manufacturing of interchangeable air cylinders. Our Florida production facility allows for quick response times and flexibility to meet the industry’s ever-changing requirements.

Pancake® Air Cylinders out-perform the entire field of compact air cylinders. Rugged construction provides unequalled strength, rigidity, and piston rod support maintaining perpendicularity and concentricity for locating, mounting and making attachments to the rod. Heavy wall prevents damage to the bore. 8 bore sizes 1/2” to 4”; strokes to 4”.

F Series & H Series Cylinders - Fabco has purchased the Humphrey Stainless Steel Disposable Cylinder line, adding to our existing F-Series products.

Global Series™ Cylinders - Features hard anodized aluminum extrusions, oversized hard chrome plated stainless steel piston rods, and non-lube service to 150 psi and many more options.

Pancake® II Air Cylinders –High strength composite cylinder barrel is self-lubricating and impact resistant. Rod bearing, captive in cylinder head, has higher load capacity, lower friction, zero slip-stick and many more options.

OEM-Priced NFPA Air Cylinders –Incorporate important no-cost options. Standard features: • Adjustable air cushions both ends • Magnetic pistons • 303 Hard chrome plated piston shaft • Stainless steel tie rods • Special rod bushings provide self-lubrication of piston rods • Anodized aluminum end caps • Factory lubricated with Magnalube-G® • Shipping in 3 to 5 days.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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FAULHABER MICROMO 14881 Evergreen Ave., Clearwater, FL 33762 USA Phone: 800/807-9166 Email: www.faulhaber.com As the exclusive provider of FAULHABER products for North America, FAULHABER MICROMO creates value through advanced design and engineering services, and is proud to offer the broadest range of high precision, high performance products for micro motion applications within diverse, challenging industries, such as Medical Devices, Lab Automation, Robotics, Industrial Automation, Optics, Aerospace, Defense, and Semiconductor Equipment.

The FAULHABER product line includes fractional horsepower coreless (brush) DC motors, brushless DC motors, stepper motors, piezoelectric motors, linear DC servo motors, planetary & spur gearheads, high-resolution encoders, fail-safe brakes, speed & motion controllers, micro-mechanical systems, complete servo systems, and custom subassemblies which incorporate FAULHABER drive systems into OEM devices.

With on-site machining and assembly facilities, a versatile standard product line, and an Advanced Engineering Group, customization is our strength. FAULHABER MICROMO’s facility of 75,000 ftÇ includes a state-of-the-art CNC machining center, a 12,000 ftÇ clean room assembly operation (class 100,000 capable), and a dedicated R & D team and engineering testing center.

FAULHABER’s engineering team partners with customers for the design, specification and after sales support of industry leading motion control products. Advanced online tools, such as the FDST (FAULHABER Drive Selection Tool) used for evaluating and selecting a variety of product configurations and performance options, combined with our easy online store, OEM engineers can easily and quickly purchase compact motion systems, day or night. Plus, with our localized inventory, many products can be delivered in three days or less to meet immediate design and testing requirements.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Festo Corporation 1377 Motor Pkwy. Ste 310 Islandia, NY, 11749 USA Phone: 800/99-FESTO Email: Customer.service.us@festo.com www.festo.com Festo US has become known as an innovative and preferred supplier of pneumatics and electromechanical automation solutions through its 50 years of working with U.S. partners.

A leading organization helping to improve customer productivity, Festo US has made significant investments in its U.S. infrastructure, from people to resources. In 2016, the company opened the Festo Regional Service Center in Mason, Ohio. The service center lowers customer inventory requirements by stocking components and ensuring prompt shipment. The facility houses the Festo Customer Solutions Center for custom solutions.

With a range of 30,000 products, including Fabco-Air inch-based pneumatic cylinders, Festo supports the most complex automation and production requirements across multiple industries, including medical testing and diagnostics, providing smart automation solutions from a single source. Within this line are Festo’s “core range” of affordable pneumatic and electromechanical products that meet 80% of all application needs. The core range simplifies ordering, lowers the cost and time of product acquisition, and improves the uptime of systems through global availability of core parts.

Digitalization is a core competency of Festo. The online catalog, engineering productivity tools, component-based digitalization capabilities, and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives are all integral to the company’s digital transformation capabilities on behalf of customers.

Festo Didactic Learning Systems, the world-leading provider of equipment and solutions for technical education, creates hands-on technical training systems and digital and blended learning solutions to help train the next generation of workers. Didactic Learning Systems training can be on location or time-and-location independent.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GE Digital 2623 Camino Ramon, San Ramon, CA 94582 USA www.ge.com/digital GE Digital provides the technology, processes, and expertise needed to create digital plant operations of the future by bringing together disparate data sources and software tools into a centralized hub, allowing users to leverage data to meet performance indicators related to efficiency and productivity.

GE Digital’s Proficy portfolio includes industry-leading HMI/SCADA, historian, optimization, and analytics software, as well as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

We believe HMI/SCADA software should support decisions with a high productivity development environment that enables plant operation optimization. This is underpinned by rapid application development, centralized visualization, and continuous improvements with data analysis in context.

Proficy Historian collects industrial time-series and A&E data at very high speed, stores it efficiently and securely, distributes it, and allows for fast retrieval and analysis driving business value. Combined with Proficy Operations Hub users get a data management solution with asset model context and visualization. Users can aggregate data across multiple data sources to define an asset model including tag mapping, and advanced trend analysis.

Proficy Smart Factory MES solutions enable lean manufacturing on-prem and in the cloud to reduce costs, improve quality, and speed production. By combining people, process, and data, manufacturers can achieve increased visibility and value from their operations.

GE Digital software leverages industry standards including OPC UA, MQTT, HTML5, Cloud, ISA 101, and ISA 18.2 and provides real-world results including faster development, reduced waste, increased efficiency, productivity, and operations capacity.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Hammond Manufacturing 475 Cayuga Road, Cheektowaga, NY, 14225 USA Phone: 716/630-7030 Email: ussales@hammfg.com www.hammondmfg.com For more than 100 years, customers who have required unsurpassed performance, wide selection and durability for power distribution, racks and enclosures have relied on the Hammond brand. In 1917, the original company known as O.S. Hammond and Son was established in Guelph, Canada. Hammond began making tube radio sets and other related products between 1919 and 1927. In the decades since the company has evolved and expanded to manufacture transformers and enclosures for hundreds of industries and tens of thousands of customers worldwide. Hammond differentiates itself by working towards a simple mission: Quality products and service excellence.

Enclosures & Accessories—Hammond has a wide selection of UL listed, NEMA rated enclosures for use in nearly limitless applications. Combined with a comprehensive line of climate control and power distribution accessories, Hammond enclosures are a complete solution for the automation industry.

Hammond also manufactures a world-leading line of electronic enclosures ideal for use in applications such as sensors, environmental monitoring, IOT, and associated industries.

Worldwide Service Excellence—Hammond has nine manufacturing facilities in Canada, the USA, and Europe (UK), each of them specializing in different types of enclosure products from injection molded plastic boxes, to communications infrastructure, to power distribution, to water-resistant stainless steel enclosure fabrication. This group of factories feed the company’s warehousing and distribution centers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Hammond’s large inventory combined with a vast network of world-class distributors help ensure that Hammond products can quickly reach destinations anywhere on planet earth.

In addition, Hammond prides itself on having knowledgeable and experienced staff to provide excellent customer support from the design phase throughout the service life of their enclosures.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George Shurtleff Company HELUKABEL USA, Inc. George Shurtleff Company 1201 Wesemann Dr., West Dundee, IL, 60118, USA Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd Phone: 847-930-5118 Email: Email: cables@helukabel.com websiteURL websiteURL www.helukabel.com Body copy here Body copy here USA, based near Chicago IL, is a global manufacturer and supplier of cables, HELUKABEL wires and cable accessories. Our extensive product line includes flexible and continuous flex control cables, data/network/bus cables, VFD/servo cables, torsion cables for robotic applications, single-conductors, and multi-norm cables with domestic and international electrical approvals. HELUKABEL combines excellent cable quality, innovation and technical expertise with a vast product portfolio and smooth logistics operations. We call that the worry-free cable experience!

New automation technology means new cable challenges. With almost 40 years in the cable business, we have designed our products to provide an uninterrupted flow of power and data to today’s automated manufacturing systems, regardless of working conditions.

Our cable engineering expertise allows us to meet and exceed customer expectations as industry technology becomes more advanced. We continuously provide new cable solutions for our customers, which allows them to maintain their position at the forefront of the market.

HELUKABEL cables have long service lives, and have been tested to multi-million flexing cycles. This makes the automated manufacturing process leaner by reducing downtime and increasing productivity. We also develop and manufacture complete cabling protection systems for robotic applications.

Combining a product portfolio of over 33,000+ line items with worldwide logistics operations allows us to deliver the cable products you need, when you need them. Our 70,000 sq. ft. warehouse near Chicago is backed by a fully automated logistics center in Germany, allowing us to serve the North American market on a just-in-time basis, which truly makes HELUKABEL your one-stop shop cabling solution provider.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeShurtleff Shurtleff Company George HighByte, Inc. Company 52 Alder Street, Portland, Maine 04101, United States Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd Phone: +1.844.DATA.OPS Email: info@highbyte.com websiteURL websiteURL www.highbyte.com Body copy here Body copy here HighByte is an industrial software company in Portland, Maine building solutions that address the data architecture and integration challenges created by Industry 4.0. The company developed the first DataOps solution, HighByte Intelligence Hub, that enables manufacturers to merge, prepare, and deliver modeled industrial data to and from IT systems without writing or maintaining code.

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call Automation and data engineers deploy HighByte Intelligence Hub at the Edge to speed system integration time and standardize, transform, and add context to industrial data for IT systems. IT and digital transformation teams use HighBye Intelligence Hub to receive industrial data that’s fit for purpose. With HighByte Intelligence Hub, they can rapidly leverage contextualized data for analytics, including AI and ML applications, and govern data standards across the enterprise.

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In 2021, HighByte released version 2.0 of the Intelligence Hub, which supports enterprise deployments with multi-hub management. Customers can remotely configure hubs, compare configurations, and synchronize models and connections between multiple hubs from a single portal. Multi-hub management enables manufacturers to easily standardize and scale the use of industrial data across the enterprise.

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HighByte Intelligence Hub supports no-code connectivity to AWS, Azure, Apache Parquet and CSV files, Google Cloud Platform, HTTP, MQTT, Sparkplug, OPC, SQL, and time-series databases, including InfluxDB and OSIsoft PI System.

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Join HighByte’s free trial program to get hands-on access to HighByte Intelligence Hub and set up your first data flow in less than 10 minutes. Visit hightbyte.com to learn more and request access.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George ShurtleffCompany Company Hilscher George Shurtleff 2525 Cabot Drive, Suite 200, Lisle, IL 60532 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 630-505-5301 Email: Email: info@hilscher.us Phone: 000/000-0000 Please addadd websiteURL www.hilscher.com websiteURL Body copyishere Hilscher a global specialist in network connectivity solutions for device makers, OEMs, Body copy here system integrators, and end-user manufacturers. Founded in 1986 and with locations worldwide, Hilscher’s communications products span single-chip ASICS, embedded modules, PC cards, gateways, proxies, protocol converters, and IIoT solutions.

At the heart of every product is Hilscher’s own netX network controller ASIC. netX is a game-changer because it allows “best-in-class” network choice for any application. The netX-based solutions support industrial communications protocols, including Fieldbuses (DeviceNet, Modbus, CC-Link, PROFIBUS, and more); Real-Time Ethernets (EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, CC-Link IE, POWERLINK, Sercos III and TSN) and IIoT protocols (OPC UA and MQTT), with universal Master and/or Slave connections.

For device makers and OEMs, netX chips and embedded solutions allow any industrial communications protocols to be designed into your products with built-in security, using one chip family and a common set of software tools. This helps “future-proof” your designs while minimizing costs and development time.

The network pain for end-users and system integrators is how to interconnect all the different automation networks found across their manufacturing facilities. Hilscher’s netXbased products for these challenges include gateways, proxies, PC cards, and supporting software stacks that make it easy to connect one network to another for improved dataflow.

Hilscher’s netFIELD portfolio is a platform for simplifying IIoT deployment. It includes sensorEDGE devices and gateways; netFIELD Edge Gateways; netFIELD Cloud, with a Software-as-a-Service Platform and Portal; and netFIELD Applications to configure and connect to automation protocols and commercial clouds.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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HMS Networks 35 E Wacker Drive, Suite 1900, Chicago IL 60601 USA Phone: 312/829-0601 Email: us-sales@hms-networks.com www.hms-networks.com HMS Networks is the leading independent supplier of solutions for industrial communication and the Industrial Internet of Things, IIoT. We believe that connecting matters, in everything from making devices, machines and systems talk, to engaging actively with our customers. Our state-of-the-art technology connects millions of industrial devices all over the world - in automation systems as well as in innovative IIoT applications.

HMS develops and manufactures software and hardware for industrial communication. Our products connect automation devices such as robots, sensors, control systems and motors to different industrial networks and control systems.

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Our Anybus brand offers multi-network connectivity with fieldbus and industrial Ethernet. It allows you to connect any industrial device to any industrial network - wired or wireless.

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Our Ixxat brand offers connectivity solutions for embedded control, energy and automotive testing. Ixxat products enable communication inside machines and between components.

Our Ewon brand offers remote access and management of industrial equipment. Ewon remote solutions allows access to monitor and control industrial machinery online.

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Our Intesis brand is known for its unique technology and competence within building automation.

With millions of delivered products, our technology is today a business-critical part of factories all over the world. This puts high demands on quality, compliance, and our ability to deliver.

HMS can offer a complete solution — from product development through manufacturing and support. This makes us a unique and market-leading industrial communication partner.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Inductive Automation 90 Blue Ravine, Folsom, CA, 95630 USA Phone: 800/266-7798 Email: dpearson@inductiveautomation.com www.inductiveautomation.com Inductive Automation produces industrial automation software that reduces frustration and increases efficiency. The company’s core mission is to inject innovation and unprecedented value into the industry.

Ignition by Inductive Automation® is a universal industrial application platform. It empowers users to connect to all of the data across their enterprise, rapidly develop any type of industrial automation system, and scale their systems in any way, without limits. Ignition also offers unlimited extensibility through the addition of fully integrated modules. With Ignition, users can create a variety of seamlessly integrated industrial solutions.

SCADA: Control, track, display, and analyze your process.

HMI: Build optimized screens to monitor and control your machinery.

IIoT: Make your data more accessible and efficient with MQTT. MES: Track your production, manage recipes, calculate OEE, and more.

Alarming: Build complex alarming systems and get notifications instantly.

Reporting: Create and deliver dynamic, database-driven industrial reports.

Edge Computing: Capture, process, and visualize critical data at the remote edge of your network.

Enterprise: Empower teams with better data to make smarter decisions.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeShurtleff ShurtleffCompany Company George IntervalZero 200 Fifth Avenue, FL 6, STE 6020, Waltham, MA 02451 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd Phone: 781-996-4481 Email: sales@intervalzero.com websiteURL websiteURL https://www.intervalzero.com/ Body copy here Body copy here IntervalZero is relentlessly focused on our customers, and we share their pursuit of excellence. We strongly believe that continuous investment in both our real-time software technology that is used for machine control and in strengthening customer relationships is essential for mutual long-term success.

IntervalZero’s flagship product, RTX64, transforms Microsoft Windows into a RealTime Operation System(RTOS). By leveraging x86 multi-core technology and symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) functionality, and by extending Microsoft Windows, the RTX64 Platform reduces costs, boosts quality and performance, and significantly reduces reliance on proprietary hardware such as DSPs and FPGAs. IntervalZero’s KINGSTAR division (www.kingstar.com) offers a new approach to designing and deploying machine automation controllers. Because of an all-software philosophy, machine builders can build smarter machine controllers that run on Industrial PCs (IPC) without any proprietary hardware. This protects their intellectual property as market disruptions occur, enables a breakthrough in remote management, and enables machine builders to deliver on the full promise of Industry 4.0 and IoT. IntervalZero’s customer-centered philosophy combined with more than four decades of embedded software innovation, stable growth, and the proven value of IntervalZero’s RTX64 RTOS software has enabled us to build a global customer base of market-leading machine builders, OEMs, and end-users in Industrial Automation, Medical Systems, Digital Media, Test & Measurement, Military & Aerospace, and many other industries that required deterministic I/O or machine control.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeShurtleff ShurtleffCompany Company George KINEXON 200 S Wacker Drive, Suite 3100, Chicago, IL 60606 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd Phone: 715-281-8270 Email: info@kinexon-industries.com websiteURL websiteURL www.kinexon.com Body copy here Body copy is here KINEXON a global technology leader that develops groundbreaking software and connected devices for the Internet of Things (IIoT). Our location-based automation solutions capture, analyze, and optimize manufacturing and logistics processes in real time. Clients include industry leaders such as BMW, Continental, MTU Aero Engines, or Premium Aerotec. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company pivoted our technology applications to launch KINEXON SafeZone – the world’s most trusted digital solution for contact warning and contact tracing. Founded in 2012, and headquartered in Germany, KINEXON has grown to more than 250 employees globally. We have received numerous awards for our innovative solutions, including Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum.

KINEXON OS: Our Leading Location-based Process Automation Software With KINEXON OS, we created a groundbreaking location-based process automation software that allows companies to create digital twins of all moving assets involved in their production, logistics, and maintenance operations – from products and tools, to forklifts, AMRs or workers. This creates unprecedented insights and unleashes the potential to increase productivity and quality while decreasing cycle times and costs. KINEXON OS enables companies to leverage data from any location technology - from Bluetooth, RFID and UWB to LoRa and GPS - in one central hub. With its no code / low code functionality, it empowers Operations Teams to scale automation use cases directly from the shop floor.

Thanks to an open architecture and standard interfaces, the technology-agnostic software integrates seamlessly into existing IT stacks and systems such as MES, ERP, or WMS. KINEXON RTLS: Our Powerful Sensor Portfolio for End-to-End Automation From BLE and UWB to GPS: Our connected devices provide the location technology solution that fits your needs best. The KINEXON ePaper Tag is one of the few UWB sensors with a smart, interactive e-Ink display. It helps companies make the switch to paperless production and logistics for more sustainability through automation. With the KINEXON X-Tag, we also offer the world’s most cost-efficient UWB tag. The X-Tag offers UWB precision at a price point comparable to RFID and BLE solutions.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Lenze 630 Douglas St., Uxbridge, MA, 01569 USA Phone: 800/217-9100 Email: info.us@lenze.com www.Lenze.com

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“The best machines and production facilities around the world use Lenze.”

As a global specialist in Motion Centric Automation, Lenze works with its customers to create high-quality mechatronic products and packages; powerful systems consisting of hardware and software for machine automation; as well as digitalization services in areas such as big data management, cloud or mobile solutions, and software for the Internet of Things (IoT)..

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Engineering made easy – in order to deliver the ideal solution for your machine tasks, Lenze advises and supports you through all five phases of the engineering process: 1. Developing ideas, 2. Drafting concepts, 3. Implementing solutions, 4. Manufacturing machines, 5. Ensuring productivity

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If you are looking to implement cutting-edge machines and plant concepts, or modernize existing installations, you can trust Lenze. We help choose the best products, providing energy efficient drive dimensioning, project planning, implementation and commissioning.

We make it easy for precise implementation of your machine tasks.

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Lenze is a global manufacturer of electrical and mechanical drives, motion control and automation technology. We are a leading provider of automation solutions to the following industries: material handling and logistics, industrial equipment, consumer goods packaging, robotics, and commercial pumps/fans. With a global network of engineers, sales representatives, and manufacturing facilities, Lenze is well-positioned to meet the motion control needs of customers worldwide. Lenze Americas, a subsidiary of Lenze SE of Germany, is headquartered in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Corporate global headquarters are located in Hamelin, Germany.

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Litmus 2107 N 1st St, Suite 440, San Jose, CA 95131 USA Email: sales@litmus.io https://litmus.io Litmus is the only Industrial IoT platform that connects to all OT assets and puts machine data to work at the edge. With industry leading capabilities – pre-built drivers to connect to 250+ devices, one-click data integration to over 20 enterprise and cloud systems, and an edge computing platform to run analytics, applications and machine learning models at the data source – Litmus is the edge solution trusted by Google Cloud, Dell Technologies, HPE and other global Fortune 500 companies.

Litmus Edge creates a unified OT data layer by connecting to every modern or legacy asset with ease - the critical first step for any successful Industrial IoT deployment. The platform handles the four key parts of OT asset connectivity – data collection, data normalization, data storage and data access.

Once all OT data has been collected and stored, Litmus Edge makes it easy to use the data intelligence to power any use case across the enterprise. Utilize ready KPIs, analytics and dashboards at the edge, or make the data available to any application for advanced analytics and data modeling.

The only way to successfully scale Industrial IoT is with oversight and control over OT devices, data and applications. Litmus Edge Manager brings all data and management functions into one single point of control and easily scales to any number of assets for complete visibility.

From predictive maintenance, to asset condition monitoring, to OEE optimization, Litmus puts data in the hands of the people who need it to improve operations. Contact us to learn more about our complete Industrial IoT Edge Platform and how it can help you enable smart manufacturing with speed, scale, and security.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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MAVERICK Technologies, LLC 265 Admiral Trost Drive, Columbia, IL, 62236 USA Phone: 888/917.9109 Email: info@mavtechglobal.com www.mavtechglobal.com/contact MAVERICK Technologies® is a platform-independent automation solutions provider and a global leader in industrial automation, system integration and strategic manufacturing solutions, with customers across a wide range of manufacturing and process industries.

Our people, processes and technical capabilities ensure delivery of the right solution for every project. Since our founding in 1999, we’ve completed more than 17,500 projects in 46 countries across six continents. Our work ranges from initial assessments and operational consulting engagements to comprehensive, multimillion-dollar projects.

MAVERICK works across all major technology platforms, delivering value at all four stages of manufacturing. We design, build, sustain and improve your operations, driving performance from the plant floor to the boardroom. As part of our sustaining services offering, we bring specialized operational knowledge required to monitor and maintain control systems. We help customers on an ongoing basis with continuous improvement that drives their sustainability and competitive position.

Primary Service Areas: Industrial Automation - Our automation engineering consultants provide complete automation solutions, manufacturing field services and advanced process control consulting, from initial control platform assessment to startup and commissioning to ongoing maintenance.

System Integration - We work with customers to integrate systems across their entire enterprise to collect, analyze and share critical system data.

Strategic Manufacturing Solutions - We help customers make strategic advances, reduce costs and unlock value across their entire organization with our platform-independent DCSNext® solution for DCS migration, our PlantFloor24® 24/7/365 global operations center for remote monitoring and management services and our OpCon Advantage™ for complete operational consulting.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Mitsubishi Electric Automation 500 Corporate Woods Parkway, Vernon Hills IL 60061 USA Phone: 847/478-2100 Email: Mitsubishi-Electric@meau.com https://us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en Innovate Smarter Mitsubishi Electric has a clear, defined goal behind its products and services: innovate smarter. With precision and performance-based servos and VFDs, advanced controllers, HMIs, and a complete line of smart factory robots, we can provide OEMs and end users with the most advanced machines or complete lines on a single automation platform.

Our commitment to quality and performance means machines built with our controls and drives run in top operating condition for a long lifetime. With real-time diagnostics, predictive maintenance analytics, and continuous tuning, producers are able to run for extended periods without unplanned stoppage. In addition, we offer services to keep your equipment running at peak performance, and comprehensive training classes to support you and your staff.

We empower innovators to create superior solutions by providing products that have unmatched levels of precision and ease of integration. We care about the success of your business; combine that with our know-how, products, and services, and you have the foundation for a trusted partnership that values quality, performance, and compatibility.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George Shurtleff Company George Shurtleff Company mk North America, Inc. 105 Highland Park Drive, Bloomfield, CT 06002, USA Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd Phone: 860/769-5500 Email: info@mknorthamerica.com websiteURL websiteURL www.mknorthamerica.com Body copy here Body here Sincecopy 1988, mk North America, Inc. has been engineering and manufacturing a wide variety of mechanically ready solutions for industrial automation applications for use in nearly every industry. mk offers what no other conveyor company or aluminum extrusion company can offer – complete conveyor and aluminum extrusion lines. mk’s aluminum frame conveyors are constructed out of mk’s t-slotted aluminum extrusion, which means they can be easily added to or have additional accessories mounted to them.

This also means that mk conveyors are fully compatible with mk’s aluminum extrusion and vice versa. mk North America can be your single source provider for conveyors and the guards, carts, and workstations that compliment each other; providing not you with not only a better product, but also a better solution. mk’s conveyor offering includes: Belt conveyors; Plastic modular belt conveyors ; Timing belt conveyors; Chain conveyors; Roller conveyors; Flexible flat top chain conveyors; Pallethandling systems; and Specialty conveyors. mk’s aluminum extrusion offering includes: T-slot profiles in four different families to meet application specific demands; Close sided profiles for cleanrooms and laboratories; A complete offering of accessories from angles to hinges, braces and floor supports, closure strips and end cap; Guarding with doors, windows, and a wide variety of paneling options; Workstations that can standalone or mount to conveyors; Machine bases for all types of equipment; Carts, racks, planning boards and so much more; Items may be ordered as raw stock, cut to length of assembled.

When you work with mk, you are working with a leader in mechanical industrial automation equipment. mk provides the best possible experience from concept, through delivery and beyond.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George ShurtleffInc. Company George Shurtleff Company Moxa Americas Moxa Corporate Plaza, 601 Valencia Ave., Suite 100, Brea, CA, 92823 USA Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd Phone: (714) 528-6777 Email: usa@moxa.com websiteURL websiteURL www.moxa.com Body copy here Body Moxacopy is a here leader in industrial networking and communications, enabling connectivity for the automated world of today and tomorrow and enhancing cybersecurity for industrial automation systems. We achieve this by collaborating with customers and partners to transform their unique ideas into feasible network solutions for mission-critical applications.

Enabling Connectivity for Automation Networks — Communications and networking within the industrial automation world have become increasingly sophisticated and complex.

This is because greater cross-system collaboration and integration can be achieved when networks are converged into a single-system architecture that is based on open standards and technologies. With distinctive technical capabilities and values that stand out from the competition, Moxa is uniquely positioned to deliver on this transformation towards converged automation networks. The value we bring with our connectivity solutions is building reliable and secure networks that connect all the requirements for automation and improving productivity and efficiency in many industrial applications.

Enabling Connectivity in Critical Environments — Moxa develops reliable connectivity solutions that enable devices to connect, communicate, and collaborate with systems, processes, and people, realizing critical connectivity for automation harsh environments and uninhabitable terrains — establishing connectivity from the ocean floor to the highest peak, as well as from earth to outer space. It helps make people’s lives better and properties more secure by addressing the challenges of withstanding extreme temperatures, hazardous gases, and intense radiation.

With over 30 years of industry experience, Moxa has connected more than 57 million devices worldwide and has a distribution and service network to serve customers in more than 70 countries.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Newark, An Avnet Company 300 S Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL, 60606 USA Phone: 800/463-9275 Email: order@newark.com www.newark.com Newark is a high-service distributor of technology products, services, and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance, and repair. We bring together the latest products, services, and development software, all connected with an innovative online engineering community where purchasers and engineers have access to peers and experts, a wide range of independent technical information, and helpful resources.

We make it easier to get the products you need, when you need them by offering fast access to the latest technology, local personal service, buying tools to simplify your work process, and engineering expertise and free technical support.

Newark has operations in the US, Canada, and Mexico, serviced from our regional distribution hub in Gaffney, SC. We are committed to supporting local language, currency, product, and shipment needs across North America and around the world. Additionally, as part of Premier Farnell and Avnet, our global reach provides greater access to stock and stronger relationships with suppliers, ultimately allowing us to better serve your needs with the latest technologies and a wider range of products.

Newark has a long history of innovation. We’ve developed many industry firsts that save time and increase productivity, like the first online community for engineers, leadership in stocking RoHS components, a nationwide network of local sales offices, customizable online catalog, and the exclusive distribution of the Raspberry Pi single board computer.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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NORD NORD Gear Gear Corporation Corporation A Member of the DRIVESYSTEMS Group A Member of NORD the NORD 800 NORD Drive, Waunakee, WI 53597 USA Phone: 888/314-6673 Email: info.us@nord.com www.nord.com NORD DRIVESYSTEMS designs and manufactures gear boxes, electric motors, and control products engineered for adaptability. A recognized market leader, our innovative solutions are powering applications in nearly every industry throughout the world.

NORD’s extensive product portfolio is continuously evolving to meet the needs of today’s fast-changing markets, but NORD does far more than manufacture the world’s finest drive components. Our modular design delivers versatility with more than 20,000,000 standard configurations that can be delivered quickly. This concept also gives customers complete freedom to specify a drive solution that’s perfect for their application without the need for costly custom components.

DuoDrive – The latest generation of IE5+ PMSM motors integrated into a single-frame, single-stage helical gear unit housing. DuoDrive features a power range of 0.5 HP – 2HP, output speeds of up to 1000 rpm, max output torque of 700 lb-in, and speed ratios from 3.24 – 16.2:1. Ideal for washdown environments, these innovative gear units are compact, quiet, and highly efficient.

NORDAC ON/ON+ – Developed to meet the special requirements of horizontal conveyor technology, as well as for interaction with NORD’s new IE5+ synchronous motors (NORDAC ON+). These VFDs are characterized by an integrated Ethernet interface, full Plug-and-Play capabilities, and a very compact design.

IE5+ Synchronous Motors – NORD’s IE5+ motors offer 0.47 – 1.5 HP and 14.2 – 42.5 lb-in. of torque in a single motor frame with several industry-standard mounting options.

Designed for compatibility with NORD’s modular gear units, this motor allows the number of variants to be reduced significantly, making systems easier to maintain and saving Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) costs.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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OPC Foundation Headquarters and Administrative Office 16101 N. 82nd Street, Suite 3B, Scottsdale, AZ 85260-1868 USA Phone: 480/483-6644 Email: office@opcfoundation.org www.opcfoundation.org OPC is the interoperability standard for the secure and reliable exchange of data in the industrial automation space and in other industries. It is platform, industry, and protocol independent and ensures the seamless flow of information among devices from multiple vendors. The OPC Foundation is responsible for the development and maintenance of this standard.

The OPC standard is a series of specifications developed with the cooperation of industry vendors, end users, and software developers. These specifications define the interface between Clients and Servers, as well as Servers and Servers, including access to real-time data, monitoring of alarms and events, access to historical data, and other applications.

With the introduction of service-oriented architectures in manufacturing systems, came new challenges in security and data modeling.

The OPC Foundation developed the OPC UA specifications to address these needs and, at the same time, provided a feature-rich technology, open-platform architecture that was future-proof, scalable, and extensible.

Today the acronym OPC stands for Open Platform Communications.

To learn more about the collaborations currently underway, contact the OPC Foundation or visit the Markets & Collaboration page on the OPC Foundation’s website.

Become a member: https://opcfoundation.org/membership/become-a-member/step1

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Opto 22 43044 Business Park Drive Temecula, California 92590 USA Phone: 951/695-3000 Email: info@opto22.com www.opto22.com Let the engineers at Opto 22 help you build your connected automation system.

Opto 22’s groov® family of industrial edge controllers and I/O is designed from the ground up with integrated control, connectivity, and security tools to help you connect automation, enterprise, and cloud data.

Securely access, monitor, and maintain your systems at remote locations or customer sites.

Collect, process, and publish operational data backed by fault-tolerant storage and storeand-forward capability.

Develop real-time control programs in a language you know: ladder logic, function block diagram, flowcharts, Python, C/C++, and more.

Build dynamic operator HMI screens for embedded or external touchscreens, mobile devices, and browsers.

Replace costly, high-maintenance Windows PCs for HMI, OPC, and data processing with Linux-based controllers.

Secure existing PLCs, traditional I/O, and standalone equipment, then integrate it with databases, business systems, and cloud services.

Built on decades of field-proven experience, groov products are backed by lifetime guarantees on solid-state I/O, UL Hazardous Locations approval, ATEX compliance, and a wide -20 to 70 °C operating temperature range.

Count on free pre-sales engineering help and product support as well. All Opto 22 products are developed, manufactured, and supported in the U.S.A.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeHannifin ShurtleffCorporation Company George Shurtleff Company Parker Pneumatic Division Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd 8676 E M89, Richland, MI 49083 websiteURL websiteURL Phone: 877.321.4736 Email: PDNCustSvc@parker.com www.parker.com/pneumatic Body copy here Body copy here

Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than 100 years Parker has engineered the success of its customers in a wide range of diversified industrial and aerospace markets. Parker’s engineering expertise and broad range of core technologies uniquely positions the company to help solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges. Located in 50 countries around the world supporting 100 divisions with 336 manufacturing locations; Parker services over 104 countries with a distribution network of 13,000 locations. Comprised of six major groups; Parker’s businesses include Aerospace, Engineered Materials, Filtration, Fluid Connectors, Instrumentation and Motion Systems Group.

Servicing a wide and diverse market has provided Parker with a sound understanding of the engineering principals utilized in industry. Parker has divided the business into six major groups to best engineer solutions for the needs of each respective market segment. Motion Systems Group provides hydraulic, pneumatic, and electromechanical components and solutions that create and control motion for customers across major mobile and industrial markets.

The Pneumatic Division is dedicated to the advancement of pneumatic technology in the factory automation space, and, is focused the expansion of our product portfolio in the areas of network connectivity, predictive maintenance, and machine safety. The division is committed to the exploration of emerging technologies and the development of smart, intuitive products with on-board diagnostics and sensing capabilities to better serve the factory environment. These new innovations are a resource to be shared across our divisions and within product development. This very focus has allowed Parker Hannifin Pneumatic Division the resources and capability to be the best in its chosen areas of expertise.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Pepperl+Fuchs 1600 Enterprise Parkway, Twinsburg, OH 44087 USA Phone: 330/425-3555 Email: sales@us.pepperl-fuchs.com www.pepperl-fuchs.com As a leader in industrial sensor technology and a pioneer in electrical explosion protection, Pepperl+Fuchs has been developing components and solutions for over 70 years. Forging ahead with new ideas and finding new approaches is what drives us. This is the foundation for technologically advanced solutions that are tailored to individual applications and geared toward future requirements.

Our wide-ranging process automation portfolio includes intrinsic safety barriers, signal conditioners, HART interface solutions, WirelessHART, remote I/O systems, FieldConnex® fieldbus infrastructure, human machine interfaces, purge and pressurization systems, mobile computing and communications, surge protection, level measurement, custom cabinets, and junction boxes.

In addition, Pepperl+Fuchs’ Solution Engineering Centers (SECs) around the world offer tailor-made system solutions complete with hazardous-location certification and documentation. Creating customer-focused solutions to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges is at the center of everything we do. And Industry 4.0/IIoT makes this more important than ever.

Pepperl+Fuchs is re-envisioning tried-and-trusted technologies and developing innovations that pave the way for networked production and communication that transcends your company’s boundaries.

Our innovation, your competitive advantage.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George ShurtleffCompany Company George Shurtleff PHD, Inc. 9009 Clubridge Drive Phone: 000/000-0000 Phone: Phone:000/000-0000 (800) 624-8511 websiteURL websiteURL www.phdinc.com

Email: Please Email: addadd Email:Please phdinfo@phdinc.com

Body copy here Body here in transforming seeds of ideas into complete solutions. Through hands-on PHD copy specializes processes reliant on collaboration, trust, and in deeply understanding needs, wants, goals, challenges, and pain points, we empower our partners with solutions to create the products that simplify, advance, and improve people’s everyday lives. We empower innovation and breakthroughs improving efficiency and productivity.

PHD solutions are built to last for maximum efficiency, low cost of ownership, reduced downtime, and repairability. We proudly offer a complete line of build-to-order actuators including cylinders, clamps, grippers, slides, rotary actuators, multi-motion actuators, escapements, and accessories.

PHD Custom Solutions - Nearly every standard unit PHD makes is manufactured to order due to a wide variety of actuators, options, and accessories available. When you have definitive needs, PHD has definitive solutions: product customization is what we’re known for. With the collective skill and expertise to custom design and build solutions for nearly any industry or application, count on us when you need unique automation and precise outcomes. If an application requires a modified component, our Custom Solutions team is ready to help regardless of quantity or frequency of order.

PHD’s Electric Solutions deliver superior speeds, thrust, and payloads with extreme accuracy. The “Your Motor, Your Way” process allows users to employ this technology operated by the motor and controls of their choice. If you prefer a complete package, your local PHD distributor can provide motors and controls to fit your application needs. PHD provides the best offering of electric actuators with the flexibility to configure Your Motor, Your Way!

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Pro-Face America 1050 Highland Drive, Suite D, Ann Arbor, MI, 48108 USA Phone: 734/477-0600 Email: customercare@profaceamerica.com www.profaceamerica.com Pro-face is a leading global HMI supplier and offers the most reliable touchscreen operator interfaces and industrial computers in the automation solutions market.

Our core product offer includes Pro-face brand HMI software and hardware, and both panel and box style Industrial PCs. Pro-face offers dedicated and PC-based, open architecture, visualization and control systems. Our high powered, but easy to use software allows for a clear and functional operator interface.

An extensive connectivity to PLCs and industrial devices make Pro-face the best choice for your control solution. Our renowned product quality, start-to-finish support, and global reach are unsurpassed. Training, customization and solution design: our experience makes the difference.

Pro-face brand products have been installed on factory floors and in field operations worldwide. Today Pro-face still sets the HMI standard with state-of-the-art technology, efficient manufacturing, unparalleled testing, and global distribution and support.

We continually upgrade our offerings to help keep your HMI applications on the cutting edge.

Visit www.profaceamerica.com for more information.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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ProComSol 13001 Athens Ave, Suite 220, Lakewood, OH, 44107 USA Phone: 216/221-1550 Email: sales@procomsol.com www.procomsol.com ProComSol, Ltd (Process Communications Solutions) was founded in 2005 dedicated to providing products for users of process communications technology. We established our reputation with reliable USB HART modems certified by the FieldComm Group. The HMUSB-ISO HART Modem is the most cost-effective certified USB HART Modem available.

We are known for several technical innovations. Among them is our Bluetooth HART modem which first appeared on the market in 2005. This makes us the first to offer wireless capabilities for HART users. We were also the first to offer products based on SDC-625 technology. Our DevComDroid Smart Communicator App for Android, released in 2014, is the first product to offer full DD capabilities on the Android platform. Our DevCom.iOS App for Apple products was released in 2017 - also an industry first.

Our HART Communicator software products (DevCom2000, DevComDroid, and DevCom. iOS) have established themselves as the only real alternatives to expensive communicators.

DevCom2000 was originally released in 2006. Constant and steady improvements over the years have made DevCom2000 reliable, convenient, and feature rich.

The DevCom family of products also fully support HART-IP. This means they can be used with the upcoming Advanced Physical Layer hardware (Ethernet-APL).

Our new Foundation Fieldbus (FF) products follow in this tradition of innovation and quality.

DevComFF.Win released in 2021 provides full DD communicator capabilities for Windows.

DevComFF.Droid and DevComFF.iOS will appear soon, providing the first Android and iOS based FF communicators. Exciting times!

ProComSol has always been a member of the FieldComm Group. We are committed to improving the HART and FF protocols and offering high quality, reliable, and innovative products using these robust technologies. If you do not see products or features that you need, please contact us. We promise to work hard to meet your needs.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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PULS, L.P. 2640 White Oak Circle, Suite A, Aurora, IL 60502 USA Phone: 630/587-9780 Email: info@puls-us.com www.pulspower.us PULS, the premier manufacturer of the most efficient DIN-Rail and machine mount switched mode power supplies, dedicates 100% of company resources on the design, development, production and sales of high quality, long-lasting DC power products for the industrial market. This singular focus on the needs and requirements of the DC power market has resulted in PULS becoming the market leader in this demanding industry. Our broad product offering enables users to select the right PULS product for the application requirements without the need to oversize and/or purchase unnecessary features.

Efficiency - PULS products feature the industry’s highest energy efficiency ratings. High efficiencies produce less heat which in turn provides for longer life expectancies of all components. High efficiencies also result in the lowest energy consumption for the user and reduce thermal management requirements.

Technology Leader - Since 1980, PULS has used advanced design techniques to bring product innovations to the industrial automation market, advancing quality and reliability for OEMs and end users throughout the world. Two ultra-modern production facilities in Europe and Asia utilize highly automated manufacturing and test lines which allows PULS to maintain reliability and consistency in our manufacturing process.

Control of Supply Chain and Manufacturing - PULS controls the entire process—from development to shipment—and maintains significant inventory levels in North America to meet your requirements no matter the size or scope of your commercial needs.

Lowest Total Cost of Ownership - Beginning with the engineering-based design for optimum efficiencies and small power densities, to the quality of components used in every unit, PULS designs lead to lower heat generation, smaller footprint, longer service lifetimes and reduced replacement and energy costs. This results in PULS having the lowest total cost of ownership for OEMs and end users.

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Schmersal USA 15 Skyline Drive, Hawthorne, NY 10532 USA Phone: 914/347-4775 Email: salesusa@schmersal.com www.schmersalusa.com Machine safety is a complex topic. Companies are increasingly calling on qualified specialists for support. For Schmersal, safety is in our genes – our company is now managed by the third generation of the Schmersal family. But that’s not the only reason machine safety is part of our DNA: 75 years of competence and expertise allows us to develop excellent safety solutions for individual plants, for machine builders, and operators.

Since 1945, Schmersal has been industry leader in the design and manufacture of machine safety products, industrial switches, position sensors, and control accessories for a wide variety of applications. As safety requirements have changed over the years, Schmersal products have evolved as well. We’re constantly adding new innovations to our range of products, such as: Electronic safety switches utilizing RFID technology, “High” level coding of switches for tamper resistance (to ISO 14119), Bi-Stable locking of solenoids, and Bluetooth interface integrated into Safety Light Curtains.

Schmersal is your one-stop shop for developing safety solutions - combining the building blocks of safety rated components with control systems and software for customized and comprehensive safety systems.

Motivated by the vision of safe working environments and leveraging our vast experience in machine safety systems, Schmersal also offers machine builders and production facilities qualified services related to machine safety in support of our considerable range of safety products and system solutions. Through seminars and training, risk assessments, technical support, consultancy, and integration program services we support safety engineers with first-hand specialist knowledge.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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SEW-EURODRIVE, Inc. 1295 Old Spartanburg Hwy, Lyman, SC 29365 USA Phone: 864/439-7537 Email: cslyman@seweurodrive.com www.seweurodrive.com Drive and Automation Expertise from SEW-EURODRIVE In addition to our industry-leading line of gearmotors and other components, our dedicated team of automation engineers provides the expertise, project planning, software, commissioning, and worldwide support for your most challenging motion control projects.

Our experts will provide a solution of perfectly matched SEW components that work together seamlessly — because we designed them that way!

Our MOVI-C® modular automation system is a one-software, one-hardware automation platform that combines fully integrated components, control electronics and automation software – like our MOVIKIT® pre-built software modules. These simple to use modules benefit engineers of all experience levels by reducing time in automation programming.

MOVIGEAR® is the mechatronic drive system that combines the gear unit, IE4 motor and electronics in one compact unit. Recent updates include fully integrated Ethernet/ IP communications and digital motor integration. This advanced single-cable technology carries power, feedback information and control signals along a single hybrid cable between decentralized devices.

SEW-EURODRIVE now offers a full complement of drive maintenance and management services with our 24/7 online portal and complete overview of your drive components, the condition of your units, drive usage, and service details. Plus, our new on-site Pick-Up Box service frees up your maintenance team for other tasks. Just place your drives that need repair in the supplied box, and we’ll handle the pick-up and return of your drive units.

SEW-EURODRIVE sets the global standard for high performance and rugged reliability.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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SICK, Inc. 6900 West 110th Street, Minneapolis., MN, 55438 USA Phone: 800/325-7425 Email: info@sick.com www.sickusa.com For over 70 years, SICK, Inc. has been a pioneer of intelligent sensors and solutions for the industrial automation market. As a world leading manufacturer of sensors, safety systems, machine vision, and automatic identification products for factory, logistics, and process automation.

Regardless of packaging color, shape, or size, companies can count on SICK for innovative products and top-notch expertise to deliver a wide range of product application solutions, systems, and services. SICK sensors initiate, inspect, confirm, monitor, and control the movement of product between automated packaging operations in a variety of packaging industries. In wash-down applications, our tough, IP 69K-rated photoelectric sensors are here to help. For inspection applications, intelligent camera sensors can detect the position of packaging components. And for entry/exit systems, you’ll gain maximum availability and safety on palletizer and stretch-wrapper machines. Solutions from SICK offer advantages in performance, networkability, and flexibility.

In addition, we are a leading provider or Industry 4.0 solutions for the market. As the world leader of intelligent sensing solutions, we will continue to innovate new solutions that provide insight and analysis. This will enable our customers to proactively solve their complex issues and more efficiently manage production, throughput, quality, and safety.

At SICK, we are looking forward to all the new challenges and opportunities the future and Industry 4.0 will bring.

Our goal is simple: to help our customers achieve their goals! Whether your goal is to increase production rates, shorten processing times, provide safe manufacturing environments, or maintain consistent high quality of products – SICK is here to help.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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GeorgeShurtleff Shurtleff Company George Company Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd 2233 Argentia Road, Suite 306, Mississauga, ON L5N 2X7 Canada websiteURL websiteURL Phone: 905-702-7851 Email: sales@skkynet.com skkynet.com Body copy here Body copy here

Skkynet is a global leader in real-time middleware products that allow companies to securely acquire, monitor, control, visualize, network and consolidate live process data inplant or over insecure networks.

In plant, Skkynet offers DataHub® software, an industrial middleware solution that connects to virtually any system using standard protocols such as OPC, Modbus, TCP, MQTT, and ODBC to support OPC networking, server-to-server bridging, aggregation, data logging, redundancy, and real-time HMI. For IoT, Skkynet offers two solutions: SkkyHub service and Skkynet DataHub® service in Microsoft Azure. Both services allow companies to securely network industrial data to other locations, consolidate information from remote plants and devices, share data for predictive maintenance, or use a real-time HMI to view data from around the globe. Secure by design, neither service requires any security hardware, VPN, or changes to IT policies. Yet your plant systems remain invisible to the Internet.

Skkynet software and services are being used in over 20,000 installations in 86 countries, including by the top 10 automation providers worldwide. OEM relationships with hardware and software providers include Siemens, General Electric and Metso Outotec, and we are a certified AVEVA technology partner. We serve every industrial sector: energy, manufacturing, water, building automation, oil & gas, mining, and more. Our customers include Microsoft, Siemens, AVEVA, Caterpillar, Mittal Steel, ABB, Gamesa, Honeywell, IBM, GE, Equinor, Goodyear, BASF, TEVA, Bombardier, and the Bank of Canada.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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SMC Corporation of America 10100 SMC Boulevard Noblesville, IN 46060 USA Phone: 800-762-7621 Email: sales@smcusa.com www.smcusa.com SMC promotes advanced automation through automated control technology.

SMC offers technology in pneumatic components such as actuators; cylinders; directional control valves; airline preparation equipment; chillers and dryers; vacuum components; static elimination products; fittings and tubing; electric actuators; grippers; pressure switches high purity chemical valves and fittings as well as process gas equipment.

SMC’s global presence with manufacturing, sales and technical support in over 83 countries assures that continuity of products and service are maintained to support your global manufacturing requirements.

With its goal of ever more advanced automation, and using its many achievements as a base, SMC is developing high quality, highly reliable, CO2 reducing products to contribute to automation in industry, as well as in familiar areas of everyday life.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Softing Inc. 7209 Chapman Highway, Knoxville, TN, 37920 USA Phone: 865/251-5252 Email: sales@softing.us http://industrial.softing.com/us/ Get Connected Softing provides OPC/OPC UA connectivity solutions on 9 different platforms including embedded, in-chassis, gateways, and software solutions.

Softing offers the only way to connect ControlLogix and CompactLogix PLCs to databases and cloud applications for industrial analytics at scale without writing software code, without a PC in the middle, and without protocol translation. For your PLC Ethernet networking infrastructure, checkout the Phoenix Digital PLC in-chassis modules and DIN rail mount modules. This is the only plug and play networking solution that is fiber, redundant, and in-chassis.

Softing provides connectivity solutions for Modbus, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, HART, PROBIFUS, PROFINET, Ethernet/IP, and IIoT solutions with SQL, MQTT, REST, Azure, and AWS. Stay Connected Troubleshoot, diagnose, and manage your PROFIBUS network in the field with the handheld PROFIBUS Tester 5. Monitor, troubleshoot, and configure HART, FF, and PROFIBUS smart valves and intelligent flow meters with mobiLink.

Know the health and prove the performance of your control network with the NetXpert XG cable tester and active network LAN manager. Test copper, fiber, and POE. Perform BERT, SNR, and delay skew in one test with speeds up to 10Gb/sec bit error rate test. Discover network devices and see connected devices. Check for duplicate IP addresses.

Optimize Your Facility

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Teledyne DALSA 605 McMurray Road, Waterloo, ON N2V 2E9 CANADA Phone: 519/886-6000 Email: TDI_sales.americas@teledyne.com www.teledynedalsa.com Teledyne DALSA is a part of Teledyne’s Vision Solutions group and a leader in the design, manufacture and deployment of digital imaging components for machine vision. Our image sensors, cameras, smart cameras, frame grabbers, software, and vision solutions are at the heart of thousands of inspection systems around the world and across multiple industries.

Our Vision is Sharp Teledyne DALSA area scan cameras offer support for a variety of interfaces, from GigE Vision (1 to 5 GigE) and USB3 Vision, to Camera Link, Camera Link HS, and CoaXPress – allowing seamless integration with virtually any imaging system. Our multi-featured Linea line scan cameras offer advanced CMOS sensor technology, and are available in 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K and 32K resolution with specific models for near and short-wave infrared (NIR, SWIR) applications.

In Depth Inspection and Analysis Teledyne DALSA’s Z-Trak2™ family of 3D profile sensors ushers in a new era of 5GigE 3D profile sensors for high-speed, in-line 3D applications. Models deliver scan speeds of up to 45,000 profiles per second and features built-in HDR and reflection compensation algorithms to handle surfaces with varying degrees of reflectivity in a single scan.

Industrial Vision and Factory Automation Teledyne DALSA’s vision solutions range from single standard camera configurations to high-performance multi-camera models. These systems are compatible with a wide range of cameras for both area and line based imaging including Teledyne DALSA’s Gigabit Ethernet and Camera Link cameras with mono or color sensors, as well as 3rd party alternatives. Integrated software offers a full suite of tools and capabilities for a wide range of applications across multiple industries.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Telemecanique Sensors 1875 Founders Drive, Dayton, OH, 45420 USA Phone: 800/435-2121 Email: customercare@tesensors.com www.tesensors.us For over 90 years, Telemecanique Sensors has provided quality sensing solutions through the Telemecanique Sensors and Square D brands, setting itself apart as a leader in sensor, limit switch, and safety technology.

The Telemecanique Sensors offer includes a comprehensive line of products with over 25,000 types of sensors, including limit switches, pressure switches, photoelectric, ultrasonic, inductive, and capacitive electronic sensors. In addition, we provide state of the art RFID systems that are tightly integrated with many PLC manufacturers.

Our line of limit and pressure switches include the Square D brand, a brand launched in 1902 by the Detroit Fuse and Manufacturing Company. To capitalize on the high recognition of the trademark on its switches (a capital D in a square), the company changed its name to Square D in 1917. By 1964, Square D had 10,000 employees and 22 plants. By 1991 (when it joined the Telemecanique Sensors team), it had 18,500 employees with operations in 23 countries.

In 1924, the French company Telemecanique invented the first contactor and quickly expanded its business to become a leading industrial control and automation specialist.

Telemecanique moved outside of France early in its history and, by 1988, had 14,500 employees, 32 subsidiaries outside of France, 4,100 sales outlets, and sales of 1.2 billion Euros.

The combination of these two brands gives Telemecanique Sensors a powerful and unparalleled sensor solutions offering. More importantly, the same commitment to safety, reliability, and innovation that launched and established the Telemecanique Sensors and Square D brands is still perpetuated today by those who have inherited and are building upon that rich, successful history. Telemecanique Sensors products continue to be known for high quality and superior performance, and conform to global standards such as: IEC, NEMA, CE, CCC, UL, and CSA.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George GeorgeShurtleff ShurtleffCompany Company Turck Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please 3000 Campus Drive Minneapolis, MN, 55441 USA websiteURL websiteURL Phone: 763/553-7300 Email: info@turk.com www.turck.us Body copy here Body copy here

Turck is a pioneer in industrial automation technology, providing customers with a comprehensive line of quality and advanced technology in a fast, flexible and accurate manner. With more than 4,600 people working in 30 countries, Turck has built global partnerships with customers based on engineering expertise, flexibility and a willingness to take on engineering challenges that others won’t.

Turck is a leader in listening to customers’ automation challenges and engineering custom application solutions. Its specialties are sensors, connectivity solutions and fieldbus technology, with additional strengths in RFID. Since it first opened in 1960 as an engineering office, Turck has grown into a leading, global solutions supplier for factory and process automation applications.

Sensors—Turck offers more than 5,000 proximity sensors based on inductive, capacitive or magnetic principles of operation, along with ultrasonic, flow, linear and rotary position sensors to solve your detection, positioning and measurement applications. They are rugged and reliable even in the toughest of environments with versions rated up to IP69K or that are weld immune.

Connectivity—You’ll get endless connection possibilities with Turck’s rugged industrial cable, connectors and wiring harnesses. They are designed for the toughest applications and harshest environments. Our cut-to-length Bulk Cable program is second to none, allowing you to buy only what you need. If you can’t find what you are looking for, our team of local experts can custom engineer a solution for you.

Fieldbus your communication capabilities while consolidating your wiring FieldbusTechnology—Expand Technology—Expand your communication capabilities while consolidating your using fieldbus technology.

Turck’s fieldbus technology is used to link devices to an automated wiring using fieldbus technology. Turck’s fieldbus technology is used to link devices to an controller.

From distributed I/Odistributed to junctionI/O boxes and HMIs, Turck offers a wide range of options automated controller.

From to junction boxes and HMIs, Turck offers a wide that are compatible with all major network protocols.

Whether on-machine or in a panel, Turck range of options that are compatible with all major network protocols. Whether on-machine has a solution.

See AllAll thethe Leaders In In Automation at at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See Leaders Automation www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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George ShurtleffCompany Company George Shurtleff Vecna Robotics 425 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please 000/000-0000 Please addadd Phone: (617) 444-9263 Email: team@vecnarobotics.com websiteURL websiteURL www.vecnarobotics.com Body copy here Body copy here is an award-winning, flexible intelligent material handling technology Vecna Robotics company with solutions engineered for seamless work between autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and the labor, equipment, facilities, and systems that keep business moving.

Our self-driving forklifts, pallet movers, and tuggers –– powered by proprietary Pivotal™ orchestration software and our 24/7/365 command center –– are optimized for multi-shift operations in medium to large facilities in distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing.

Our tightly integrated solutions extend staff capacity and help to minimize labor shortage disruptions and demand spikes across different high-volume logistics environments.

What differentiates Vecna Robotics is that we are laser-focused on helping organizations to automate their most critical workflows, maximize throughput, and scale operations fast.

Our intelligent, self-driving equipment brings a cloud-first approach to materials handling that get smarter over time. From initial simulation to professional set up, our solutions are tuned for key workflows like End of Line, Case Picking, and Material Replenishment and Put Away.

Whatever your facility throws at our autonomous equipment, industry-leading obstacle avoidance software is designed to keep your pallets on the move and maximize throughput.

And in the event of a disruption, our remotely managed command center monitors your facility 24/7/365 to maintain 99%+ uptime.

And lastly, real success with Vecna is rooted in proven, measured long term customer results. Our novel robots-as-a-service pricing model and winning safety and platform scalability gives you the long-term flexibility keep your business moving for the long haul.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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WAGO Corporation N120W19129 Freistadt Rd, Germantown, WI 53022 USA Phone: 262/255-6222 Email: info.us@wago.com www.wago.com/us WAGO Corporation provides North America with innovative Interconnect, Electronic Interface, and Automation solutions. Headquartered in Germantown, WI, WAGO features state-of-the art manufacturing and 75,000 square feet of storage capacity for 37,000 product locations. Extensive engineering resources, a 25,000+ product portfolio, custom manufacturing, and a global network of dedicated professionals ensure WAGO has the resources and expertise to help you get the job done. To see our capabilities in action, watch the video at www.wago.us/capabilities.

ECO 2—Balance Size, Efficiency with Tool-Free Installation As an economical solution for standard applications, WAGO’s ECO 2 power supplies maximize space in your control cabinet while providing a high efficiency rating up to 90%.

These power supplies come with our Push-In CAGE CLAMP® technology for reliable connections and equipped with orange integrated levers, allowing for a tool-free installation experience. They also have a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of greater than one million hours and with LED indications, DC O.K. contacts, adjustable output voltage and convenient marking options they are a cost effective and excellent choice for standard applications.

Edge—Devices on the Cutting Edge of Network Computing WAGO combines the advantages of decentralized Cloud computing with local control networks by debuting their new Edge Controller and Edge Computer. These devices come complete with open architecture supporting Linux-based applications such as Docker and NodeRed and advanced hardware for all of your edge of network application requirementsz.

As an IT and OT in one device, they provide low latency control and simplified connection with Cloud based services providing multiple interfaces for connection to field devices and monitors.

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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Winsted 10901 Hampshire Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN, 55438 USA Phone: 800/447-2257 Email: info@winsted.com www.winsted.com Winsted is a worldwide leader in control room console solutions. We create attractive, ergonomic consoles that work with your operators to improve comfort and optimize efficiency. We offer stock, customized and custom consoles suitable for any control room application. Whether you are building a state-of-the-art control room from the ground up, or simply need to upgrade your operations, Winsted can provide the ideal solution. Our experts combine the disciplines of industrial design, ergonomics and interior design to create solutions that are both efficient and eye-catching. We give special consideration to the ergonomic requirements of your operators to build consoles that reduce fatigue, improve productivity and inspire. Our commitment to customer service is second-to-none and your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Since its inception in 1963, Winsted has consistently been a pioneer in product design and development. Product concepts and designs are driven by industry needs and demands, with many product ideas suggested by customers and developed with their input. Our modular system approach, developed for the early broadcast industry, has become the industry standard for all markets, and our experience developing specialized custom products enables us to offer console and furniture solutions for any application.

A dominant factor in U.S. markets for many years, Winsted expanded into overseas markets in 1975, primarily in England. In 1976 the company began concentrated efforts to establish distribution in the Far East. Winsted’s international distribution was firmly established in 1984 with the formation of Winsted, Ltd. in England. Since then, Winsted, Ltd. has become a successful marketing and manufacturing operation serving the European, Middle Eastern and African markets. In 1986, distributor agreements were established in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.

Our family of companies, broad range of capabilities and an ongoing commitment to Customers, Products and Service is why Winsted is “Preferred by Professionals Worldwide.”

See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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1/18/22 9:29 AM

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GeorgeShurtleff Shurtleff Company George Yaskawa America,Company Inc. 2121 Norman Drive South, Waukegan, IL 60085 Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Email: Please Phone: 847/887-7000 info@yaskawa.com Phone: 000/000-0000 Email: Please addadd websiteURL www.yaskawa.com websiteURL Body copy here At Yaskawa, we help you explore what’s possible, and open new doors to opportunity.

Body copy here Rather than accepting the status quo, we invite you to wonder, “What if …?” And then we make it possible. That dedication to engineering and innovation is what makes us different.

Experience is often the difference between solving a problem the right way and settling for “good enough.” Our global expertise is unmatched and unquestioned, with 100+ Years of manufacturing excellence, 30 countries with sales, service, and manufacturing locations, and $4.0 billion in global sales per year.

We provide both standard products and tailor-made solutions, all backed by proven quality and reliability. We continuously work to save you money, time, and energy, because we believe your machine can always run faster, smoother and more productively. It’s about making the correct diagnoses, creating the right automation machinery, and implementing it in the best way possible.

Yaskawa AC Servo Systems come to a precise position with a speed and consistency that is unmatched in the industry. Connect our rotary, linear, and direct drive motors to an advanced Yaskawa machine controller to achieve SINGULAR CONTROL: the ability to manage robots, servos and drives with a single controller and familiar IEC 61131-3 programming.

Yaskawa offers a variety of AC drives that support every application in the industrial plant, offering size and performance options from fractional HP to 16,000 HP. Our latest variable frequency drives provide simple motor setup with highly flexible network communications, embedded functional safety, no-power programming, and easy-to-use tools featuring mobile device connectivity with our DriveWizard mobile app.

Over 500,000 Yaskawa Robots are at work worldwide, with 150+ models to choose from and the strength of decades of packaging application expertise.

Read more about CompanyName’s innovation in Packaging World: www.packworld.com/home/company/00000000/pmmi See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders See All the Leaders In Automation at www.AutomationWorld.com/Leaders

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106 NEW PRODUCTS AW JANUARY 2022

Asset Performance Management Software

ABB, abb.com ABB is expanding its digital offerings with the launch of the ABB Ability Genix Asset Performance Management (APM) Suite for condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and 360-degree asset performance insights for the process, utility, and transportation industries. The Genix APM Suite allows users to add asset condition monitoring to existing operational technology landscapes, enables prioritization of maintenance activities based on AI-informed predictions, and provides a comprehensive overview of asset performance.

Genix APM Suite also empowers significant improvements in operational sustainability. By assessing the remaining useful life of industrial assets, Genix APM generates a plan for preventive maintenance, which can extend equipment uptime by as much as 50% and increase asset life by up to 40%.

Micro-Sized Servo Drives

Advanced Motion Controls, a-m-c.com The seven new micro-sized FlexPro servo drives released by Advanced Motion Controls feature a 60 A continuous current rating, which is 33% higher than previous models of the same size making these the company’s highest power-density servo drives to date. This offering includes PCB mount, machine embedded, and development board form factors. Other features include: EtherCAT, CANopen, and RS485/ RS232 communication availability; 10-55 V DC input voltage; and torque, velocity, and position operating modes.

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FINANCE VIEW 107 AW JANUARY 2022

Rethinking Manufacturing Investments for a Learning Economy

By Larry White

CMA, CFM, CPA, CGFM lwhite@rcaininstitute.org

Executive Director, Resource Consumption Accounting Institute

D

iscussions of internal investments normally focus on planning for a capital budget—meaning physical infrastructure that is capitalized on financial statements. Manufacturing will always be a capital-intensive business, but information technology (IT) and digital/data components of capital projects are rapidly becoming a larger proportion of the project budget.

Additionally, the annual non-capital spending to maintain and improve the IT and digital/ data components is increasing. Less noticeable is the growing spending on workforce and workforce skills and capabilities necessary to operate and redesign business practices and processes in the technologically advanced environment of SMART manufacturing. What we are experiencing is the next iteration of capitalism; one that increasingly relies on learning, knowledge, and intellectual capital to drive economic success. Perhaps this is a little less true in manufacturing, where physical capital remains dominant, but it is happening.

In capital markets, traditional physical capital is less than 10% of the market value of businesses. The investment analyst’s discussions have shifted from investing in companies with tangible or physical capital to build long-term value, to investing in companies where intangible capital is the key to building long-term value. We have traditionally thought of intangible capital as “goodwill” that primarily resulted from the purchase of another company and was amortized over time in accordance with accounting rules.

According to McKinsey and Company (awgo. to/1306), today’s intangible investments revolve around:

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• Brand capital—creating and maintaining brands customers have confidence in, reputation; • Human capital—recruiting and retaining personnel and processes to grow their capability and creativity; • Innovation capital—research and development, process improvement, market/customer research, intellectual property; and • Data and analytics capital—digital strategy on how to incorporate these capitals into corporate/organizational capability, proprietary data, flexible architecture, rapid/adaptive implementation.

The McKinsey study noted that top performers across all industries invested in intangibles at a rate 2.6 times more than their competitors. Specifically for manufacturing, “Even in sectors with relatively lower growth such as manufacturing, top growers are using high investment in intangibles to outgrow the market. Some companies that have outperformed their sectors have diversified into intangible-like adjacencies. For instance, manufacturing companies in slower-growing industries have used their intangible assets to carve out resilient niches within the industry or find new growth markets.”

One significant difference frequently noted about investments in intangible capital is that they often appreciate in value over time if properly managed, nurtured, and cultivated while physical assets depreciate.

Many forms of intangible capital build on each other and grow in capability when used frequently. Even failures are often looked at as an investment in organizational learning and a foundation for future innovation.

Organizations have long had operating budgets and capital budgets, but today’s economy calls for more refined planning.

Investment strategy still needs to consider traditional capital investment needs, but must also consider investments in brand, human capability investment, innovation, data/analytics investment, and any other capabilities needed by your organization.

Articulating these specific categories of investments helps leaders and managers think of the capabilities they need to develop

to plan and achieve the organization’s strategies and goals. Thinking of intangible capital as investments rather than operating expenditures often promotes more open and innovative discussion.

Manufacturers are on the bleeding edge of many new technologies—Industrial Internet of Things platforms, digital twins, robotics, artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance, etc.—and alternative approaches to traditional business such as manufacturing-as-a-service. Organizational learning, knowledge, and intellectual capability are critical. It is important to recognize that capital markets will value intangible investments as much as improvements in physical capabilities. Manufacturing set the pace implementing and advancing continuous improvement—an intangible capability from an accounting point of view. Investing to improve a wider range of intangible capabilities simply extends organizational learning to the broader business of manufacturing.

Even in sectors with relatively lower growth such as manufacturing, top growers are using high investment in intangibles to outgrow the market. Some companies that have outperformed their sectors have diversi ed into intangible-like adjacencies.

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108 IT VIEW

AW JANUARY 2022

Demand-Driven Smart Manufacturing

By John Clemons Director of Manufacturing IT, Maverick Technologies

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he new MESA International Smart Manufacturing Model is under development and will be released very soon.

It’s different from other smart manufacturing models out there in that it’s not academic, it’s not descriptive, and it’s not meant as a reference to sit on the shelf.

It’s prescriptive, providing very specific recommendations on how we can be smarter in managing the lifecycles of manufacturing operations. It provides recommendations on the lifecycles that impact manufacturing operations including supply chain, personnel, order to cash, product, production, and production assets.

One question that’s addressed by the new model is “how can production be agile enough to respond to variability in demand from the enterprise without maintaining costly and risky finished goods inventory?”

The four key approaches to manufacturing are: Produce on demand, make to order, engineer to order, and make to stock. However, almost by definition, make to stock is not agile and it never will be. Even make to order and engineer to order, depending on how, when, and why the orders are created may not be as agile as claimed. The smart move is produce on demand, but that’s a lot easier said than done.

It means you must really know what the demand is, and you must modify your production processes to meet that demand. It means you produce what’s needed when it’s needed.

You produce the right quantity at the right time. It’s not capacity driven in the least—it’s totally demand driven. That’s what makes it agile. It’s easier said than done, but well worth it in the long run.

Another questions that’s addressed by the new model is “what’s the best way to ensure that the production resources are

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used most effectively to meet the demand from customers?”

There are several aspects to this question. One is how forecasting, planning, and scheduling are done. Many good technologies exist in the smart manufacturing toolkit that can help in this regard, but you have to use them, and you have to use them well. That means looking at the resource allocations and the resource assignments.

This includes all the resources: personnel, assets, materials, consumables, logistics, etc., and then assigning and allocating those resources in a smart fashion.

It also means looking at the suitability of the resources, the capability of the resources, the availability of the resources, the capacity of the resources, and so on. It means you have to know your resources—all of them—know what they can do, and what they can’t do, and allocate them effectively and efficiently.

Other questions addressed by the new model are “how can we make sure that finished goods and product coming out of production are consistently high quality?” It also addresses how to deal with a regulatory agency (e.g., the FDA) requiring detailed documentation of every step taken in the production processes, When it comes to production quality, its important to recognize that testing has its place. But quality has to be built in, not tested in. The production process must be built to be error proof and self-correcting to ensure that quality is built in at every step. That means operators must know exactly what quality means and what it takes to produce a quality product. When this occurs, testing is simply done to verify that the product meets the quality requirements.

Of course, it’s necessary to capture test results and identify exceptions when they occur. It’s also necessary to track incidents and deviations and have a continuous improvement process in place to take the information from the exceptions and deviations and work to eliminate the possibility of them ever occurring in the first place. Here, too, the reasoning is that your processes should be all about building in quality, not simply testing for it after the fact.

Another question that’s addressed by the new model is “how does smart manufacturing

make it easier to deal with new product introductions and high product mix situations?”

The answer is to be smarter when it comes to product design, management and transformation of recipes, creation and dissemination of product specifications and work instructions, management of the bills of materials, and management of the linkages of all these items to each other and to the other elements of the production lifecycle.

One final question I’d like to mention that’s addressed by the new model is “can smart production techniques ease the burden of workforce and skills shortages?”

The key here is having highly skilled, highly trained, high-performing resources, who have the right skillsets, and the right resources and tools at their fingertips. Then, it’s making sure those resources are in the right place at the right time.

So, if you’re intrigued by these questions, and are looking for more answers than I’ve had space to mention, then the new MESA International Smart Manufacturing Model is for you.

Quality has to be built in, not tested in. T�e production process must be built to be error proof and selfcorrecting to ensure that quality is built in at every step. T�at means operators must know exactly what quality means and what it takes to produce a quality product. W�en this occurs, testing is simply done to verify that the product meets the quality requirements.

1/17/22 9:16 AM

ADVERTISER INDEX 109 AW JANUARY 2022

COMPANY

WEBSITE

PAGE

COMPANY

WEBSITE

Acromag

www.acromag.com

Aerotech, Inc.

www.aerotech.com

Automation24 Inc.

www.automation24.com

Automation Direct

www.automationdirect.com

Beckhoff Automation

www.beckhoff.com

Binder USA, LP

www.binder-usa.com

21

HMS Networks

www.hms-networks.com

42

30

Lenze Americas

www.Lenze.com

39

7

Litmus Automation, Inc.

https://litmus.io

13

1

mk North America, Inc

www.mknorthamerica.com

25

Moxa Americas, Inc.

www.moxa.com

Opto 22

www.opto22.com

BCA - Automation & Robotics

www.BCAsystems.com

Carlo Gavazzi

www.GavazziOnline.com

17

Parker Hannifin

www.parker.com/pneumatic

28

18

Pepperl + Fuchs

www.pepperl-fuchs.com

36

Contemporary Controls Systems

www.ccontrols.com

20

Digi-Key Corp

www.digikey.com

ProComSol

www.procomsol.com

Puls Power Supplies

www.pulspower.us

109

Dorner Mfg. Corp.

www.dornerconveyors.com

Encoder Products Company

www.encoder.com

40

MAVERICK Technologies LLC

www.mavtechglobal.com/contact

112

43

Schmersal USA

www.schmersalusa.com

37

Endress + Hauser Fabco-Air

www.us.endress.com

35

SMC Corporation of America

www.smcusa.com

29

www.fabco-air.com

22

Softing Inc.

http://industrial.softing.com/us/

26

Festo Corporation

www.festo.com

Hammond Manufacturing

www.hammondmfg.com

19

Telemecanique Sensors

www.tesensors.us

23

Yaskawa America, Inc.

www.yaskawa.com

11

Hilscher North America

www.hilscher.com

15 9

5

106

PAGE

31 111

24

27

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The Alternative to the Cabinet: FIEPOS are decentralized power supplies for use directly in the field The need for flexible, modular systems is shaping machine design and system engineering. Decentralization of the system components has proven to be an important factor for success. It speeds up system planning, simplifies maintenance and enables easy expansion of the system. In addition, control enclosures can be replaced by smaller versions or even completely eliminated.

With FIEPOS, PULS presents a new type of power supply that was developed precisely for this environment: a decentralized field power supply with protection class IP65/67 that is easy to install and flexible enough to meet the diverse requirements of modular factory automation. Both single phase and 3-phase input versions are available.

PULS controls the entire process—from development to shipment—and maintains significant inventory levels in North America for many DC power products, including FIEPOS field power supplies.

Phone: 630.587.9780 | eMail: info@puls-us.com

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110 KEY INSIGHTS AW JANUARY 2022

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are popular because of their flexibility and ease of deployment. However, even when outfitted with robotic arms, they still have some limitations. While ideal for moving items across large plant floors or warehouses, AMRs may still struggle with tasks such as picking, particularly if items are of diverse shapes or sizes, or are arranged in a non-uniform manner.

David Miller on improving human-robot collaboration for material handling tasks.

One female student, who is now enrolled in an engineering program in college, recognized that young girls needed to see role models that looked like them in order to pursue engineering as an interest. So, once a month, she would create a lesson plan and teach middle school students different STEM topics. This experiment is now part of the high school program.

Stephanie Neil on Belden’s work with Glenbrook South High School to develop the next generation of engineers.

Condition-monitoring technologies have become popular because they attach to the machine and communicate operating data to the cloud, where it can be analyzed and used to monitor equipment health, triggering an alert if abnormal performance is detected. These types of tools use artificial intelligence to take the guesswork out of predicting maintenance issues and delivering alerts as required, instead of someone investigating logs.

Gareth Williams of Nukon on how artificial intelligence is changing food and beverage manufacturing.

Arburg, a manufacturer of plastics processing machinery, created a custom gripper for its MultiLift robotic system that can gently remove injection molded parts with complex geometries without marring their surface. Arburg accomplished this by combining a hard housing with a soft membrane, which is connected directly to the robot arm.

David Greenfield on how 3D printing is impacting robot gripper design.

For manufacturers who have started down the road of digitization, we are seeing edge computing as a major enabler for other IIoT technologies. Specifically, since many digital initiatives come from the IT side, we’ve had to figure out a way to bring IIoT technology to the plant floor in the least disruptive way possible. One area where clients are seeing success is deploying network infrastructure with edge computing technology embedded at the network switch layer.

Steve J. Malyszko of Malisko Engineering on how system integrators can help manufacturers navigate their digital transformation.

2201_KeyInsights.indd 110

1/17/22 9:14 AM

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