Polyurethane foam plays an essential role in automotive applications, particularly in the area of soundproofing. The exact recipes are frequently fine-tuned with additives to deliver customized materials properties. To increase its production capacity, polyurethane foam specialist Otto Bock Kunststoff (since renamed FoamPartner), added a new facility next to its Rochester, NY North American headquarters. Built […]
Design and Create Great HMI Visual Solutions
According to Apple founder Steve Jobs, “Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.” This is one of the guiding principles outlined in a series of videos by user experience expert Oliver Gerstheimer of Siemens. The goal of the series is to teach others great HMI design. From […]
TIA Portal Simplifies Rockwell to Siemens HMI Conversion
Control conversions happen all the time when new tooling is replaced in plants. The process takes time and costs money. From the OEM and integrator perspective, the goal is to make the conversion as transparent as possible so that the experience of configuring and commissioning is the same. Siemens designed the Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) […]
Two Brand New SIMATIC HMI Mobile Panels Released
SIMATIC second generation Mobile Panels offer performance, flexibility, convenience, and quality. Recent improvements include compact connection options, unique safety features, USB interfaces, simplified connections, and engineering elegance. Their deployment in the field or in the factory makes mobile operation and monitoring even safer and more efficient. Available with either a 4-, 7-, or 9-inch display […]
HMI PRO Extension Facilitates Customer Customization
Siemens just expanded the portfolio of system components for SIMATIC HMI PRO devices with the Extension Unit box, which can now be ordered in sizes ranging from 12 inches to 22 inches. The Extension Unit box is there to facilitate customer customization. It consists of an empty enclosure into which customer-specific components can be installed. […]
Better Panels for Food and Pharma
There are many challenging conditions to be faced in the workplace. The food and beverage industry, for example, often uses high-pressure washers. Equipment in such areas must be rated for IP69/ IP69K protection. Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry must uphold the highest standards of cleanliness. Hence computers, HMIs and other devices must be resistant to disinfectants. […]
More Screen, More Resolution with the SIMATIC HMI TP1000F Mobile
Personnel on the factory floor, conducting inspections, or involved in field service often have to work in conditions that are far from ideal. Lighting can either be too bright, too dull, or completely absent. Temperatures can either be uncomfortably high or frigid. The presence of particulate matter or smoke in the air can greatly impair […]
Rugged Mobile Displays Come in Larger Format
Siemens has expanded its human machine interface line, coming out with a 10-inch display, the SIMATIC HMI TP1000F MOBILE. The high-resolution color screen can display 1280×800 pixels. This high-resolution is compatible with the 15”/19” IPC visualization, and offers a good solution when needing to run remote operator software to the IPCs for control. As with […]
New Controls Sharpen Wood Processing System
Advanced controls help crosscut saw provide high precision and high throughput Since 1996, Portland, Oregon-based Pacific Trail Manufacturing, Inc. has innovated to produce a range of crosscut saws that process full units of lumber, plywood and other wood types to length quickly and to tolerances as precise as 1/64th of an inch (0.4 mm). Their […]
Automation Helps Solve Key Challenges on World’s Largest Tennis Stadium’s New Retractable Roof
Fault tolerance and style are key factors in the design of roof for Arthur Ashe Stadium The world’s largest tennis venue, the Arthur Ashe Stadium, has seen many rain delays since its opening in 1997. Adding a roof was a daunting challenge, one that was finally completed nearly 20 years after the stadium opened. After […]
