3D solid model software has come a long way.  It  makes complex finite element analysis an integrated feature so that new designs can be explored in hours, rather than days or weeks of building prototype parts and making changes.  New product development costs have been falling consistently since the advent of this technology. The logical […]

Electric motors are generally rotating machines.  And over the roughly 100 years of electric motor history, incredible effort has been put into adapting the technology to do an almost infiinite array of tasks.  Which is why it’s kind of ironic that in the industrial world, a significant number of applications require the conversion of rotary […]

The worldwide Human Machine Interface (HMI) software and services market, which totaled over $926 million in 2007, will reach over $1,430 billion in 2012, outperforming the industrial automation market overall and growing at a compounded annual growth rate of over 9.1 percent over the next five years, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study. […]

  The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International (FMA) conducted a recent survey that reported that one of biggest challenges facing manufacturers is the dwindling supply of skilled workers, cited by approximately 40 percent of those polled. The finding was corroborated by a Manpower Inc. survey on the 10 most difficult jobs to fill. The poll […]

Federal, state, and local government officials joined global factory automation supplier Bosch Rexroth in celebrating the opening of its new Tech Center East in Rochester Hills, Minn. At the opening, the company displayed state-of-the-art drive, motion and control concepts, and systems developed at the center, including hydraulic hybrid technology and automotive industry applications.   The […]