Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered

How Does PLC Data Polling via Ethernet Impact PLC Cycle Time?

Evan Novakowski with system integrator Actemium Avanceon explains the primary factors that influence how data polling over Ethernet impacts PLC cycle time, if specific Ethernet protocols are more efficient for PLC data polling, strategies to optimize PLC cycle time and more.

How Are Robotics and AI Impacting Manufacturing Workforce Issues?

Lisa Masciantonio, chief workforce officer at the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, shares her insights into how robotics and AI have changed the U.S. manufacturing landscape in the past decade, as well as the key workforce challenges manufacturers face as they implement robotics and/or AI.

Are Enclosures Adapting to Manufacturing’s Digital Transformation?

As the manufacturing industries advance, and control technologies are increasingly built to withstand harsh industrial environments for direct placement on or nearby production operations, are enclosures still as vital to automation today as they’ve been in the past? Check out these insights from Jody Kinney at AutomationDirect.

Automation Tech Trends to Watch

This episode features input from several industrial technology experts about the automation technologies they expect to be of primary interest to manufacturers this year. From AI, robots and sustainability to preventative maintenance, inventory and workforce training, find out what industry experts from Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing, Cognizant, Fluke Reliability, Glassdome, Honeywell and Snowflake think will be the biggest automation tech factors in 2025.

The Impact of Industrial Business Trends on Automation in 2025

In this episode, we connect with Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief at Industry Week, to get his insights on manufacturing business issues most likely to affect automation purchasing and implementation decisions this year.

Machine Safety Risk Assessment Considerations

Do you know the machine safety basics to keep workers safe and machinery operating at its peak? In this episode, we feature insights from Joe Carson, president and founder of system integrator Pacific Blue Engineering, to get you up to speed with the best practices for implementing machine safety protocols.

How the Merger of IT and OT Can Influence Manufacturing

Referencing decisions made around IT and OT convergence at Entegris in 2008, we look at how those decisions helped the company scale its operations technology across multiple plants and support the company's growth from $550 million in 2008 to $3.5 billion in 2023, starting with HMI software on three machines and growing to 200 machines and 90,000 tags.

Understanding Key Industrial AI Tech Differences

Clearing up some of the confusion about different artificial intelligence technologies—specifically generative AI and AI for data analytics—and how they’re being applied in the manufacturing industries as well as to the development of industrial automation technologies.

Can Humanoid Robots Be Effective in Manufacturing?

We connect with Karthee Madasamay of MFV partners, a deep tech VC firm that was an early investor in Agility Robotics (one of the largest manufacturers of humanoid robots), to learn more about the current capabilities of humanoids, their cost and maintenance requirements, and how far off we are from seeing humanoids become more commonplace in manufacturing environments.

Are Robots Losing Steam in Manufacturing?

In this episode we’ll be looking at a recent report from A3 that indicates a significant drop in robot orders in the first half of 2024 and what that may mean for manufacturers considering near-term robot purchases and implementations.