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Most manufacturing operations are constantly faced with change, and therefore they must be designed to adapt. Change routinely presents itself in the form of different production recipes, varying material properties, irregular equipment availability, weather extremes and many other factors. What’s more, change often includes several of these variables concurrently, and each may interact with others—adding still more complexity.

The automated system is a part of Gerstenberg Schröder's margarine and shortening process lines.

A line not running at optimum efficiency and producing less than expected might only be second to unplanned downtime in terms of headaches faced in manufacturing—both of which can be caused by a weak link in the production line. We spoke to Craig Souser, president and CEO of JLS Automation, about overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), about maintenance best practices and strategies to use in order to keep a line operating at its fullest.

Packaging for alt proteins must be protective and creative to succeed.

Plan to build an architecture that will grow with your needs.

Like a 15th century expression, “Children should be seen but not heard,” artificial intelligence (AI) is typically an embedded software technology that operates quietly behind the scenes keeping a production or packaging system running smoothly—and is silent unless something goes out of control and is not easily corrected. Then, the system sounds an alarm, possibly shutting down the process until the problem—which AI has already identified—is remedied by humans. 

AI is a must to improve process quality, save energy and maintain equipment.

Unable to attend Automate in Detroit this year? Here’s a roundup of some of the highlights that were on display.

Red Lion’s new N-Tron Series NT5000 gigabit managed Ethernet switches are engineered for use in factory automation, robotics, food and beverage, oil and gas, alternative energy, water and wastewater, and marine and rail industries.

Implementing a CMMS system brings your plant's maintenance efficiency to your fingertips.