April 2019

50 52 44 37 30 26 CONTENTS n Drives&Controls is a controlled circulation publication. If you live in the UK and want to subscribe phone 0333 577 0801 or fax 0845 604 2327. Alternatively for both UK and overseas subscriptions please subscribe online at www.drivesncontrols.com. If you have any enquiries regarding your subscription, please use these numbers. The content of this magazine, website and newsletters do not necessarily express the views of the Editor or publishers.The publishers accept no legal responsibility for loss arising from information in this publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced or stored in a retrieval systemwithout the written consent of the publishers. Paid subscriptions UK: £95 per annum Europe: £125 per annum Rest of World: £160 per annum Printing: Warners Midlands PLC., PE10 9PH ISSN 0950 5490 Copyright: DFA Media Ltd 2019 NEXT ISSUE The May issue of Drives & Controls will contain our annual supplement on electric motors, plus a look at developments in linear motion technologies. UPDATE 13 Comment 15 ABB Back to Basics 54 Gambica Column 56 Design Data and Multimedia 59 New Products 70 Products & Services IN DEPTH Follow us onTwitter @DrivesnControls Drives MagazineWeb site www.drivesncontrols.com Drives ShowWeb site www.drives-expo.com Join us on Facebook Drives & Controls Drives & Controls REGULARS DRIVES & CONTROLS APRIL 2019 Vol 35 No 4 Editor Tony Sacks t/f: 01732 465367 e: tony@drives.co.uk Production Manager Sarah Blake t: 01233 770781 e: sarah.blake@dfamedia.co.uk Customer Liaison Ewa Hodden t: 01732 370340 e: ewa.hodden@dfamedia.co.uk Financial Clare Jackson t: 01732 370340 e: clare.jackson@dfamedia.co.uk ADVERTISING Director of Sales Damien Oxlee t: 01732 370342 f: 01732 360034 m: 07951 103754 e: damien.oxlee@dfamedia.co.uk Sales Manager AndyWylie t: 01732 370341 f: 01732 360034 m: 07939 607855 e: andy.wylie@dfamedia.co.uk DFA Direct Ian Atkinson t: 01732 370340 f: 01732 360034 e: ian.atkinson@dfamedia.co.uk Eastern US Karen C Smith-Kernc e: karenkcs@aol.com t: +1 717 397 7100 f: +1 717 397 7800 Western US & Canada Alan A Kernc e: alankcs@aol.com t: +1 717 397 7100 f: +1 717 397 7800 Italy Oliver & Diego Casiraghi e: info@casiraghi.info t: +031 261 407 f: +031 261 380 Commercial Director Ryan Fuller t: 01732 370344 e: ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk Publisher Ian Atkinson t: 01732 370346 e: ian.atkinson@dfamedia.co.uk Reader/Circulation Enquiries Perception-MPS Ltd t: 01825 701520 e: dfamedia@dmags.co.uk HEAD OFFICE DFA Media Ltd 192 High Street, Tonbridge Kent TN9 1BE t: 01732 370340 f: 01732 360034 e: info@dfamedia.co.uk www.drivesncontrols.com 3 News A round-up of the latest business and industry developments from around the world. 17 Technology Cutting-edge innovations in motion, power transmission, controls and related technologies. 26 Industry 4.0 In the biggest single investment in its history, the enclosures giant Rittal is spending €250m to build what it claims will be the world’s most advanced plant for producing small enclosures. The plant, built on Industry 4.0 principles, aims to deliver an enclosure within 24 hours of an order being placed. 29 Food and Beverage How Instagram is changing the way that food manufacturers operate. Plus a report on how a control system upgrade tripled the output at a Black Country brewery, and advice on how to choose food-safe lubricants for food processing machinery 37 Conveyors and Materials-Handling An expert explains the implications of a new palletiser safety standard. We also look at an automated system for loading parcels into delivery trucks, and describe an unusual application for conveyor belts, delivering food to fish in a pioneering Atlantic fish farm. 44 Industrial Controls PLC technology has been around for more than 50 years, but PLC-based control systems can still fail. We look at some of the main reasons for such failures and how to minimise their occurrence. 47 Machine Vision We report on a vision-guided robotic system that has been developed to pack bags of mozzarella cheese neatly and gently into boxes. In another unusual application, machine vision systems are being used to test whether surfaces are ready to be bonded, painted or treated in other ways. 52 Robotics A UK manufacturer of precision plastic parts has taken the unusual step of installing and commissioning its own robots, rather than using an integrator or robot supplier. It says the decision has boosted production, cut costs and reduced wastage. 18 3 56 47 Officialmedia partner to theMTC