Design World

Eckhart Inc. is a leading integrator of advanced automation and Industry 4.0 technologies. As a tool designer and a technology integrator, companies come to Eckhart to find solutions that improve their profitability, safety, and reliability of different manufacturing processes. Dan Burseth, VP at Eckhart, discusses how Eckhart’s expertise can help users of additive manufacturing make the most out of that technology.

Sniffer Robotics developed a 3D printed drone-based system that can fly over landfills five times faster than a person can walk them. The drone precisely inspects a typical landfill in a day, seeking fugitive methane gas.

In our latest Technology Tuesdays podcast, Design World's Mary Gannon speaks with ITT Enidine's Dan Kowalik, about the company's entrance into the IoT world with its intelligent shock absorber, the Sentinel 1.

In this Technology Tuesdays podcast, Marissa Tucker of Parker Hannifin chats with Design World’s Lisa Eitel about IEC 61131-3 and the industry’s new programmable automation controllers (PACs). Tucker details how open languages can help design engineers pick the best technologies for their machine builds and other designs; she also explains how basing design choices on standards (not hardware brand) can help experienced engineers be productive faster ... even after switching projects or even organizations.

Listen in for:

• Reassuring words on the enduring value of (and support for) ladder logic; an explanation of where function blocks improve designs

• Details on the benefits of "blended" or hybrid control schemes that leverage the best of the IEC 61131-3 framework

• A candid exchange about the supremacy of technical support and lead times.

Marissa Tucker is product marketing manager of controls and HMIs at Parker Hannifin. She’s a mechanical engineer with a background in product development and product management; among other things for Parker Hannifin, Tucker develops and leads product training and seminars for internal and external sales teams.

The founders of Tucson based SafKan, brothers Sahil and Aadil Diwan, designed and developed the first automated ear-cleaning device, OtoSet, for clinical use. OtoSet looks like a pair of headphones, but it can professionally clean a patient’s ear in just 35 seconds.

We kick off the new year of Design World's Executive Edition with Tom Kelly, Executive Director and CEO of Automation Alley.

Over the past two years, Tom has been the driving force behind Automation Alley's transformation into Michigan's Industry 4.0 Knowledge Center and is a nationally and globally recognized expert on the smart manufacturing revolution and its impact on business. Today, we talk with Tom about how Automation Alley is helping manufacturers embrace Industry 4.0 and the changes that come with it.

A Minneapolis-based startup, Sprowt Labs, has developed a “personal malt-house” for those who enjoy home brewing beer. Part of the build involved using injection molding to create a humidifier box for the Acro. Sprowt Labs worked with Protolabs on the development of the humidifier box.

Design World's VP, Editorial Director Paul J. Heney chats with Bradford L. Goldense, one of the 18 judges for this year's inaugural LEAP Awards. Goldense discusses the challenges of such an immense undertaking, as well as some of the technology that most impressed him.

In this episode of Design World's executive edition, we are joined by Nitin Mathur, TE Connectivity's chief digital and e-business officer.

With its official launch in September, the new TE store is offering thousands of its products to users in the United States. Mathur highlights how TE plans to use this concept along with online design as an incubator for ideas of engineers and inventors.

Design World's VP, Editorial Director Paul J. Heney speaks with Adam Livesay, the Chief Revenue Officer for Elevat-IoT about his company's work on the Internet of Things in the fluid power space, including some fascinating applications.