TechBlog

Founded in 1948, Andrews Glass Company has been a leader in custom glass fabrication for over fifty years. Andrews Glass Company slowly grew as its reputation for high quality standards and specialty glassware spread. Over the years, Andrews Glass has expanded its capabilities in specialty and precision glass fabrication for industrial and scientific applications and its Lab-Crest product line is highly respected for quality and precision. Andrews Glass Company has retained its unique mix of scientific and precision glassmaking capabilities, and is today counted among the USA’s top ten manufacturers in the field.

The heart of Andrews’ value to its customers lies in the skill and dedication of its employees. The average length of service is over ten years, with the average length of glassworking experience well over 15 years.

Continue reading ‘Specialty, Precision, and Electro-Optic Glass Products’ »

Nanomotion introduces the new EDGE motor, one of the smallest ceramic servo motors
in the industrial market. The EGDE motor provides 30 grams of thrust with a maximum
operating velocity of 150mm/sec. Capable of driving linear or rotary motion, the EDGE
is well suited for applications in Aerospace & Military, Medical Devices, and Industrial
Automation.

The Edge motor weighs .6 grams and operates at 8 Vrms. It is supported by
Nanomotion’s dual axis ASIC which can function as a drive and control. The Edge
motor is ideal for shutter/aperture control, small medical pumps, grippers, and other
devices.

From Tesla and Marconi’s electric coils and arcs to the youngster’s model car that speeds or stops at the nudge of the controls, we’ve had a fascination with wireless control and communication.

And with the explosion over the last 25 years of wireless from cell phones to Internet, interest in industrial uses has grown. This could easily afflict anyone from refinery or public works managers to manufacturing techs with equipment monitoring and control needs.

Regardless of the potential, early attempts to adapt wireless technology to industrial applications met with limited success.

Continue reading ‘Industrial Wireless Modems Come of Age’ »

In the process of updating a variety of computer systems and hardware configurations, the plant manager of a Midwest manufacturer needed a centralized network that would connect three buildings within three quarters of a mile, plus a couple more several miles away.

The integration of legacy serial equipment into modern Industrial Networks presents some unique challenges; among these are reliability, connectivity, and limited range. These issues can be easily resolved.

With a wide array of legacy equipment, primarily utilizing serial connections, the need presented a rather complex challenge, especially since serial connections are limited in terms of distance and networking.

Continue reading ‘The Serial Revolution: Establishing Global Access to Serial Ports’ »

“Rarely is Wi-Fi invoked within the context of wireless sensor networking or industrial process control,” observes Sam Lucero, ABI Research senior analyst. “Wi-Fi is considered too power-intensive as many sensors, actuators, and other devices require battery operation while deployed for several years at a time – whereas Wi-Fi is optimized for limited time usage: from a few hours to less than a full day.”

But a new transition peeks over the horizon, put forth by a company called GainSpan.

A Wi-Fi chipset company, GainSpan has developed various techniques that provide the battery life needed by sensor networks for Wi-Fi.

Continue reading ‘Wi-Fi Moves Into The Sensor Networking Realm’ »