New Embedded OPC UA Server Enables Open Platform Communications for Factory Automation

Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC), a leading global supplier of specialty networking solutions, has released the latest version of its Hirschmann Operating System (HiOS). Complete with an embedded Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) server, the software provides a seamless, brand-agnostic solution as industrial automation moves towards Industry 4.0. Belden is the only manufacturer to offer switches that can natively run this communication protocol.

New agreement builds on previous success in speeding study start-up and completion

The corona pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of industry. At the same time, it has exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains. In the midst of unprecedented upheaval, industry faces a crucial question: Which strategies, measures and partnerships ensure competitiveness? HANNOVER MESSE Digital Edition – the central platform for innovation, networking and orientation in the age of industrial transformation – provides the answers.

Service robotics – for example, in kitchens and bars; in nursing homes; and in agriculture and logistics – is a market with enormous potential, because lightweight robots relieve humans of monotonous and non-ergonomic tasks.

Every day, automation finds applications in more and more areas. Which means that in the next decade, more and more people all over the world will work with robots. No wonder then that the automation specialists at KUKA have set an ambitious goal for themselves: provide everyone with easy access to automation.

The Productivity Master, a modular demonstration system for personalised USB memory sticks from Festo, is showing how automation technology will evolve along the value chain when combined with digitalization.

At the digital HANNOVER MESSE 2021, ifm will be presenting the digital operator as-sistance system “ifm mate”. Based on a 2D/3D camera system for hand recognition, the system eliminates the need for cumbersome wrist accessories common to other systems.

3M and Pegatron have teamed up to develop a new Virtual Reality reference design headset with a folded optics lens. This new curved lens includes 3M's proprietary reflective polarizer for high resolution, high transmission and a wide field of view enabling a thinner, lighter-weight design.

Luban Homopolymer PP added to the most coveted ‘Recommended’ Starlinger list after successful trials

A new range of miniature stepper-gearmotors and a simple dipswitch-configured single-axis stepper drive are the latest new products from Mclennan’s Italian distribution partner Micro Motors s.r.l. The four stepper gearmotors each offer a wide choice of spur-gear reduction ratios for maximum application flexibility and combine with the user programmable drive to provide a competitively priced and compelling solution for basic motion control tasks. The easy-to-use drive features a choice step and direction input control or various emulated ‘brushless’ speed modes and will particularly suit OEMs and end-users that need uncomplicated and affordable position- or speed-based miniature power transmission control.

Offshore applications, such as offshore wind farms with power outputs in the thousands of megawatts, continue to enjoy strong growth. The climatic conditions are extreme and demand high performance from the materials and components put to use. Yet it is not only offshore but also close to the coast where the combination of heat, wind and saltwater causes metal constructions to practically disappear. The protective measures in such highly corrosive environments are correspondingly time-consuming and cost-intensive.

A recent study by the Fraunhofer Institute using Agfa’s ZIRFON separator membranes confirms that the Alkaline ElectroLysis (AEL) technology can be as efficient as the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology and is able to operate at high current densities. This presents AEL as the most cost efficient hydrogen production system.