Beckhoff Automation

Beckhoff featured a trio of products at Sensor + Test 2022 in Nuremberg (May 10-12) including the EL5072 EtherCAT terminal.

From conveying systems to packing robotics, the logistics and warehousing industry is one that has made use of automation for years to keep ahead of demand. Here, Stephen Hayes, Managing Director of Beckhoff UK, looks at the evolution of warehouse automation technology and new technological innovations helping the logistics industry.

Automation systems are widely known to provide boosts to productivity and cost effectiveness for industry. These benefits typically increase with more complex and sophisticated systems, which allow the user to achieve more. However, for machine builders and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), the increased complexity of automation can result in more time consuming and expensive projects, presenting greater challenges to being cost competitive and profitable.

Food manufacturers can achieve flexible production lines at minimal labour costs, by adopting automation without cabinets. Stephen Hayes, Managing Director of Beckhoff Automation UK, explains how food processing operations can be reconfigured with machines that can be transported and moved, more easily and faster than traditional machinery.

Beckhoff Automation UK has recently launched its new Skills Labs, a series of videos with technical insights about TwinCAT, HMI and Beckhoff’s other products and services. The full series of videos is free and open to everybody interested in automation technology. Since the beginning of the year, Beckhoff has continued to launch new products including industrial PCs and helping engineers, machine builders and plant managers with several virtual webinars.

The rise of e-commerce has brought about significant disruption to traditional logistics activities, demanding constant adjustment to best meet changing demand. Similar adaptability is vital in intralogistics to ensure orders are processed and fulfilled effectively. In this article, Stephen Hayes, Managing Director of Beckhoff UK, explains how to establish scalable, adaptable intralogistics activity from the warehouse floor up.

With the rise of Industry 4.0 and industrial connectivity, engineers and plant managers increasingly need ultra-powerful industrial PCs (IPCs) to manage motion and system control, data collection and processing on the plant floor. To meet this growing requirement, Beckhoff Automation UK has launched its new C7015 range of ultra-compact Industrial PCs, designed to be directly mounted onto machines due to its robust enclosure and IP 65/67 rating.

Throughout 2020, the UK will be witnessing the wider rollout of 5G telecommunications networks, allowing for greater speeds and reduced latency. The introduction of these networks will support the development of more advanced computing applications like autonomous vehicles, and it’s got many businesses considering engineering on the edge.

Beckhoff Automation UK is bringing vision system image processing into familiar Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) environments with its new TwinCAT Vision software. The software, an extension of the popular TwinCAT range of PC-based control systems, simplifies the process of configuring and programming vision systems for engineers. Beckhoff Automation UK is now bringing the product to industrial businesses across the UK.