Machine Learning (ML) is beginning to be widely used in the manufacturing industry. It is helping to automate tasks, gain insights from the vast amounts of date produced and aid data-driven decisions. But what is it, what types are there and what can it actually do? Machine Learning is a branch of AI which focuses […]

Background Schneider Electric recently sent a reminder about the “End of PacDrive M Service and Repair Period” which is effective from 31st December 2024. PacDrive M products were sold until December 2018 and some spare parts remained available until last year. However, Schneider Electric no longer have any PacDrive M products available and repairs are

As we approach Quarter 4, many companies are busy planning and budgeting for the New Year. It is also often the time manufacturers announce product life cycles ends as well as issuing end-of-line updates. As an example, Schneider Electric recently reminded users the “End of Service and Repair Period” for PacDrive M is December 31st

In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, data is the backbone of innovation and efficiency. As the industry continues to embrace digital transformation, data-driven insights will become ever more essential for optimising production, improving product quality and maintaining competitive advantage. However, a significant amount of data generated by modern manufacturing systems remains untapped. This hidden resource, known

Time and budget constraints abound everywhere and manufacturing is no exception. Companies are also under more pressure to seek investments which yield maximum impact. Remote diagnostics and support can help improve response time in the event of breakdowns, getting production lines up and running again faster and reducing downtime. So how does it work, where

We’ve all seen the rise in AI Copilots and LLMs (Large Language Models) from ChatGPT and similar to Microsoft’s CoPilot.  Many of us will be using them if not daily, then probably pretty regularly. So what are they and where do they potentially fit in a manufacturing environment? An AI Copilot is a conversational interface

We’re aware of the cost implications of unplanned downtime. These are reported to be £5K per hour with companies experiencing up to 20 hours of unplanned downtime each week. Even though Planned Maintenance is the most important maintenance strategy being followed by companies, on average they are still potentially losing almost a full day’s production

ELAU PacDrive firmware of new MC-4 Motor Controller must be compatible with existing equipment

There is a term which we seem to hear more of these days and this is the ‘Black Swan’ effect. The Black Swan concept was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former risk analyst, defining the concept as…’an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.

ELAU PacDrive systems provide the motion control for packaging and other machines. These are used by many well-known international companies in the Food and Beverage, Pharma and Healthcare sectors. But what is motion-control and what does it mean in terms of industrial automation? The automation of manual processes on production lines is key as progress