Engineers at the VTT Technical Research Centre here recently developed a process to print smart shafts. It combines metal additive manufacturing, sensor technology, wireless data transfer and condition monitoring in the same package.

In the nautical disaster movie, “The Perfect Storm,” three weather fronts converge off the coast of New England to create one of the fiercest storms in U.S. history. A similar convergence is occurring in the manufacturing world today. It’s called Industry 4.0 and it promises to transform the way that engineers design and build products over the next two decades.

Whether fully automatic, semiautomatic or manual, almost every assembly system has some type of sensor for inspection, error-proofing or production monitoring. Thanks to new technologies, sensors are becoming smaller, more robust, more accurate and easier to integrate.

One of the most commonly seen and vital categories of assembly automation equipment is the feeder bowl.

Sensors Expo presents the latest developments in sensor technology and applications.

FLORENCE, KY—Balluff has just released its new object-detection sensor catalog. With more than 1,000 pages and new products, this new catalog contains Balluff’s complete sensor line, including photoelectric, inductive, capacitive, and magnetic cylinder sensors, along with accessories and cables.