Choosing between ball bearing guides and plain linear bearings depends greatly on the application requirements of accuracy, speed and working environment. [ + ]

David Duncan, Managing Director of SICK in Australia and New Zealand, discusses the challlenges presented by the drive to Industry 4.0, and the ways in which sensor vendors must respond to them. [ + ]

Waiting for smart manufacturing standards to develop before implementing the Industrial Internet of Things into your operations may not be the most productive choice. [ + ]

Warwick Bardsley of Endress+Hauser Australia reflects on the need for Australian manufacturing businesses to be more internationally focused. [ + ]

Australian manufacturers face significant challenges in the years to come and need to consider leveraging the latest technologies to increase efficiency, reduce costs and bring new products to market faster and more successfully. [ + ]

Russell Palmer of Yokogawa Australia and New Zealand discusses the fast-changing process automation world, and the benefits of providing a supportive environment for young talent to prosper. [ + ]

Politics aside, the future of Australian energy networks is looking exciting, with digitalisation and a greater mix of cheaper energy sources coming online — but we mustn't ignore the elephant in the room: cybersecurity risk. [ + ]

Hitachi is predicting that by 2030 Australia's mining industry will be operated almost entirely by autonomous machines, not only for Australia's largest mining companies, but across the entire industry. [ + ]

What do you need to do to capitalise on change and enhance your career opportunities? The answers are in education, innovation, collaboration and networking. [ + ]

Calibration is an essential element of any instrumentation maintenance program — but without the right tools, calibration operations can be time-consuming and error-prone. [ + ]

Industrial companies are faced with an increasingly competitive business environment and control systems that are becoming obsolete. The fast pace of technology development opens up new opportunities, but this is being offset by an increasing skills shortage. Incremental migration coupled with outcome-based service programs can help an organisation move forward and reduce TCO. [ + ]

When implementing safety instrumented systems, single-loop logic solvers provide an affordable option that delivers simple installation, easier validation and faster start-up. [ + ]

Implementing an IIoT solution is not without its challenges, so before beginning it is necessary to understand some of the basic IoT infrastructure concepts. [ + ]

Despite the shutdown of the automobile industry in Australia after almost a century of car making, manufacturing is alive and well, says an industry expert. [ + ]

Operators in modern plants are tasked with numerous activities, making it difficult for them to handle abnormal process conditions. Research has demonstrated how an intelligent and ergonomic workspace can both mitigate risk and increase productivity. [ + ]