Resources

The marriage of the stator and rotor within an electric motor (eMotor) is a critical step in assembly that demands precision and careful handling. When these components are not properly integrated, several challenges and product problems can arise....

In automation, precision isn’t just a technical specification—it’s imperative to succeed. When tolerances drop below one millimeter, the margin for error disappears. Every micron matters....

Automation in manufacturing is crucial for enhancing efficiency, reducing errors, and increasing throughput. By automating repetitive and complex tasks, manufacturers can achieve higher throughput and maintain consistent product quality....

Developing a request for quotation (RFQ) or request for proposal (RFP) is a critical step in procurement, serving as a formal invitation for suppliers to bid on providing goods or services....

Ultra-low volume dispensing for this discussion is the ability to dispense precise single droplets that are basically invisible to the human eye and defined in units of pico or nano liter volume....

System complexities are leading to the creation of a higher functioning standard system component to enable faster project cycles. This standardization is a benefit because it provides functionality that has already been tested and verified. The function is basically accessed like a service. Now you only need to know how to use it; you do not have to invest time to understand how it works....

From simplifying tooling requirements, to quick system assemblies, to intuitive and easy integrations. Smart Conveyance provides significant value to machine builders and end-users because material costs and engineering hours can be reduced. This offers a solution that balances the overall cost of automation with market demands by allowing for reconfigurability and scalability....

Consumers demand immediacy and in order to keep up with such demands, manufacturers must rethink their production processes. Automation cells no longer can be looked upon to produce one standardized batch or product, instead, they need to be flexible and re-deployable to create shorter cycles. For manufacturers to remain competitive, engineers are being tasked with rethinking their current processes and developing ways to not only produce more, but produce more in smaller amounts of space....

According to a 2023 report, Global News Wire is reporting a 12.7% CAGR growth and greater than $80B USD in revenue by 2028 in Point of Care (POC) diagnostics. This tremendous growth is fueled by continuous glucose monitoring wearables, as well as the demand that was kick started with the advent of a myriad of at-home COVID-19 PCR and rapid tests....

Engineers know the frustration of designing a manufacturing process that is difficult to scale up or automate. Let’s say benchtop equipment was built to test an assembly process with equipment running at a slower rate to support manual loading, and the controller and servos were selected based on that rate. But when it’s scaled up, the process does not behave in the same way at the faster production rate. It may yield unrepeatable or unreliable results....

Many OEMs/businesses have evolved out of the full lifecycle ownership mindset. Process engineering, forensic engineering, and reliability engineering are a few of the many consulting disciplines available to support and effectively problem solve where there are gaps in your product development process. Whether you retain full ownership or work with an engineering consultant to support your product development it will impact your ability to scale up for manufacturing and ultimately impact your time to market....

Over approximately the last 30 years, the evolution of automated systems implemented to enable advanced manufacturing has led to the proliferation of the pre-engineered automated work cell/system. In turn, this has enabled significant growth in the global deployment of automated systems throughout all facets of global manufacturing, where virtually any redundant task is automated....

Contract (or white label) manufacturers play a very important role when it comes to producing certain products. CMs offer technical expertise gained through years of experience in the field with respect to product design, repetitive equipment manufacturing (REM), system integration, and providing service that is highly agile and can quickly scale your business....

You can’t be an expert at everything. For this reason, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) are constantly faced with meeting various product commercialization issues. Between streamlining supply chains, minimizing material handling, and consolidating vendor selections to remain competitive, there’s a lot that goes into improving your bottom line....

Do your suppliers include project management expertise when preparing your proposal? Buying custom automation equipment can be a time-consuming activity that requires extensive planning for both cost and schedule. Often these plans are tied to business needs and impact decision-making for your company at a high level, so their accuracy is critical. ...

Congratulations! You have decided to automate your manufacturing processes and streamline the production of your product(s). To arrive at this point, you spent critical time and effort on justifying this investment decision. Maybe you needed a solution that would support additional production capacity to satisfy customer demand, or to launch a new product, or as a result of an improvement initiative to lower your manufacturing costs....

It is undeniable that automation is a powerful tool in manufacturing that can help businesses increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve quality. It involves using various integrated technologies to automate tasks and processes that were previously done manually or by aging machinery, freeing up time and resources for more valuable activities. Given the planning and investment that comes with the decision to automate, there are some key considerations around the strategy to introduce automation....

As we roll out our 2023 operational plans, the medical device industry is set to witness some exciting developments and trends. Here are the top five trends to keep an eye on throughout the year:...

Survivalists say that abled bodies require a healthy supply of food, water, air, and shelter to survive. But to many diabetics, like myself, insulin must be added to the list. As a result, I’ve found that insulin dependent people are often fascinated by the technologies that replace the function of their MIA pancreata. This fascination is rivaled only by those that work in the Life Sciences and medical technology industry....

Increased output, greater product consistency, and decreased costs are just some of the benefits of improved productivity. But knowing where to begin on your efficiency journey can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve come up with 5 Ways to Improve Productivity in Pharma Manufacturing, an easy-a-to-implement guide for achieving long-term success....

In pharmacies, automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) are gaining popularity as a result of the advantages they offer over conventional manual storage techniques. As the name implies, these systems are created to automate the storage and retrieval of objects like pharmaceuticals and other medical products....

Few industries have quality requirements as strict as those of pharma manufacturing; every part of the process must be tightly controlled. The pharma industry faces multiple challenges, with failures in product, quality, or supply chain leading the way. With expectations that drugs will be produced faster and more cheaply, how can a manufacturer be prepared for what’s on the horizon?...

Lyophilization is basically a freeze-drying process that removes water from a product after it is frozen and placed under a vacuum, producing a soft powder, sometimes referred to as a cake. If we take that process and apply it to a single droplet of liquid, we are creating a lyo ‘bead’ rather than a lyo ‘cake’. Lyobeads are an excellent alternative to the traditional cakes...

It’s tough out there and the competition is fierce, no matter what industry you’re in or what product you’re introducing to meet a need – or create one. It’s a universal rule that whoever gets to market first gets the lion’s share, so there’s plenty of pressure to make each of your 24 hours a day work that much harder. But another rule says you can choose only two of good, cheap or fast....

To increase profit you can either sell at a higher price or cut the cost of production. Easy, right? When conventional responses don’t address modern and complex issues it’s time to consider new approaches....

It is common for manufacturers to look for efficiencies in their lines based on linear access; but more often manufacturers today are interested in the potential of robotics because they can either be integrated into existing lines or be built as an end-to-end solution. ...