News & Knowledge

We’re your source for automation news. Keep up with the latest industry updates and E Tech employee spotlights, as well as tips and guidance from our manufacturing experts.

| June 2, 2023

What are the Current Pain Points with Supporting Utilities Such as Ammonia Refrigeration and Steam Generation?

When you look at supporting industrial utility systems like ammonia refrigeration, you may wonder how often you might actually encounter them. They appear far more in your daily life than you realize. Look at the rooftop of an industrial facility and see if you notice orange pipes or windsocks. It is likely that this facility has an ammonia refrigeration system. Now, when it comes to the maintenance of these systems, there are a few pain points that tend to plague facilities more than others. Aging Systems: These systems are decades old in most cases, many around 20–30 years old, and tend to require human labor occasionally. By comparison, the average industrial boiler system in the United States is around 30-40 years old, and many of these systems require large amounts of human interaction more often. The thing both these systems share is a lower level of automation, utilizing control panels dependent on relays and contactors to implement control schemes. Incorrect Sequencing Causing Inefficiency: Not only primitive automation, but the inability to adapt to changes in demand or load can present a challenging issue. This can often result in incorrect sequencing equipment due to simple control implementations, leading to lower overall system efficiency. A common instance of incorrect sequencing is having the largest piece of equipment either always running or brought online when demand is lower, which can be less efficient in its operation and energy consumption. Keeping in mind these systems can also be slow to start or restart if personnel are not quickly notified when a fault or issue occurs. Lack of Integration into Larger Control Systems: Even if a modern system has been implemented, it is less likely that it is part of a BMS (Building Management System) or DCS (Distributed Control System) which could better control … Continued

| June 1, 2023

Q and A from “Can your vision system do this?” webinar

Laurie Cavanaugh, VP of Business Development from E Tech Group, and Nick Hobbs, Senior Regional Sales Manager from Apera AI, recently held a webinar covering the benefits of integrating Apera AI’s 4D vision system into your automation project. There were some great follow-up questions asked by our attendees and we wanted to make sure we shared the As to your Qs! How long does it take for the AI to go through a million learning cycles? Nick: At this time, once all required information is submitted, you’ll receive your vision program back within a week to two weeks. How many different objects can the system handle at one time? What if they have a mix of different finishes? Nick: So right now, the PC alone can handle learning up to 30 different parts. However, other users that have their own internal network, which I know E Tech Group can help you to set up, have hundreds of parts and it takes a mere 20 seconds to simultaneously learn if they’re not part of those original 30. Now as far as different finishes, I have been working with foundries and casting plants where they have metal billets. We can pick clean or corroded, as they have varying finishes. We don’t care. We really don’t mind picking different colors, things of that nature. However, we’re not looking for color at that point, so you just need to let us know what we need and don’t need to look for. But in that sense, it won’t affect us. Laurie: There are some things too that we take into consideration. We do have our own internal industrial IT group that has helped numerous companies’ IT groups set up the proper OT network. Between the hardware and software, servers, and systems, we can help ensure that those … Continued

| May 31, 2023

Can Your Vision System Do This? E Tech Group & Apera Webinar Recording

E Tech Group, a control system integrator that delivers turnkey automation solutions, and Apera AI, a company that offers AI vision guidance, partnered together to produce a webinar covering the capabilities of robotic integration with 4D vision technology, which you can watch below. AI & Vision-Guided Robotics: Talking Points What if we told you that vision-guided robotics powered by AI could do all of this? Identify objects in bins and give a robot picking instructions in only 0.3 seconds. Operate in changing light conditions with no special lighting or sensors. Remove the custom programming that makes projects expensive. Traditional vision systems required a lot of expertise to train and implement, and were not very resilient to lighting changes. The new system from Apera AI is self-programming and can handle variations in lighting conditions. Some key points from the webinar: The system uses two camera sets mounted overhead to look at a bin of parts. It can learn the entire process, including the different parts and the end-of-arm tooling, by itself. It is very fast and can be used in a variety of applications, including process or discrete applications. E Tech Group can also help with the digital modeling of the solution to test it before it’s implemented. Check out the video below to view a recording of the webinar, which was originally presented on May 9, 2023. We hope you’ll gain some new ideas about making your facilities more productive!

| May 22, 2023

Automation Trends in Food & Beverage Manufacturing

Not so long ago, the food and beverage manufacturing industry was among the slowest industry verticals to adopt new production technologies. But now, with the industry growing as aggressively as ever and faced with rising demand, the industry is increasingly relying on automation to keep the shelves stocked. Along with this increasing reliance, the industry has seen certain trends emerge: as to how food and beverage manufacturing is choosing to implement automation in their facilities, what’s driving those trends, and the challenges they face in augmenting the applications of automation in food production. What Are the Major Trends in Food & Beverage Automation? The most notable automation trends among food and beverage producers are: Digital transformation — This transformation must be planned from the top down, making sure to account for all moving parts and taking into consideration not only the transformation itself, but the operational team that will be responsible for daily monitoring and interpretation of data used to optimize the facility. Robotics — A robotic system can run as an island of automation, however its real power is delivered when it is integrated into your overall efficiency process. The robot cell design, end of arm tooling development, robot selection and integration of the design into the rest of your production or packaging line is what unlocks the powerful features of robotics. Artificial intelligence (AI) — This technology tends to play well when implemented in applications where a specific volume of product is meant to fill a container, like 16 oz. of ice cream to fill a pint. AI can help ensure the correct and exact volume is distributed into each pint, each time. It also provides the information necessary to diagnose inefficiencies in machinery that may be impacting production and help plant managers remain proactive around planned downtime, routine maintenance or … Continued