For an episode of “Beyond the Concept” podcast, a show by Concept Systems, host Tyler Kern chatted with John Miller, the principal engineer at Rockwell Automations, and Jerry Flynn, the company’s principal controls engineer.

Sam Cafferata explains the best practices facilities can implement to prepare for supply chain issues and worst-case scenarios.

After a momentous twenty-three years, Michael Helm has stepped down from his role as CEO with Concept Systems. Helm passed the torch down to Steve Strong, who chatted with host Tyler Kern about his future-forward visions for Concept Systems.

We breathe without thinking. Blink without noticing. But when it comes down to it, all of our normal bodily functions are not as easy and effortless as they appear - at least not for machines. Justin Garski the Americas OEM Segment Manager for Packaging, Converting, Print and Web at Rockwell and Evan Gonnerman, Senior Controls Engineer for Concept Systems, sit down with Tyler Kern to discuss the simplification of robotic systems in a complex world.

Two of the main contributing factors driving the financial success of greenfield projects are budgeting and schedule. Rick Pruden, Strategic Solutions Specialist at Concept Systems, and Ron Schiedler, Principal Engineer at Concept Systems, spoke to Beyond the Concept’s Tyler Kern about mitigating these risk factors from a control standpoint.

3D vision technology gives companies the power of data.

Steve Strong, Regional Engineering Manager, Seattle, at Concept Systems, spoke with Tyler Kern about some of the automation challenges in the airline and aerospace industries. Something both markets have in common: they each have expensive and complex products to manufacture and automate. Strong said because of these complexities, the proposals Concept Systems does and the projects they execute in that space are often some of their most expensive, complicated, and significant projects. “You have potentially millions of dollars of product that you’re working on, and so you have to be cognizant of that and make sure there’s no margin for error in the work you do,” Strong explained. A lot of pre-planning goes into these types of projects to ensure the expected outcome is the outcome. And Strong said another product Concept Systems offers is their collision avoidance product called On Guard. “We have a product that can be added on to the top of any motion platform,” Strong said. “We see this getting purchased with robot platforms. In real-time, it can track the state of that work cell and compare it against a digital model to ensure that the next move won’t cause a collision or cause an error in the work cell.”When Strong looks at the big picture and all the major players in the airline and aerospace markets, he sees a move towards automation in manufacturing instead of the more traditional static build approach of the past. “I do think we will see more of an automotive factory style of production in both the commercial space and the defense and space areas,” Strong noted.

There are several instances where crane retrofits might come into play. Older cranes with aging parts are one key example.

Donavan Moore discusses the selection process for UL 508A components.

Hear from an industry expert on the evolving world of automation and robotics in industrial settings.