Rockwell Automation’s Industrial Data Centre is your manageable, cost-effective gateway to virtualisation

Did you know that by adopting virtualisation today, you could save your business money?

Virtualisation has become widely adopted as a standard in the information technology industry and is now becoming a growing trend in the manufacturing and production industries.

You could discover such benefits as:

• Reduced server footprint
• Extended application longevity
• Improved infrastructure reliability with management and recovery features
• Engineered specifically for use in production and manufacturing environments

The Industrial Data Centre (IDC) from Rockwell Automation can help your business realise these cost savings through a pre-engineered, scalable infrastructure offering.

All of the hardware you need to run multiple operating systems and multiple applications from virtualised servers are included in the cost.

As a pre-engineered solution, the Industrial Data Centre is designed to ease the transition to a virtualised environment for your business, saving you time and money. Instead of ordering five different pieces of equipment with five purchase orders, in addition to hiring the correct certified installation professionals to get you up and running, the Industrial Data Centre combines equipment from industry leaders that are pre-configured specifically for the manufacturing and production industries.

To speak to one of our Technical Specialists about this subject please contact us by email info@routeco.com or call 0370 607 1000 to arrange a free consultation.

Learn more about the Industrial Internet of Things

The IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) Ecosystem is complex. Yet discovering ways to navigate it is increasingly key, as manufacturers’ competitive position depends on taking advantage of emerging levels of interconnectedness, integrated sensing capabilities and value-add from third-party control. 

Learn where you should be focusing your products and workflows in this 16-page free E-Book from Panduit and Automation World.

Contents include:

• Research advances on the Internet of Things
• From Smart Manufacturing to Manufacturing Smart
• Network of the Future
• Top Three reasons you need industrial network training
• The Internet of Things and the importance of modelling and simulation

Download the free E-Book here.  

To find out more about the Internet of Things or to discuss your requirements, please email info@routeco.com or visit www.routeco.com

Keep critical applications running 24/7 — without interruption

With so much riding on applications such as manufacturing execution systems (MES), plant automation, and data historians, downtime can mean lost revenue, missed opportunities or damaged reputation. In some cases, loss of data can cause an entire batch of product to be scrapped. 

With competitive and economic pressures bearing down, no manufacturer can afford to risk its business to downtime. And you don’t have to.

Stratus Technologies hardware and software keep all of your critical applications up and running 24/7 enabling you to meet your production, revenue and quality goals. Stratus  offer a range of flexible continuous availability solutions – software, platform and services – that are easy to deploy and manage, and backed by a support structure with a 30-year track record of success.

Stratus Technologies have partnered with leading industrial automation companies — including Rockwell Automation to ensure you get an always-on solution tailored to your specific business needs and have  implementations in major industrial sectors such as pharmaceuticals, power and energy, water management, food and beverage, oil and gas, chemicals, consumer goods, automotive, and many more.

Stratus Technology products are available from Routeco and our team of Automation Specialists are available to discuss your requirements. For further info please contact us by email at info@routeco.com or call  0370 607 1000. 

Introducing the new SafeSide Voltage Test Station (VTS) from Grace

Grace Engineered Products, the innovative leader in design and manufacturing of Permanent Electrical Safety Devices (PESD) has announced the new SafeSide® Voltage Test Station (VTS).

The VTS is a revolutionary product that minimizes electrical worker’s exposure to live voltage and the risk of an arc flash hazard. The VTS further simplifies the three step voltage test method and exceeds NFPA 70 E/CSA Z642 and OSHA standards if used in your Lock-out Tag-out (LOTO) procedure. 

This through-door technology concept provides a combination of a voltage indicator and test points for actual voltage measurement in a single housing, eliminating guess work and verifying zero electrical energy from outside the enclosure.

The entire VTS product offering follows Grace’s core concept of customisation, available in various NEMA and stainless steel housings to serve many industry needs.

For further information please contact us by email at info@routeco.com and to check pricing and to buy online please visit our website.

Rockwell Automation’s Product Demonstration Vehicle visits Routeco Dartford

The Rockwell Automation Product Demonstration Vehicle is touring the UK throughout July and will be at our Dartford branch on Monday 6th July. It is packed full of the latest automation products available, with working demonstrations of how the products can be integrated together to give effective solutions.

It’s a great opportunity for you to come and see the range and discuss your applications with us. 

The systems on the bus include the latest HMIs, PLCs, Drives with built-in safety, light curtains and safety switches.

Our Routeco safety specialist Kevin Kirby will also be on board if you have any safety related questions.

We hope you are able to spare some time during the day to come and visit us and get some ideas for updating or improving your manufacturing processes and  machines.

Address: Routeco Ltd, Unit 4, Orbital One, Green Street, Green Road, Dartford, Kent, DA1 1QG

Date: Monday 6th July, 10:00 - 16:00

If you are able to attend, please email: techworkshop@routeco.com

Connectors that stand up in harsh environments

Manufacturers of food and beverage process equipment involved in the logistics, processing, filling and packaging industries face many challenges. 

There are a wide range of regulations for food products which need to be met and working in a wet environment can wreak havoc on processing machinery. 

Maintaining the processing lines to ensure continuous flow with no shutdowns requires constant attention, special skills and extensive training.

Molex’s Brad® Ultra-Lock Stainless Steel Connection System meets the stringent standards of the food and beverage industry. Its IP69K seal can withstand washdowns up to 100 bar (1500 psi), ensuring optimum performance even in harsh, wet environments.

Because the system does not have threaded grooves like traditional M12-based hard-wired systems, it is not susceptible to the lodging and transfer of bacteria, ingredients and other foreign materials that can contaminate a processor’s end products.

Other features of the Brad Ultra-Lock system include:

• Threadless, “push-to-lock” technology saves time when installing and maintaining the control unit
• Material compatibility with a multitude of washdown chemicals
• Smooth 316 stainless steel construction limits where bacteria can collect

With the Ultra-Lock Connection System, processors can realize a rapid return on investment due to decreased assembly/ disassembly time and labor costs. Using the system also results in increased production uptime with less risk of intermittent or loose connections versus traditional M12 connection systems.

Our product specialists are on hand to assist so please contact your local Routeco branch.

For more information please contact us at info@routeco.com or visit our website at www.routeco.com

Down to the wire - building a resilient network infrastructure

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a trending topic in the technology world. The Internet of Things can be defined as the connection and interaction of objects to the Internet or networks. 

With the Internet of Things increasingly broadening the production space to connect Operations Technology (OT) with Information Technology (IT), it's never been more important to build a highly resilient network infrastructure, as this article from Panduit outlines.

The article also includes tips on how to begin implementing the Internet of Things including assessment steps for manufacturers to undertake to understand their bandwidth and cable requirements. 

To read more, please click the link:

http://www.controlsdrivesautomation.com/page_568773.asp? 

How do you think IoT will affect you? Do you think it will create the business opportunities (to the value of $3.8 trillion for the manufacturing industry) Panduit expect? Let us know your thoughts below. 

For more information please contact us at info@routeco.com or visit our website at www.routeco.com