A primary driver in the plant operations software market has been the need to align plant operations with the business needs of the enterprise. Now, market forces are beginning to take this pressure to the next level, as manufacturers face increasingly dynamic market ecosystems and value networks.

This year has been a tough race for manufacturers. Find out how you can get on top in the new year by reading our top-tips for 2012.

Kelly Racing received a design award for using manufacturing software to mock-up new car components that helped them win the ultimate prize — without even testing them on the racing track.

Designing rack structures to cope with the unpredictable forces generated during an earthquake requires a combination of detailed engineering, sophisticated computer analysis, and a degree of crystal ball gazing – on the part of the engineer – into how the storage system may be utilised over its lifetime.

Probably no other issue generates more discussion or confusion in the electrical market than how to correctly implement a redundant power supply system. Yet, redundancy is paramount when extreme reliability is required in power supply systems, as is the case in the DC supply to a DCS or PLC control system.

Many cartridge dust collectors today are equipped with a bank of filters installed downstream of the clean air discharge. These systems are known by a variety of names – safety monitoring filter, secondary filter, after-filter and safety filter being the most common terms.

LOOK out SolidWorks; we are coming to get you. This was the key message from Siemens PLM’s recent analyst conference in Boston – with some impressive growth figures to back up those claims. Alan Johnson reports from Boston.

Thanks to a smart new layout and storage systems, this dairy and drinks NDC distributes 100,000 cases a day.

Innovative developments in motors and drives are set to deliver significant productivity gains as well as environmental benefits.

Standards consistency and common platforms adoption are critical to the future of Australia’s transport infrastructure, according to delegates at a recent transport systems conference.

Is there a legitimate reason for Australian industry to import fabricated steel? We’ve heard the case against it; now let’s hear the case for it.

Australia’s food and beverage industry is not doing as well as it seems, and substantial change is set to hit the sector, a new report says.

What do you do when you need precision parts machined for an oil processing project in the middle of the ocean? Send in the experts, of course. Check out this video of the FARO Laser Tracker, an ingenious system used by one manufacturing company to cut-out the tedious surveying legwork required to start the job.

Given rising energy costs and the increased efficiency of modern VSDs, many applications can be warranted on power savings alone, writes Craig Southwell.

One of the most critical roles of the food manufacturing industry is to deliver food that is not only of good quality but is safe to eat. Rita Mu reports.

Automatic doors are becoming the more popular option for companies requiring high levels of ‘opens and closes’. Annie Dang writes.

The Federal Government has moved to prevent any further job losses at BlueScope Steel a $100m cash advance for Australia’s largest steel maker.

Matching the correct tool path software to the production needs of each application will get the most out of advanced CNC machines. David White writes.

Now that the Endeavour Awards nominations are closed, get your tickets for the prestigious gala dinner event held in Melbourne at the RACV Club, on 25 May 2011.

Australian manufacturers might just have to hold their breaths to see whether the 2011-12 Federal budget released Tuesday night, will throw the manufacturing industry a much needed life line amidst a surging Australia dollar and patchy economic conditions.