Don’t let media doom and gloomers make you think manufacturing growth and excellence in the U.S. is a thing of the past.  Hardly!

For one thing, new reports show manufacturing  technology consumption is up 62% in 2010 compared to the same time period in 2009.  That’s including a typical summer slowdown.  FYI, “manufacturing technology consumption” is just a fancy term that actually means the purchase of new machine tools and related equipment.  Manufacturers don’t invest in that much new equipment if they aren’t feeling positive about the future!

Could smudge marks on your touch screen monitors leave you vulnerable to a security breach?  According to a University of Pennsylvania study it’s true!  Researchers took photos of the smudge trails left on various touchscreens, digitally increased the contrast and found they could unlock secure touchscreens 92% of the time! 

I just checked out my new, totally cool android phone and sure enough, there are my paw prints leaving a “smudge trail” where I unlock the unit.  My phone is no big security breach, but this could affect touchscreen interfaces such as bank machines, voting machines, or any other public or industrial touchscreen requiring a graphical pattern password. 

In a word, it’s all about … automation.  Now that the economy is beginning to recover, most manufacturing companies report that they are planning to invest in more automation. 

For more than 30 years we have been using our trusty PLC’s because they are simple and reliable, if a bit quirky.  PLC’s have practically merged with PC’s in recent times. 

Then, more recently, the PLC sprouted wings and emerged as a PAC.  If you’re not already familiar with a PAC – that’s a Programmable Automation Controller.  These units combine the sturdy reliability of the PLC with the programming language of a PC.

Did you know that many modern control systems are now designed for a minimum 30-year lifespan?  Hmmm. 

Many early systems are still going strong that were installed in the ’90s, ’80s and even some from the 1970s.  But you probably already knew that since so many of you send us your controllers for repairs.

The weaker links in these older systems are the operator terminals, disk drives, power supplies, keyboards, and CRT’s as they often have mechanical or electrical parts that simply wear out.  Many of these units can be repaired and if not, replaced with refurbs or updated, drop-in replacements. 

One of our regular customers recently sent us an Allen Bradley PLC SLC 150  for repair.  It had no low voltage output, no LED error indicator lights working and the DC power light would come on but no other indicators were lighting. 

The customer was afraid it would not be repairable.  We utilized our Allen Bradley rack to analyze the unit and were able to identify the problems quickly. 

We quoted the customer a competitive price in just 48 hours after receiving their item.  The customer was happy with the price and immediately issued a purchase order.