Top 5 Plant Engineering articles, June 2-8

Articles about the ISM error and the stock market impact, military robotics, energy monitoring trends, synchronizing industrial Ethernet networks, and electric motor power measurement were Plant Engineering’s five most-clicked articles from last week, June 2-8. Were you out last week? Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Chris Vavra June 9, 2014

1. Stock shock: Dow Jones tumbles, then rebounds after May PMI Index is corrected

Software error blamed for report of decline; monthly indexes all increased as index hits 55.4%.

2. Is U.S. dominance in military robotics starting to crumble?

Foreign Policy Magazine’s recent examination of The Looming Robotics Gap by University of Pennsylvania international relations associate professor Michael C. Horowitz, and a recent Pentagon insider on national security issues, is an up-to-date review of the worldwide state of military robotics.

3. Plant Engineering 2014 Energy Management Study: Five energy monitoring trends

According to the data in this report, 33% of manufacturing facilities have energy reduction goals of at least 10% for the upcoming year, and another 40% are aiming to cut energy consumption by 5% to 10%.

4. Synchronizing industrial Ethernet networks

Automation engineers can develop architectures that meet the demands of their applications by understanding the differences between distributed clocks and the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol.

5. Electric motor power measurement and analysis

Understand the basics to drive greater efficiency energy is one of the highest cost items in a plant or facility, and motors often consume the lion’s share of plant power, so making sure motors are operating optimally is vital.

The list was developed using CFE Media’s web analytics for stories viewed on plantengineering.com, June 2-8, for articles published within the last two months.

– Chris Vavra, content specialist, CFE Media, cvavra@cfemedia.com.


Author Bio: Chris Vavra is web content manager for CFE Media and Technology.