Al Presher

Al Presher is a contributing editor for Design News, specializing in automation and control and writing on automation topics, machine control, robotics, fluid power, and power transmission since 2002. Previously he worked in the electronic motion control field for 18 years, most recently as VP of Marketing for ORMEC Systems Corp (manufacturer of PC-based servo control systems).  Previously, he worked as Editor for Plant Systems and Equipment and Appliance magazines.  He holds an MA in magazine journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Trends in Integrated Motor Drives

Al Presher
The trend toward distributing automation and motion control devices is enabling the move to modular machine designs, and has become a large part of the underlying value proposition for integrated motor drives that incorporate servo technology. The result is that more automation suppliers are...

New Class of Mobile Industrial Robots

February 25, 2013
Automation & Motion Control
Al Presher
A new category of mobile robots -- what Adept Technology is calling an autonomous indoor vehicle (AIV) -- uses a localization and navigation engine to enable self-driving operation in indoor plant and warehousing environments. The technology is designed to allow material handling equipment to...

Saving Energy: Best-Practices & System View

February 20, 2013
Automation & Motion Control
Al Presher
During the recent State of the Union Address, President Obama issued a new goal for America: "Let's cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years." Looking at the options for saving electrical energy in US factories, industry experts say it's important not only to...

Onshoring: A Trend in Automation?

February 11, 2013
Automation & Motion Control
Al Presher
Last quarter, when Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that his company would invest $100 million in US manufacturing, Simon Grant, president and CEO of Automation GT, said the announcement provided a high-profile example of the recent onshoring trend, which is predicted by some to be at the forefront of...

Energy-Aware Industrial Devices

January 24, 2013
Automation & Motion Control
Al Presher
With energy-aware industrial devices coming into the marketplace, manufacturers and OEMs will have an important tool to help reduce energy costs as much as 20-30 percent using intelligent, Ethernet-based networking. Using open-interface standards such as PROFIenergy, Sercos Energy, and the CIP...

Virtual Support Engineer

January 22, 2013
Automation & Motion Control
Al Presher
The high cost of sending an engineer or skilled technician onsite to solve machinery problems is putting the focus on new ways to achieve higher levels of remote access support. Now, a service called Virtual Support Engineer is targeting machinery builder's OEMs to provide a way for securely...

Ethernet-Enabled Multi-Point Gauging

January 15, 2013
Automation & Motion Control
Al Presher
Integrated production measurement is becoming more of a central demand for modern manufacturing. So instead of relying on coordinate measuring machines in a separate area, measurement devices are being designed into production machines to enable operators to rapidly adapt processes based on...

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