Manufacturing Technology

“When did using global variables become a programming sin? And when did making a simple machine complicated become good engineering?

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Global Variables in PLC Programming: Are We Making This Too Complicated? MWL Automation Notes | Manufacturing With Light I’ve read quite a few articles and discussions lately suggesting that PLC programmers should avoid global variables. Some go so far as to imply that using them is simply bad programming practice. I don’t entirely agree. I … Read more

Manufacturing With Light Weekly Edition 16

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Smart Robotic Welding, Record-Depth Laser Welds, and Why Welding Parameters Matter November 12, 2026 Welcome to another edition of Manufacturing With Light Weekly! This week, we’re looking at several interesting developments in welding technology, from robots that can adapt to the actual part instead of following a fixed programmed path, to researchers achieving an impressive … Read more

That metal panel is part of the machine’s electrical design.

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How Galvanized Back Panels Became the Preferred Motion-Control Substrate MWL Automation Notes | Motion Control & Automation Open almost any modern industrial motion-control cabinet, and you’ll likely find a galvanized steel mounting panel behind the drives, power supplies, controllers, and other components. It might look like an ordinary sheet-metal panel, but it serves a much … Read more

Manufacturing With Light Weekly Edition 15

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Thursday, November 5, 2026 From Aerospace Additive Manufacturing to Portable Laser Repair: Making Laser Processes Work in Production Welcome to Edition 15 of Manufacturing With Light Weekly. This week’s stories cover a wide range of laser manufacturing applications, but they have something important in common. The challenge isn’t simply making a laser process work. It’s … Read more

Your Robot Speaks Fieldbus. Your Laser Speaks Ethernet. Who Translates?

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Connecting a laser welding system to a robot or PLC should be straightforward. So why does it sometimes turn into a software development project? By William Kane | Manufacturing With Light (MWL)November 2, 2026 I’ve spent much of my career integrating lasers, motion controllers, PLCs, and other industrial equipment into automated manufacturing systems. One thing … Read more

We Have a Camera. Why Is the Weld Still Off?

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Machine Vision, Calibration & Weld Path Correction Adding a camera to a laser welding system sounds like it should solve a basic problem: Find the joint, tell the scanner where it is, and put the weld there. And in principle, that’s exactly what machine vision can do. Researchers have demonstrated camera systems that look through … Read more

Before You Specify the Motion System, Understand the Process

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What questions should we answer before writing a precision motion specification? One thing I’ve learned from working with precision motion and machine automation is that it’s easy to start specifying hardware before we fully understand what the machine needs to do. We start discussing accuracy, repeatability, resolution, velocity, acceleration, and controller performance. These are all … Read more

Which Motion-Control Platform Belongs on a Laser Machine?

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When someone says a machine has “motion control,” that does not tell you very much. A PLC controlling two positioning axes has motion control. A CNC following thousands of G-code blocks has motion control. A six-axis robot carrying a laser head has motion control. A galvanometer scanner moving a beam across a small field has … Read more

The Future of Handheld Laser Welding? I Think It Depends on Qualified Welders

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Handheld laser welding is getting faster, easier to use, and more capable. But in my view, its long-term future depends on treating it like what it is: a real welding process requiring trained and qualified people. It is hard not to pay attention to handheld laser welding when you are trying to launch a newsletter … Read more

MWL Laser Manufacturing Weekly — Sixth Edition September 3, 2026

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September 3, 2026 Process Intelligence, 60 kW Cutting, AI Quality, and Manufacturing at Sea This week’s stories cover a wide range of laser manufacturing, but they share a common theme. The laser itself is only one part of a production system. Scanner control is becoming more closely connected with process monitoring. Cutting systems continue pushing … Read more