Beckhoff Automation reported that its North American Automation UpDate seminar series was "a resounding success," with more than 61 attendees at a Toronto seminar in early June. Six primary product developers and specialists from Beckhoff’s headquarters in Verl, Germany, presented the latest technological advances and best practices.

Among the topic discussed were open motion control technology using Beckhoff’s AX5000 EtherCAT servo drives and TwinCAT; CX embedded PCs; embedded PC benchmarking and performance with motion control applications; visualization solutions; Beckhoff embedded software status and performance update; and Intel Core Duo technology for state-of-the-art hardware platforms.

"Automation UpDate has been established not only as a European phenom, but also a North American one," said Graham Harris, president of Beckhoff Automation. "Especially when the business climate continues to be treacherous, it’s Beckhoff’s job now more than ever to introduce innovative new technologies, such as EtherCAT, to our customers and help them succeed today and well into the future."
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On top of Toronto, the seminar traveled to Anaheim, Calif.; San Jose, Calif.; and Milwaukee. In addition, the seminars featured guest speakers from leading technology companies that utilize Beckhoff innovations, including Chris Choi from Bolton, Ont.-based Husky Injection Molding Systems (profiled last year in Advanced Manufacturing) and Alex Kvyatkovski from Accurpress, which has a manufacturing location in Surrey, B.C. Other speakers included reps from Belco Packaging Systems, MarquipWardUnited, and Messer Cutting Systems.

For those interested in what was covered, you can download the presentations and videos from Beckhoff’s FTP site (please use Internet Explorer).

For questions about this and future seminars, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .