Traditionally, a complex manufacturing machine has one large, powerful controller that governs sequencing, motion and I/O. Multiple drives and motors are connected to the controller via a motion network.
NuStep Inc. is not a big company. Based in Ann Arbor, MI, the exercise equipment manufacturer employs 80 people and tallied $24 million in sales in 2010.
Earlier this year, heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. chose Athens, GA, as the site for a new factory to assemble small tractors and excavators. The company will be reshoring some 1,400 jobs to the new facility from an existing plant in Japan.