Robotics & Automation News

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PSA starts production at Kenitra plant in Morocco

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Groupe PSA has started production at the Kenitra plant in Morocco. The project was launched with the signing of an agreement between Groupe PSA and the Kingdom of Morocco on 19 June 2015.

Four years on, the factory is up and running and includes the roll-out of a complete ecosystem for Groupe PSA in Morocco, with a steering centre based in Casablanca for the Middle East and Africa region and an operational R&D centre.

Groupe PSA has a network of 62 local suppliers, with 27 new supplier sites set up to meet the needs of the Kenitra plant.

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Magna signs first complete vehicle manufacturing joint venture in China

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Magna, BAIC Group and the Zhenjiang government celebrated the signing of a framework agreement governing their electric vehicle manufacturing joint venture in Zhenjiang, China, which marks another milestone of their continued cooperation.

The transaction, which is pending regulatory approval and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The joint venture, which is to be controlled by an affiliate of the BAIC Group, is Magna’s first investment in a complete vehicle manufacturing facility outside Europe.

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ABB pilots automation solution for data centres

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A colocation data centre provider is piloting ABB‘s new data centre automation cloud solution, which aims to meet challenges faced by the rapid growth of data centres.

Optimisation of data centre performance, increased tenant retention, agile communications between operations and upper management, and reduced costs are some of the benefits claimed for the new ABB offering.

With a holistic data centre approach, the solution is said to provide a detailed insight into how multiple data centres and devices are performing.

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ThyssenKrupp to provide 155 lifts and 22 escalators to Beijing airport base

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As the sole lift supplier to China Southern Airlines’ new Beijing airport base, Thyssenkrupp Elevator is to deliver 155 elevators and 22 escalators to Beijing Daxing Airport, which is currently under construction.

China Southern Airlines has moved to the new mega airport in the south of Beijing as part of its ‘two-hub’ strategy, alongside its current Guangzhou base.

The plans for the airport facilities were designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, while the hexagonal main terminal was designed by Zara Hadid Architects. At approximately 7.5 million sq. feet, it will be the largest terminal in the world.

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Volvo Trucks autonomous vehicle to link logistics centre and Gothenburg port

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Volvo Trucks’ electric, connected and autonomous vehicle Vera will form part of an integrated solution to transport goods from a logistics centre to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The assignment is a result of a new collaboration between Volvo Trucks and the ferry and logistics company, DFDS.

The purpose of the collaboration is to use Vera in a real application, enabling a connected system for a continuous flow of goods, from a DFDS’ logistics centre to an APM Terminals port facility in Gothenburg, for distribution across the world.

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HP opens 3D printing and digital manufacturing centre of excellence in Spain

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HP has opened a new 3D printing and digital manufacturing centre of excellence in Barcelona, Spain – one of the world’s largest and most advanced research and development facilities for those technologies.

The new centre brings together hundreds of the world’s leading additive manufacturing experts in more than 150,000 square feet of space.

The 3+ acre facility at HP’s Barcelona campus is dedicated to the development of HP’s industrial 3D printing portfolio and provides a large-scale factory environment to collaborate with customers and partners on digital manufacturing technologies.

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MHI Machine Tool produces commercial metal 3D Printer using laser beams

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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Co., Ltd. has commercialised a metal 3D printer applying laser-based metal additive manufacturing technology.

The first unit was delivered in March to the Industrial Research Centre of Shiga Prefecture, in Ritto, Japan.

The commercial model is capable of laminating diverse metal materials at high speed, through use of a proprietary Directed Energy Deposition (DED) method in which metal powder material is continuously fed by nozzles to the laser fusing point.

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DB Schenker opens first low-carbon distribution terminal in Norway

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Global logistics service provider DB Schenker is opening its first low-carbon city distribution centre in Oslo, the new Oslo City Hub.

The centrally-located new terminal will reduce CO2 emissions of city goods distribution by 80%, using electric cars and e-bikes.

Oslo City Hub is part of Electric City, the Oslo district’s focus on activities associated with its status as European Green Capital 2019.

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Adena to invest $70m in orthopaedic and robotics centre

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Adena Health System is to construct a five-story Orthopedic and Robotics Center on the campus of Adena Regional Medical Center (ARMC), located in Chillicothe, Ohio, USA.

The  $70-million investment will include at least six operating rooms to meet the specific technological and space needs for current and future orthopaedic and robot-assisted surgeries.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the new centre opening in 2021.

Bosch Engineering opens vehicle acoustics test centre

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Vehicle acoustics are steadily gaining traction as a quality criterion in today’s cars.

When a vehicle is in motion, audible or perceptible vibrations emanating from individual components can cause annoying automotive noise conveyed by the vehicle’s structure and rendered as airborne sound.

Acoustics experts refer to this phenomenon as NVH, which is short for noise, vibration, harshness.

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